CAROLYNN CLAREY
The new IFC initiative marks a new era for greek life at WSU, which can lead to a healthier and safer environment for all who are involved.
In light of recent events in the Pullman community,
particularly the tragic loss of Samuel Martinez on Nov. 12, the WSU
Interfraternity Council (IFC) decided that the Greek community in Pullman must
change. The first step in this communal change is the IFC development
initiative, which was first released on Jan. 12.
While many may disagree with the new policies brought
by the initiative, this change being instituted by the interfraternity council
is necessary to keep the Greek community alive here at WSU. It is the best and
only option to properly move forward and ensure that WSU never again loses a student
to alcohol-related activities.
The initiative has nine major components, each with
their own specific requirements, regulations, and action plans. These key
components are: a membership behavioral assessment; updated policies for new
member education programs; new rules for big-little events, chapter advisor
conferences; a legislative lobbying committee; alcohol/risk education
programming requirements; a contingencyp lan; new policy violation sanctions
regarding hard alcohol; and new requirements for each chapter to be removed
from socialsuspension.
An additional step in the overall IFC initiative to
improve the Greek system is executive order No. 1. Released on Jan. 26 by IFC
president Aaron Fandel, this order prohibits social events involving alcohol
from 8am Sunday to 5pm Thursday. It also states that each group on campus is
required to hold its members accountable for the individual behaviors and
violations of each organization’s code and bylaws.
Executive order no. 1 is expected to be adhered to along
with the IFC rnitiative regulation prohibiting alcoholic beverages above 15
percent ABV at social events. These regulations come with serious consequences
if violated. The initiative directly states that if a chapter is found to
violate the alcohol policy, it will be put on social probation for no less than
eight weeks, with repeated violations prompting first a 14-week probation
period, and then removal of the violating chapter from campus.
he IFC hopes raising sentences and charges of these
laws will serve as a deterrent from participating in hazing or alcohol
furnishing here at Washington State.
The executive order was a product of collaboration
between the chapter presidents of Fraternities at Washington State University
and the IFC.
“They all came to meetings with the council and
discussed things over a period of time that extended beyond a week. And through
those discussions we came away with the answer of ‘we shouldn’t be having
social events during those days of the week,” Andrew Thomas, PR chair of IFC,
said.
The legislative lobbying committee within the
initiative could also significantly impact the WSU Greek community. This group
is being formed by IFC with the intention of lobbying the state legislature in
Olympia on laws pertaining to hazing and alcohol.
The ultimate goal of this community is to potentially
raise the charge of hazing from a misdemeanor to a felony, as well as possibly
raising either the minimum or maximum charge for alcohol furnishing, which
currently is a year in jail and a $5,000 fine.
“When you look at hazing right now, it’s a misdemeanor
in the state. I think our community can maybe benefit from making that a
felony,” Thomas said.
Ultimately, the IFC made this decision out of the hope
that the Greek system at WSU will be able to take corrective action and fix
problems on its own, before an outside third-party, such as the university,
takes corrective action on its own, which could involve more severe
consequences upon the system.
The initiative could also end up boosting the appeal
of the Greek system to outsiders. Informal recruitment is already underway for
chapters across campus, and regulations that standardize new member education
and prevent alcohol at big-little events provide incentive for potential new
members to feel more comfortable about their safety when going to join a Greek
chapter.
“It’s obviously gonna add more of a safe feeling and I
feel like it will bring me and my [potential] brothers closer together,” Cole
Kushin, a kinesiology major and potential new member currently going through
informal recruitment, said.
Overall, the IFC initiative marks the beginning of a
new atmosphere in WSU Greek life, with greater communication and transparency
between fraternity chapters and the interfraternity council. This change should
be welcomed, as it is essential to the survival of the system and only the
first step in what will become the new environment on Greek Row moving forward.