U Maryland hires live-in "snoops"

[hoosier]

Greek officials hire eight more SARFs
Student assistant residential fellows may eventually replace house directors

By Zach Coon
May 11, 2005


Some people call them Greek RAs. Some call them narcotic officers. To the university, though, they’re SARFs — graduate students who live in fraternity and sorority houses to provide chapters with advice and keep things in order.

Most fraternities and all sororities have house directors, who live with chapters, are accountable to their housing corporations and deal mostly with housing concerns. But the university is hiring SARFs — student assistant residential fellows — to live with chapters and give them anything from advice on housing issues to programming suggestions and policy infractions. Heidi Biffl, housing coordinator for the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, said she’d like SARFs to eventually replace house directors in fraternity and sorority houses.

The office is hiring eight SARFs to move into houses by August 1, and it began the SARF program two years ago in Pi Kappa Alpha and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternities. Sigma Phi Epsilon President and junior physiology and neurobiology major Jon Hodax said his chapter has grown quite attached to Tiki Ayiku, its SARF.

“All of the brothers really love her,” he said. “[SARFs are] more knowledgeable and more prepared to help you out ... they’re very hands-on, they’re very willing to be involved.”

Junior economics major Drew Gendreau, president of Alpha Sigma Phi, said he has become more optimistic about having a SARF after learning more about the role they would play in the house and talking to members of fraternities who have them. But he said some people have expressed reservations.

“We’re still a little in the dark,” Gendreau said. “I think our chapter members have a general feeling that this person was going to be basically a police officer for the Greek Life office.”

Former Student Government Association President Aaron Kraus, a member of Alpha Sigma Phi who lives at the chapter house, said he didn’t know whether a SARF’s ultimate loyalty would lie with the fraternity or the university.

“Two guys are sitting on the couch talking about whatever, and they’re both 19, and they’re both having a beer. Does the SARF report that to the Office of Greek Life?” he asked. “That’s where the administration hasn’t been very clear.”

SARFs would address each incident differently, said Bob Nichols, assistant director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. He emphasized that the role of SARFs is to work with members to improve the way each chapter functions but said that he’d like to see SARFs handle policy violations within the chapter first.

“My hope would be that if it’s the first time ... they’re just going to talk to that person and build a relationship, talk about a reason behind things,” he said. “We want to deal with the letter and spirit of the law.”