The Inter-Fraternity Council revised its Judiciary Committee bylaws last Thursday as the first in a series of steps to reduce liability and strengthen the fraternity system.
One of the major revisions, informally titled the "gentleman's bylaw," stemmed from last fall's blackface incident at a joint Halloween party thrown by Kappa Alpha and Zeta Psi fraternities, said David Bowman, IFC vice president of judiciary.
"The fraternities couldn't be held accountable [in the past] for anything because they didn't violate any [specific] IFC standards of conduct," Bowman said.
The "gentleman's bylaw" provides grounds for a judiciary sanction should any IFC fraternity member engage in conduct that sheds a negative light on the fraternity system, IFC President Ryan Ewalt said.
As stated in the Judiciary Committee bylaws, the IFC could impose sanctions on any fraternity member who engages in "conduct that is incompatible with the good character and personal responsibility expected of all members of the fraternity community and that dishonors the fraternity system at the University of Virginia."
"The standards of conduct, [including] rush violations and social violations, are more clearly defined," Bowman said.
Other minor bylaw revisions included grammatical and organizational changes.
"We made the whole document more coherent through reorganization and amendment," Bowman said. "Overall it is easier to understand."
Another step in the IFC's liability reduction process is scheduled to take place at an educational forum held tomorrow by Commerce Prof. John Wheeler for chapter presidents, social chairs and risk management chairs, Ewalt said.
The forum will address issues ranging from social host liability to incorporation, said Aaron Laushway, associate dean of students and director of fraternity and sorority life.
"Social host liability is a big concern for [IFC fraternities] in terms of people's safety when they leave our parties," IFC Spokesperson Scott Cohen said.
Each IFC chapter president submitted a liability-related question that Wheeler will address at the forum, Cohen said.
For instance, some fraternity members may want to know their personal liability in the event that someone who had attended a fraternity party ends up going to the hospital for alcohol-related illnesses or accidents, he added.
"The point is that serving alcohol has criminal and civil consequences, particularly if an underage person is served," Wheeler said.
Wheeler also will address another one of the IFC's long-term goals of incorporation.
"The way we're set up now, if something happened someone could sue Ryan personally, sue me personally or sue our parents," Cohen said. "If the IFC were a corporation someone could only sue the IFC treasury."
Current incorporation plans have not yet been finalized, Bowman said.
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