For the third consecutive semester, the Interfraternity Council has had a significant boost in recruitment, drawing 161 new members into it’s 27 fraternities. This increase brings the total for the school year to 613.
Last year, recruitment numbers were 20 percent lower.
IFC spokesman Brian Millman attributed the increase to the Greek exclusivity component of the IFC’s new Social Environment Management Policy as well as more aggressive methods of promotion. The exclusivity clause dictates that only members of the Greek community may attend Greek parties.
In addition to banners, table tents and signing efforts on University buses, this semester’s campaign focused on improved publicity on North Campus, he said.
LSA freshman Matt Bachmann, a new member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, said he agrees with Millman’s explanation.
“(Greek exclusivity) is a definite advantage of being part of the Greek system, especially in terms of meeting people,” Bachmann said.
Bachmann said the Greek exclusivity policy encouraged him to rush when he came to the University.
This semester, the IFC also developed a new initiative to compile data on each chapter during the academic year. The Greek Resume – a periodically updated set of statistics – reports the amount of money raised for charity, the community service hours sponsored and details on members’ involvement in the broader campus community, including other student organizations.
The resume also includes individual chapter accolades received over the years. Millman, who is in charge of the initiative, said the resume will not provide details on the history of each house on campus or their previous sanctions.
Last December, the IFC served Zeta Beta Tau with a one-year suspension after investigations by the Greek Activities Review Panel and the Hazing Task Force found the fraternity guilty of hazing. The allegations and sanctions brought against ZBT were the first and only of the semester.
Millman said the IFC continues to address hazing by distributing anti-hazing literature, educating new members on social policy as well as the Greek Activities Review Panel and the enforcement of Greek regulations.
“It’s the first time in a while that the Greek community has essentially been free of any hazing,” he said.
Millman said he has collected data from 25 of the 27 houses. Since the beginning of the fall semester, IFC fraternities have logged nearly 8,662 hours of community service and have raised $159,180 for charity.
The resume is part of a larger press packet that Millman intends to distribute to media outlets, the fraternities’ national organizations and various University offices.
For years, Greeks have asserted their involvement in and contributions to the overall campus community, but haven’t had the statistics to back it up, IFC President Jon Krasnov said.
“The contributions of Greeks to the campus community are often overshadowed by criticism and stereotypes,” Krasnov said in an e-mail interview. “The Greek Resume is a means of supporting our members’ leadership, involvement and philanthropic demeanor at the University in the face of negative perceptions.”
Krasnov said criticisms of the revised social policy – in effect since January 2005 – by those in and out of the Greek community are not unexpected. He said change always involves skepticism.
“However, the noticeable increase in safety and the increase in recruitment after a 15-year declining trend has undoubtedly marginalized any skepticism that may have existed in the community,” he said.