The campus is creating a new affiliation model for fraternities 鈥� the CU-麻豆影院 Interfraternity Council (CU-麻豆影院 IFC) 鈥� and today announced its first charter member, Delta Sigma Phi. CU officials say the move marks a new evolution of Greek life on campus that brings the organizations and the university closer together after a decade of separation. CU-麻豆影院 Today visited with CU-麻豆影院 Interim Dean of Students Lisa Severy about the move.
Why is CU-麻豆影院 creating its own 鈥淐U-麻豆影院 IFC鈥� when the independent IFC already exists? What will this achieve?
We鈥檝e been looking in recent years at how we might move closer to the fraternities that recruit our students and have the kind of relationship that promotes student success within Greek organizations. When Delta Sigma Phi and another national fraternity approached us about affiliating with CU-麻豆影院, we jumped at the chance to create a new relationship. We hope to announce the second fraternity that is affiliating with us soon. What this will achieve will be CU-麻豆影院 IFC fraternities growing closer to the campus and coming into closer alignment with the university鈥檚 values of student success, safety, health and wellness. It will create a partnership based on shared values of developing student leaders听
How will that alignment be achieved?
Through agreements called 鈥淩ecognized Social Greek Organization (RSGO) Agreements鈥� that will ask the fraternities and Greek organizations to comply with various university rules and guidelines on travel, use of university facilities, and the university鈥檚 harassment and discrimination policies. In exchange, the university provides some basic support for the fraternities with things like limited office space, funding, activity and recreational space, as well as opportunities for fundraising. The organizations are responsible for their own goals and activities. It鈥檚 a win-win that means we can help these organizations grow and transform themselves and help troubleshoot as a partner if problems start to arise. We can intervene on behalf of the safety and welfare of our students in these organizations.
What happens with the current 麻豆影院-based Interfraternity Council?
Their members can remain in that organization, leave it and join CU-麻豆影院 IFC if they are in good standing, or be a member of both, again, if they are in good standing. We applaud what independent IFC fraternities have been doing in recent years with self-instituted reforms and organizational moves, but in the end, we seek a more complete alignment of our mutual goals, processes and procedures to ensure the safety, well-being and success of our students in Greek social organizations. We think this model achieves this. Universities across the country are building and codifying similar relationships, and we鈥檙e excited to have two fraternities join as charter members of our CU-麻豆影院 IFC, and we鈥檇 like to see other current independent IFC members join.
Is this all about controlling partying and creating safety?
Not at all. It鈥檚 about coming together in common cause so that students can reach their potential by being involved in Greek social organizations, and the organizations themselves can be important members of our community based on shared values of student success, leadership and community service. We want to open the university鈥檚 resources to aid students and Greek social organizations in achieving those goals. We think we can achieve a higher degree of student health and wellness in this model, certainly, but also a greater degree of overall student success during and after students鈥� time at CU-麻豆影院.
Does this mean CU-麻豆影院 gets involved in Greek social organization programming?
No. The organizations set their own programming and carry it out, but they do it with access to greater university resources to make that programming successful for their members. This is really about creating a win for students on all fronts: we don鈥檛 want control of their organizations, we simply want to align our approaches to promote student success and to have Greek social organizations growth and transformation tied to CU-麻豆影院鈥檚 growth and transformation.