The Inter-Fraternity Council passed a proposal yesterday requiring all pledges to complete 10 hours of community service during their pledge periods.
The IFC voted unanimously in favor of the proposal during its weekly presidents' council meeting.
This semester's pledges will be the first to face the new requirement, but individual fraternity leaders also may decide to impose the rule on pledges who joined fraternities in the fall.
IFC officers will encourage pledges to organize their own service projects but also will help coordinate service opportunities as needed.
"I see service as something that can appeal to people of all different backgrounds, but in order to do that [the projects] should be something that they self-select," IFC Service Chairman-elect Patrick Barry said.
The IFC plans to work closely with Madison House and the Virginia Service Coalition to sponsor service opportunities.
"Fraternities [will not] need to hunt all around Grounds for service opportunities," IFC Service Chairman Peter Leary said.
Pledges also will be allowed to count non-fraternity sponsored service activities as long as they document them appropriately.
IFC members said they hope pledges will continue to serve the community after fulfilling the 10-hour requirement.
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The program "will help instill the importance of service in the pledges and allow them to carry with them this importance throughout their three and a half years" as fraternity members, IFC President Wes Kaupinen said.
IFC members said the new requirement formalizes a long-standing tradition of community service within the fraternity system.
"Most fraternities already have service as a component of the pledge process, so we are reaffirming what's already there," said Mike Christopher, IFC vice president for judiciary.
Although pledging already is time consuming, the service requirement will not be too difficult for pledges, IFC President-elect Justin Saunders said.
The community service requirement is "something that won't add on time to the pledgeship, but [it will] improve the quality of what they're doing," Saunders said.
Leary also said community service is a valuable way for pledges to spend time.
"I can think of few things that are more important for pledges to be involved in," he said.
IFC members hope the program will strengthen relationships between pledges and brothers, Saunders said.
"The proposal itself focuses on pledges, but at the same time its implications are more far-reaching than just the pledges themselves," he said.
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