IFC gets set for Greek Active Partnership

Designed last fall, the Greek Active Partnership will serve as a forum for Greek strategic planning. Although the InterFraternity Council officially changed executive boards yesterday, IFC leaders say much more change is in store. The new board -- which was elected in November -- will be the first to participate in the Greek Active Partnership, a network of administrators and fraternity leaders. The members will periodically create new goals to adapt to the changing issues of the IFC. Established last fall by the outgoing board, GAP is the IFC's replacement for the 21st Century Report. The report, approved in December 1996, set specific goals for each of the three Greek umbrella groups -- the IFC, the sororities' Panhellenic Council and the minority fraternities' BiCultural InterGreek Council. Outgoing IFC President Matt Baker said the Executive Board created GAP to respond to the need for "a dynamic partnership, rather than a static one." But several past and present IFC members, including Baker, said IFC plans have had a tendency to come and go without effecting real change. The members of GAP will meet at least once per semester. The first meeting will be held no later than mid-March, according to outgoing Vice President of 21st Century Planning Aaron Kotok, a College senior. Like the 21st Century Report, GAP will attempt to set goals in areas such as academics, community service, risk management and social enrichment. GAP members will also be able to set more short-term goals. But although IFC officials expressed confidence in the GAP proposal's ability to improve the Greek system, Baker and Kotok noted that Greek members and IFC board members had similar optimism when the 21st Century Report was first passed. In fact, leaders of the 1996 umbrella groups hailed the report as "the first time Greeks have joined with University leaders to develop a unified agenda for excellence." But the fact that the IFC is completely replacing the report one year after its creation raises concerns about the reliability and effectiveness of the Greek system's plans. Kotok, a Pi Kappa Phi brother, noted that there are few enforcement mechanisms in place to ensure that the goals created by GAP are actually implemented. So while there are no assurances that GAP will create broader improvements than the 21st Century Report did, Kotok maintains that GAP might set a good example for Panhel and the BIG-C, which have not made plans to develop more explicit goals. Both groups were included in the 21st Century Report. IFC officials stressed, however, that the new plan offers a more realistic formula for success. Although Baker acknowledged the value of the 21st Century Report in creating many wide-ranging and practical goals for improvement, he also described the plan as the "brain-child" of former IFC President and College 1997 graduate Josh Gottheimer. Baker, an Alpha Chi Rho brother and College and Engineering senior, explained that many of the goals in Gottheimer's plan have been successful, including wiring University-owned Greek houses for ResNet and increasing community service. But in the resolution creating GAP, Baker's board noted that "the 21st Century Report for an Ivy League Greek System was drafted to be a major step in this direction, but has fallen short of its vision." "Some parts of the 21st Century Report were impractical," Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Director Scott Reikofski explained. Reikofski said that as different issues evolve, there will be a need to amend the goals of the system. "Alcohol deaths were not as big a problem [for Greek systems] when the 21st Century Plan was created as they are now," he pointed out. Reikofski added that he was encouraged by the opportunity for regular communication among the upper administration, faculty and Greek members. And several IFC officials pointed out that many goals of the 21st Century Report were not as revolutionary as first thought. "Many things in the 21st Century Plan have already been institutionalized," Kotok said. GAP's membership will include IFC President and College junior Josh Belinfante and Executive Vice President and Wharton junior Clive Correia. The two will be joined by administrators such as the University president, provost, the vice provost for University Life, a Division of Public Safety official and the director of OFSA. Belinfante said he was optimistic about the plan's ability to improve Greek life for the IFC's 32 fraternities.