InterFraternity Council President Conor Daly called for the University to abolish "pseudo-Greek organizations," including the Owl Society, the Tabard Society and Theo -- formerly the Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity -- at yesterday's University Council meeting.
"These organizations maintain off-campus houses, have free reign to hold alcoholic rush events and actively make efforts to steal members away from InterFraternity Council-governed groups," Daly said. "If we are not proactive about removing these groups, it will appear that the University passively approves of their perpetuated existence and their high-risk and illegal activities."
The monthly meeting, which was took place in Houston Hall's Bodek Lounge, featured informational presentations by Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Director Scott Reikofski and Greek student leaders Tia Rideout, Alison Ng and Daly.
Yet while Rideout, president of the Bi-Cultural InterGreek Council and a College senior, and Ng, the Panhellenic Council president and a Wharton junior, focused on outlining the structural and functional aspects of their particular organizations, Daly took the opportunity to voice his concerns about how the University community regards Greek organizations.
"It is clear that there are mixed opinions about the values that effect the fraternity membership of undergraduate students," the College junior said. "I suggest that those who are critical of the Greek system may not be aware of our accomplishments and therefore focus only on the negative aspects."
Daly said consistency in upholding University policies for all student groups -- not just fraternities and sororities -- is a must.
"There's a need for increased education of non-Greek student organizations and consistent enforcement for all organizations," Daly said. "The University must adopt a method to alleviate all of this negative and illegal activity whenever it occurs."
In his argument, Daly gave several examples of hazing, alcohol violations and other acts of misconduct by athletic teams and academic honor societies.
Additionally, Daly emphasized the need to maintain direct and immediate communication among the IFC, OFSA and the Office of Student Conduct in the event of code violations among various Greek organizations.
"I would like to state that we are aware of our organization's shortcomings and the existence of areas where improvements can be made," Daly concluded.
In response to Daly's remarks, Provost Robert Barchi noted that the University's alcohol policies are supposed to be upheld by all student groups.
"I want to make it very clear that the alcohol policies of the University apply to all undergraduate students," Barchi said. "It is certainly the case that there will be some situations that come up after the fact that we're unaware of, but there's no question that they apply to every one of our undergraduate student organizations."
Barchi added that it is difficult for the University to enforce its policies for events that occur off campus.
"Activities that take place out of the boundaries of our campus are unfortunately not directly under our purview," Barchi said. "We simply don't have that control."
Although Daly's remarks took center stage, there were other presentations given at yesterday's meeting.
Undergraduate Assembly Chairwoman Dana Hork brought forth a proposal to establish a community review board to address complaints to the Penn Police Department.
The proposal was created in response to an incident last month in which College senior Dimitri Dube alleged that he was stopped by officers on his way back to his dormitory partly because of his race. The resolution aims to allow members of the University community to address their concerns about police investigations.
If the resolution is passed, the board will "encourage University and community members to come forward with more confidence that their concerns will be treated with respect and impartiality," according to Hork.
Vice President for Public Safety Maureen Rush said that an advisory board would review the UA's proposal, taking into consideration the need for open dialogue between the Penn Police and the University.
"There's been a lot of thought to the process put into place for police complaints," Rush said. "We understand the UA's concerns and the concerns of many minority coalitions."
Rush also mentioned that the advisory board was considering adding an additional seat for a member of the United Minorities Council.
Those who attended the meeting generally encouraged continued discourse between the Penn Police and the University as essential to building trust and open communication.
"We need to develop kinds of systems that really say that we have a shared responsibility to one another and to our own safety," University President Judith Rodin said. "I do hope that as these discussions unfold, we will continue to focus on our mutual responsibilities to each other and the respect that is expected out of these mutual responsibilities."
