The Inter-Sorority Council passed new bylaws last week that will restrict the amount of time and money that can be spent during big sister week.
Big sister week, an event in which new members are pampered by older members in their sorority, occurs sometime between mid-February and early March, depending on the sorority. Every sorority at the University participates in this tradition.
The new restrictions include a $375 spending ceiling for each big sister as well as a four-day limit on the amount of time that activities can fill, acting ISC President Cahill Zoeller said.
The addition was added in hopes of making big sister week a more equal environment for new members, she added.
"The changes help maintain a level playing field -- regardless of money, we can make everyone feel special," said Megan Bergthold, Delta Gamma sorority's vice president for programming. "It is possible to get caught up, and it helps keep things equal."
These restrictions were the product of months of talks between the ISC executive board and chapter representatives, Zoeller said. This was the first time in the ISC's 26-year history that the topic of big sister week regulations were discussed, she added.
"We wanted to evaluate the purpose of big sister week and focus on what values are being portrayed," Zoeller said.
The new bylaws, which were first proposed by ISC member Kat Shea, were originally intended to be recommendations aimed at the University's 16 sororities, she said.Upon further consideration, they were deemed important enough to be voted as actual bylaws.
For bylaws to be added, they must be passed by chapter representatives.After each proposal is brought up in a weekly ISC meeting, each chapter representative presents it to their respective sorority.When every sorority has talked with their chapter representative, the representatives meet and vote on the proposition. This proposal passed unanimously in the ISC.
There are currently no specific penalties outlined, in the event a violation of these new bylaws occurrs. A possible consequence the ISC may assign is community service, Zoeller said.
"This is another step taken this year by the ISC to really evaluate sorority life at the University and make an effort to make it more positive," she said.
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