Fraternities confused about administration's concerns

Fraternity members have recently expressed confusion about the improvements that the administration is calling for in the Greek system.

Last semester, Dean of Students Bruce Reitman said that the system was failing to live up to University standards.

Reitman said that the administration wanted to see fraternities and sororities focus more on philanthropic efforts, encourage more pride and cohesiveness in the system, and show leadership in the Tufts community.

He was not the only one to criticize Greek houses. Recently, President Larry Bacow said that fraternities "must be more than just a place to party." And Assistant Director of Student Activities Ed Cabellon said that fraternities and sororities, "are at a crossroads, and they know it."

But many students involved in the Greek system felt that Reitman's statements last semester came without warning and created confusion about the administration's expectations. Former Inter Greek Council (IGC) President Adam Biacchi, who was replaced in December, said that when Reitman requested that changes be made, "it was completely news to us." Biacchi said that the administration had communicated concerns about cleaning up after weekend parties, but that was all.

Administrators complain that Tufts' Greek system has fallen out of line from the system's philosophy. Greek systems at other universities are often more unified as the houses make more of an effort to work together, Cabellon said. Cabellon added that although Greek houses at Tufts have made significant improvements in the last year, "it's more of the individual houses doing things for themselves."

Biacchi agreed that the unity between the houses could stand to improve, but "it's not like we're fighting with each other," he said.

The rate of student participations in Greek houses has dropped from 18 to 11 percent in the last decade. Administrators said that the decline in interest might be related to the inability of many houses to organize philanthropic events and encourage pride and unity within the system.

"The Greek System has a negative stigma on campus," Cabellon said. "A lot of students aren't rushing."

The fraternities feel that there are misconceptions about the amount of charity work that is done because the events are not well publicized to the Tufts community, Alpha Epsilon Pi President Josh Gold said. Delta Tau Delta Vice President Mike Visconti agreed. "The administration in general doesn't see a lot of what we do," he said. "We just need to be more visible on the Tufts campus."

Visconti said that fraternities at other universities often sponsor community service events and invite the whole campus to participate. But at Tufts, fraternities often perform service by volunteering at homeless shelters or public schools in surrounding area _ not on campus, where students would see it.

House representatives said that the annual Read by the River event, last semester's Mud Volleyball tournament, walks for the American Cancer Society, and work with daycare centers and shelters in the area are just a few examples of the programs in which they are involved.

Sigma Nu has recently increased its charitable efforts by instating a program called "The Pursuit of Excellence." The program, which was started by Sigma Nu's national chapter, gives the local chapter points for philanthropy, attaining a certain grade point average and giving back to the community. If the fraternity fails to achieve a certain number of points each semester, the national chapter will get involved and press for improvements. While community service is strongly encouraged both by the administration and the national chapters, Tufts Greek system does not technically have a community service requirement. And within the University, there are different opinions as to how much work fraternities should do. Cabellon feels that through his communication with the Greek system, the houses have reached adequate levels of charitable work. Reitman contends that the houses should increase their efforts.

Some fraternity members disagree that increased philanthropy will have an affect on the rush numbers for the Greek houses on campus, as some administrators believe. "Doing community service isn't going to make more or less people join," Biacchi said.

Fraternity members are concerned that the administration ignores the positive effects created by the presence of the Greek system. "I think the University agrees with everything that we do that's right. But when we do something wrong, they tend to focus on it," Sigma Nu President Joe Cerra said.

But Cabellon said that the attention the houses get from the administration is not unfounded. "A lot of Greek students ask, 'why are they coming down so hard on us?' It's because they have more than some other students. They own property, and they have a right to recruit who they want into their organization," Cabellon said.

While the administration remains concerned that the Greek system focuses more on partying and the social scene than on promoting fraternal values, Greek members said that restrictions on parties in fraternity houses would not decrease the amount of partying that goes on. "There would just be more parties elsewhere, in off-campus houses or whatever," Biacchi said.

Administrators have shown determination to improve relations with the Greek system by hiring an administrator who will work with the Office of Greek Life and serve as a liaison between students and administrators.

In the past, communication has been difficult. "If we give them a booklet of information, the president will read it, but often times the information will not be disseminated throughout the fraternity," Cabellon said.

The University says that the purpose of the new position is to demonstrate its desire to improve the current situation. "This Greek community has such potential," Cabellon said. "There is value to the system."

Though representatives of the Greek system were confused about some of the demands being made, several of them said that they would do whatever it takes to survive.

"Of course we're willing to cooperate," said Cerra. "We just don't want to lose our house."