The Interfraternity Council kicked off a series of fall recruitment events Tuesday night in Alumni Hall with a greek orientation seminar where more than 400 men gathered to hear introductions from the presidents of IU’s four greek councils.
Max Lundin, IFC vice president of recruitment, said the purpose of inviting the council presidents to introduce their organizations before the recruitment process begins is to give men exposure to the entire greek community.
“Really take rush as an opportunity to learn about as many different chapters at IU as you can,” Lundin said.
Attendees also heard from Melissa Kish, an associate director of Student Life and Learning. Kish warned men about the problem of unrecognized fraternities on campus, and IFC president Ryan Zukerman said three unrecognized organizations may contact them to offer them bids, but they are fake fraternities with no national headquarters or proper support.
Zukerman addressed two other myths about greek life during the seminar. One of them concerned the new agreement put in place by Student Life and Learning that regulates housed greek organizations on campus.
The agreement became controversial after some alleged it would allow the IU Police Department to enter greek houses at any time.
The agreement has been revised to clarify the circumstances under which IU personnel may enter greek houses. Greek houses will be subject to fire-safety and kitchen inspections under the agreement, but IUPD can only enter houses if there is probable cause or an emergency.
The agreement might undergo more revisions before being signed by the individual chapters, Zukerman said.
Zukerman told the attendees they should consult real news sources about the agreement rather than relying on Total Frat Move, a website dedicated greek news commentary. He also said rushing men can find the agreement document on Student Life and Learning’s website for accurate information about greek life.
The events, like chapter exhibitions, open house tours and rush tabling, IFC has planned for the month of September are not mandatory for men in the rush process, but Zukerman said they should try to attend them all.
“This is the best opportunity to get to know our organizations, and I would encourage them to take advantage of it,” Zukerman said.
The next recruitment event will be chapter exhibitions scheduled for Sept. 17. Men who are rushing can visit iuifc.org for more information.
