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Faculty Senate backs deferred fraternity rush

The Faculty Senate reiterated its support of spring rush dates for the Inter-Fraternity Council in its Executive Committee meeting Monday, Faculty Senate Chairman David T. Gies said.

Senate members are reasserting their support of deferred rush in response to the IFC's most recent request to move rush dates, Gies said.

The IFC sent a letter to Dean of Students Penny Rue Oct. 29 requesting that she open negotiations about rush dates for the 2000-2001 academic year.

The IFC made the first move, Gies said. "Because they formally requested [Rue to open negotiations], we felt it was important for the Faculty Senate to weigh in with our opinion, too."

He said the Senate plans to send Rue a letter in support of her refusal to open rush date negotiations.

He added that the Senate hopes Rue "will listen every year to students' arguments but unless they are very compelling" she should maintain spring rush dates.

Then-Dean of Students Robert T. Canevari decided in April 1998 to move IFC formal rush to the second semester, against the IFC's wishes.

According to the Fraternal Organization Agreement, IFC fraternities may not recruit members until a date determined by the University. The FOA is a document all IFC fraternities must sign to establish relationships with the University.

IFC executives have said fraternity houses incur substantial financial problems as a result of deferred rush because fewer brothers live in fraternity houses.

Traditionally, brothers live in fraternity houses during their second year. But with deferred rush, many students already have made housing arrangements prior to pledging fraternities in the spring, IFC executives have said.

But fraternities should adjust proactively by making houses more desirable for upperclassmen, Gies said.

"The house should be a place where the members want to be," he said. "If they picked up the charge [for] themselves to create fraternities that are attractive to people and where upperclassmen wanted to live, it would revolutionize the fraternity system."

Sigma Chi Vice President-elect Josh Oliva said he agreed that brothers should want to live in fraternity houses as upperclassmen, but that with deferred rush "it's tougher to get guys to live in the house. Apathy is still a big thing we're facing."

But IFC Service Chairman Peter Leary said having upperclassmen live in the house would deprive brothers of valuable bonding experiences as second years.

IFC executives also have said administrators are discriminating against fraternities by preventing them from recruiting members in the fall like other organizations.

But other organizations may not impede academics as much as rushing a fraternity, said Rob Grainger, Faculty Senate Research and Scholarship Committee chairman.

"There is a difference between getting used to the social aspect of the University [through a fraternity] and getting used to other organizations that may not be as time consuming," Grainger said.

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