Sue Wasiolek, assistant vice president for student affairs, feels that fraternities, both nationally and at the University, need to return to their original values.
That is why Wasiolek is serving on the newly formed Interfraternity Council Board of Advisers, which will be working to restore principles of brotherhood, leadership and service to a fraternity system that she said has lately become more socially oriented.
"There needs to be a balance between the social commitments of fraternities and their commitment to leadership and service," Wasiolek said.
John Watt, Trinity '78 and chair of the IFC Board of Advisers, said that the body was formed this summer "to provide a platform where we can assist with resources for leadership excellence, provide a safety net for IFC and be a catalyst for IFC initiatives."
Watt, who serves on the national board of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity, said that there has been a significant lack of involvement at the University from the fraternities' national organizations and that the board will work actively to encourage a stronger advising system. "We currently don't have a lot of alumni coming in in a consulting fashion," he said. "We need to encourage the national headquarters to provide some stronger support for their chapters when necessary."
According to the working draft of the new organization's charter, the membership of the board will consist of "nationally recognized local leaders with interest and/or experience in greek life issues" in addition to representatives from IFC, the University's Board of Trustees and current and former faculty and administrators.
Dan Hill, Trinity '66 and a member of the board, said that the administration needs to supply a clear statement as to where it believes the greek system is headed over the next two to five years. "I would hope that the goal of this board is to have fraternities maintain an influential role on campus, and a lot of that depends on the goals of the administration," he said.
Because he is concerned with whether or not the administration is supportive of the fraternity system, Hill said that he is pleased with Wasiolek's involvement on the board. "I'm so glad to see at least one person within the administration that is supportive of the fraternity system. That makes her a very welcome member of the board," he said.
Wasiolek has been assigned to the position of adviser to the IFC by Janet Dickerson, vice president for student affairs.
Earlier this summer, members of the board expressed a desire that the adviser to IFC should be a man with greek experience, but that request was made before Wasiolek returned to the University from her nine-month departure to practice law, said Trinity senior Lex Wolf, IFC president. "We are very happy to have Dean Sue as our adviser and as a member of our board," he said.
With the many changes to residential life and the alcohol policy that have taken place this year, Hill said that this year will be a crucial test of the strength of the fraternity system and that the board's role will therefore be critical.
"Fraternities should not dwell on where they are now, but should instead move forward in a positive direction," he said. "They need to send a positive message to the freshmen living on East Campus that the fraternity system will continue to survive. This year's rush is the most important."
Despite Hill's concerns, Wolf said he is not as worried about the administration's views of the fraternity system. "It is no longer about what [the administration] is doing to us, it is what we are doing for ourselves," he said. "The creation of the IFC Board of Advisers sends the message that the IFC and its member fraternities are here to stay."
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