The resolution, approved by the IFC at its meeting last Wednesday, acknowledges that communication between RPI’s fraternities and their neighbors has deteriorated in recent years and expresses a desire to improve that situation.

“We want more of a proactive approach on our part,” said Jeffrey Andritz, president of the IFC.

Response to the resolution within the Rensselaer community has been positive. Associate Dean of Students Travis Apgar, who until recently served as acting director of greek life, said he’s glad to see the entire IFC taking up this cause.

“There are chapters over the years that have been a positive part of the community,” he said. “It’s about time that they’re all unanimously agreed.”

Eddie Knowles, vice president for Student Life, said the resolution “is consistent with the goals and objectives that fall under the umbrella of Communiversity.” He said that students at RPI are not only in the community but are a part of the community. “This resolution affirms how [the fraternities] themselves perceive the significance of those relationships,” he said.

“The IFC, in passing this resolution, demonstrated the quality of leadership that we’ve come to expect from our fraternity system at Rensselaer,” Knowles said.

“I think it’s a good step, to at least acknowledge that the fraternities and sororities are interested in creating and maintaining good relations with the neighbors,” said Dean of Students Mark Smith.

However, he cautions that the neighbors will want to see more than just words. “Resolutions are good,” he said. “Actions are better.”

The IFC has been working on some plans to take action. At the top of their list is a community clean-up day, slated to occur near the end of the semester, where members of the fraternities will spend a few hours cleaning up clutter in the neighborhoods around their houses.

The Council is also encouraging the chapters to send representatives to community meetings in order to respond to neighbors’ concerns and learn where they can improve, “really just open the lines of communication,” Andritz said.

They also want to use these opportunities to look for specific projects they can undertake to expend their community service efforts in areas that people really care about.

Travis Lull, IFC vice president for public relations, stated that while fraternities currently do a lot of community service projects, it doesn’t sink in with the community at large. “People notice it, but unless it’s something people really care about, it’s pretty ineffective,” he said.

One project that has already come out of this approach is a clean-up of neighborhood playgrounds after the snow melts.

In addition to community meetings, the IFC will be looking for input from RPI faculty. While the Council regularly communicates with administrators, until now, it has not specifically targeted faculty for feedback.