Fraternity recruitment is officially not what it used to be. Thanks to a new policy enacted by the Interfraternity Council — the body that represents and governs 22 fraternity chapters at the university — under-21 rush parties are a thing of the past.
At least, that’s the goal. It’s up to fraternity members themselves to see it through. In an unprecedented move by the IFC, chapters are now required to report any underage rush party they know of or see taking place to the IFC’s executive board. They also are required to contact the president of the chapter throwing the party. If that fraternity throws the party anyway, all the chapters in the council could lose social privileges until recruitment ends on Sept. 21.
It’s certainly a stringent policy, but it’s one that’s intended to keep students safe during a period typically characterized by heavy alcohol consumption. Additionally, it seeks to portray members of Greek life as a group of responsible, mature students capable of self-regulation.
The idea is based on the principle of self-governance. The IFC executive board is composed of 10 elected individuals from any one of the university’s chapters; they also share the responsibilities and the potential consequences of the policy.
Greek life is about community, so it makes sense that this policy is structured in a way that necessitates joint enforcement efforts. If one chapter chooses to violate IFC recruitment rules, the entire council could suffer. It forces them to share responsibility for one another’s actions, which promotes unity between the chapters — a particularly worthwhile goal for Greek life, which sees its fair share of competition and rivalries between houses.
But on the other hand, the watchdog nature of the policy is sure to cause plenty of bumps in the road. It places a heavy burden on each member’s shoulders to report their peers’ violations. By asking members of one fraternity to snitch on members of another — which, in many cases, would mean ratting out their friends in other houses — many students are going to find themselves in uncomfortable situations. And unless there’s a massive council-wide culture change in which everyone agrees to stop having these parties, they’ll have to make those tough decisions pretty often, as rush parties have always been an important aspect of recruitment.
Members will have to choose: Follow the rules by reporting others’ parties and possibly catch flack for doing so, or hold their tongues and risk being placed on social moratorium. Either way, the policy puts students between a rock and a hard place.
But that doesn’t mean the council was unjustified in implementing this policy — life is full of difficult choices. Part of becoming an adult is figuring out your personal values and accepting that the proper course of action isn’t always the one that provides the most fun. Greek life, like other activities, should promote learning experiences that can turn members into well-rounded individuals capable of doing the right thing. This initiative is one of those challenges.
It’s unclear how the rest of recruitment will pan out as rush continues under the new regulations. Many will choose to obey the requirements; others will likely ignore them. Regardless of the number of parties that get busted or chapters that lose privileges, the results of this initiative will reflect the state of Greek life and its participants.
Yes, the policy does require members to show maturity. Yes, it asks them to give up one of the most enjoyable aspects of recruitment. Yes, it could cause tension between friends and further strain relations between rivals. But those kinds of sacrifices are part of life, and that includes Greek life. So if this policy is asking too much, maybe some of those Animal House stereotypes aren’t just stereotypes, after all.
