The revision process for the Statement of Relationship Between Rensselaer and Social Fraternities and Sororities began in 2000 as a project of the Alumni Inter-Greek Council, who worked closely with Rensselaer and the greeks throughout the project term. The Greek Relationship Statement is a document which details the responsibilities of all the fraternities and sororities that open up chapters at RPI. The process consisted of examining and reviewing the old statement, and then coming up with a new draft. This process continued three times with three different drafts over the course of five years until the final draft was approved by the RPI president’s office. The new statement took effect with President Shirely Ann Jackson’s signature, the greeks having previously appoved the document with a vote of 20-2-9.
Greek alumni played a crucial part in the revision and renewal of the Statement. Mark Smith, RPI’s dean of students, applauded their contribution to the process. He said that “the alumni helped with developing the language of the statement” and “played a pivotal role of structuring the new statement.” Santosh Vaghela, the president of the Interfraternity Council, also noted that the alumni played a critical role in developing the new Statement, especially Mark Anderson, the president of the AIGC.
The Dean of Students Office was responsible for the writing of the document, and they also “made sure that everyone involved with the Relationship Statement had a say in the matter” according to Smith. DOSO also was responsible for checking the consistency of the content and language used in the creation of the new Greek Relationship Statement.
The problem with the old statement appeared because of the 15-year absence of any kind of change to the original statement since its creation in 1991. This became a problem Dean Smith reported, “because of the changes in the society and culture of Rensselaer within those fifteen years,” creating a need for changes in the statement and “adjustment in certain areas.” Vaghela commented that “the old relationship statement was very ambiguous when compared to the new one.” He also praised the new statement for its “clear outlines” of the duties of the fraternities and sororities.
The purpose of the new greek statement was to address the vagueness of some of the areas of greek responsibility. “It was meant to clarify some issues like recognition of frats and sororities,” said Smith.
Vaghela recognized the new statement for its benefits for the greeks, commenting that it was especially useful for getting houses for new chapters. RPI goes through the loan process and uses its own credit to do it, as long as the greeks pay the bills, are willing to take care of the house, and generally act responsible. Vaghela then explained that “they’ve set the goals for us, and now it’s time for the greeks to rise to the occasion. Hopefully, this will be the first step toward building a better relationship with the campus.”
