Last week’s Interfraternity Council meeting began with President Jesse Barr ’10 thanking everyone for their involvement in Greek Women’s Hockey Night. He also mentioned that the cabinet will be available at 9 pm today in DCC 337—one hour before the meeting—for anyone who would like to become more involved with the committees of the council. The official meeting will begin at 10 pm. Additionally, Barr mentioned his interest in the greek community making plans to assist the administration in upcoming events.
After Barr spoke, Michael Lind ’10 discussed ongoing conversations with the greek J-Board chair for the assembly. Lind also mentioned there have also been conversations with Dean of Students Mark Smith about judicial procedures. The IFC will have the opportunity to be involved with additional updates to the IFC constitution.
Vice President of Rush Activities Demetri Karanikos ’11 then discussed rush concerns. He said that rush monitoring schedules have been sent out, and clarified the term “dorm storming,” the proper protocol and rules governing the practice of entering residence halls and knocking on doors to notify residents about upcoming rush events. It was also noted that no bids or invitations for bid dinners can go out to prospective brothers and sisters before Friday, February 6. There is a joint Navigating Rensselaer and Beyond event to be planned with the IFC and Panhellenic Council. Anyone who would like to provide ideas or assistance is asked to contact Karanikos at ifc.rpi.recruit@gmail.com.
Vice President of Social Ryan Koehler ’11 thanked everyone for their support during Greek Women’s Hockey Night and their contributions to the can drive. He personally attested to the shock on the faces of the St. Joseph’s House and Shelter staff when they delivered almost three times the number of canned items that they had been told to expect.
Currently, there are ongoing conversations about co-sponsoring a comedy show during Greek Week, starring comedian Evan Wecksell.
Afterwards, Vice President of Philanthropy Ken Hutchison ’10 noted some community service events across campus that could benefit from the support of the greek community. On April 5, Homerun for Habitat will be opening to the Troy community. Additionally, during Grand Marshal Week, there will be a homelessness awareness effort, in which participants are asked to dress as homeless people, and the IFC is encouraging involvement from interested parties.
Vice President of Risk Management Drew Fineberg ’11 then mentioned that discussions regarding the Risk Management Seminar have begun. Fineberg has been speaking with Public Safety Officer David Jordan about tailoring a CPR training class to the needs of brothers and sisters. The hope is that the essentials of CPR could be taught in three to four hours, rather than breaking up the training over two days and eight hours.
Next, Vice President of Public Relations Patrick McAndrews ’12 announced that more help in the public relations department is needed. He also said that there were efforts on behalf of the public relations committee to foster a stronger relationship with The Poly.
Treasurer Charlie Scheide ‘11 made a note of bills that should be sent after an updated mailing list is produced. Greek Senator Jonathan Babiec ’09 noted the changing of the weekly Senate meetings to a different time and date.
Finally, the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Affairs representative Richard Morris ’09, announced the Leadership Summit will be held this Saturday, February 7. The Summit is a day long event that will provide sorority and fraternity representatives with different informational sessions about how to better conduct and guide their respective houses. It is required that each house send two representatives, with the suggestion that in addition to each house sending their presidents, they also send a potential candidate for the next presidential term. Rosters will be made available to be updated at the Summit, and grade releases will be available after the roster is updated.
To conclude the meeting, a vote on changes to the current rush policies was held. Concerns were voiced regarding the wording of one section, but the alterations were approved. Also, Lambda Upsilon Lambda mentioned their upcoming Poetry Slam in The Center for Biotechnology and Interdisciplinary Studies on February 20, for which the grand prize is a Wii. Shortly after that, the meeting was concluded, and the representatives dispersed, having considered changes.
