IFC, not administration, pulls recognition

[DeltAlum]

Will we see more of this, or is it a special case?

Thoughts?

Frat presidents decide to pull Pike from IFC


By Meris M. Lutz
Staff Writer
November 05, 2004


The Interfraternity Council voted late Tuesday night to stop
recognizing Pi Kappa Alpha as an official campus fraternity after
concerns were raised about its history of offenses involving fighting
and underage drinking.

The president of each official fraternity voted secretly, creating a
new precedent of student involvement in the decision of a fraternity’s
status.

No official vote total was announced, and no presidents would say how
they voted.

After the meeting, IFC allowed Pike 48 hours to submit an appeal to the
Conduct Council’s judicial appeals board. It was unknown as of press
time Wednesday whether Pike had appealed.

“We are taking it one step at a time,” Pike President Lee Brodsky said.
“We are going to go through with our plan of action as if we were
successful during the hearing.”

Brodsky said the plan includes “fostering better interfraternal
relations” and “addressing campuswide issues” such as underage drinking
and fighting.

Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life Lauren Kent-Delany predicted
Pike would appeal and said that a hearing would probably occur next
week.

She said the administration is anxious to resolve the issue as soon as
possible.

IFC President Jon Rio said IFC could not determine whether Pike should
keep its fraternity house, a decision left to Executive Vice President
and Dean of Student Life John Ford.

Ford could not be reached for comment as of press time.

Kent-Delany said administrators for the first time allowed the IFC to
vote on whether to revoke a fraternity’s charter.

“It’s always more powerful to have students monitoring students,” she
said.

Rio said IFC has long had the authority to expel a fraternity but has
never had to chance to use it before.

“This is the first-time the IFC has voted to revoke its recognition of
a chapter, although it’s had the power to do so for quite some time,”
Rio said.

He said Pike has been on behavioral probation since October and has had
several “incidents” during that time period.

Rio said the IFC executive board decided to have the presidents of the
fraternities vote instead of the regular IFC delegates because they are
the “most engaged and best informed” members of the Greek community.

“I made it very clear that they were not representatives of their
chapters. They are delegates of the Greek community,” Rio said.
“They’re not there to vote how their chapter wanted them to vote.”

A fraternity president who asked to remain anonymous said the meeting
was well-run and very organized.

He also said that Pike’s misconduct had been allowed to persist for too
long.

“Obviously it went too far,” he said. “It should never come to this. I
don’t know if it’s the school, Pi Kappa Alpha, the national chapter,
but as a fraternity president, it’s personally distressing.”

If Pike successfully appeals, Rio said, the IFC “will work with Pike to
figure something out.”


BTW, "Fighting" is one of the top five or six reason for fraternity insurance claims nationally, and is alcohol related a majority of the time.

[boz130]

I recall a fraternity @ my alma mater that left the IFC a few years ago because they wanted to have keggers every weekend. Nice reason to bail, eh?

They ceased operations shortly after that move, but since that time have come back to campus. The Greek Life coordinator told me they're doing well.

Later-
BF

[Lil' Hannah]

“It’s always more powerful to have students monitoring students,” she said.

I agree with this for the most part. It's showing the administration, the student body, other Greeks, and the community in general that we as Greeks will not tolerate inappropriate behavior.

[Firehouse]

Re the remark that "It's always more powerful to have students monitoring students", I take strong exception to that, and not just because this is a chapter of my fraternity in the line of fire. Student judicial boards are notorious for being unjust, petty, self-serving bullies; hall-monitor types who suck up to an approving administration. Of course the University wants students to make these decisions; it relieves them of the responsibility and lets them off the hook for enforcing legal rights. For instance, "Oh, the students themselves decided in favor of deferred rush." No, they didn't. A group of the administration's toadies gave in to bullying on the part of the school.
There is much discussion on campuses about whether the proper role of the IFC is to support and represent the fraternities to the administration, or to impose the will of the University downward onto the chapters. If it is to be the latter, then why be a memebr of IFC at all?

[SirHornyToad]

I dunno, i know at least at my school, governing ourselves has empowered us. By taking away responsibility from the administration it has given us power and also negotiating terms to go through with some of the things we want to change. Basically we relieve them of a headache of being in charge of us and we get to do more of what we want.

[Tom Earp]

SirHornyToad, I dont think I agree with that.

The Adm. never want to give up the ruling over Greeks. It sounds like a cop out for the Adm. but cvan lurk in the shadows and come down hard if they want to. Let the Members make a decision, of course, but you have to know that Adm. is peering over the shoulders.

Final decision will always lay in the lap of the School. They are the final people who are respnsable.

IFC or PanHellenic is a great idea if it works, but as usual, the infighting between Greek Organizations hold sway over anything that the good intentions were ment for.

That truely is the sad part of life!

[James]

Behind every student crackdown on students is a wise and satisfied college administrator.

We should have better IFC officer training for our groups.

Why not just call it the "wanna be a bitch group?"

[Tom Earp]

Does Animal House and Dean Wormer sound familiar!

While it seems the onus is taken off of the Adm. it throws it suarely on the IFC, or does it?