The InterFraternity Council wants the University to allow registered parties during New Student Orientation, and the Undergraduate Assembly is backing its efforts.
At its third meeting of the semester, the UA took up its first new item of business: the NSO Fraternity Safety Proposal, authored by IFC president and College senior David Ashkenazi and UA member and College sophomore Alec Webley.
This proposal aims to lift a rule created in 1996 that bans IFC member organizations from sponsoring registered events during NSO.
The proposal does not require fraternities to register their parties but gives them the option of doing so on the premise that registered parties are substantially safer due to an increase in the amount of security at these parties.
Ashkenazi said the University of Pennsylvania Police Department and the Medical Emergency Response Team support the proposal.
He explained that the proposal was necessary since the current system of penalizing fraternities by removing them from campus has led to the formation of underground houses that are not controlled by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs' rules and guidelines and are not accountable to the University.
"We do not want just your stamp of approval. We want your help," Ashkenazi told members during the debate.
"I think the main premise of the proposal is to ensure that we can be as safe as possible during NSO. [This proposal] is one step in addressing potential safety and health concerns," said UA chairman and Wharton and College senior Wilson Tong.
"I am looking forward to working with the IFC and Greek organizations and with the administration to see how this proposal can be made a reality," he said, though he added he does not view the proposal as a "complete solution" to the problem of dangerous drinking behavior.
The proposal passed with 18 votes in favor and four against.
UA member and Wharton sophomore Sam Edelson voted against the proposal.
"I don't think that Penn NSO wants to create the image that there is no alternative to Greek life for nightlife," said Edelson. "By creating only registered parties for NSO, we lose something very special from the current NSO. To preserve current Penn culture that I enjoyed as a freshman, I had to vote against [the proposal]."
Edelson added that he is not against Greek organizations; he is pro-Greek, but also in favor of unregistered parties.
UA member and College sophomore Adam Bloch said, "My main concern with the proposal is that it will cause an increase in binge drinking in college houses before a night of NSO adventure."
Bloch was also concerned with the clause in the proposal that said only two to four fraternities will have the option to host registered parties, stating that this would be "an unequal system." However, Bloch voted for the proposal, saying that the benefits outweighed his concerns and that fewer restrictions on Greek life were preferable.
The IFC and the UA will now follow up with OFSA, the Vice Provost for University Life, MERT, the Provost's office and the President's office to move forward with the proposal.
The meeting began with the Open Forum section in which the body and members of the audience discussed the violence on 40th and Spruce streets on Saturday night and whether there should be funding for religious and partisan groups.
The Student Activities Council's chairman and Engineering senior Eric Van Nostrand then spoke to the body about his organization as part of the UA's Penn Student Government Spotlight. This section of the meeting was created to improve communication between and inform UA members about the work of Penn's five other student government groups.
After this presentation, the UA executive board, steering committee and regular committees reported to the body on their work and on any other announcements that needed to be made.
