Next term the Coed, Fraternity, Sorority Council may permanently restructure itself into a policy making body, shifting away from its previous programming activities, Assistant Dean of Residential Life Deb Reinders said.
The remake would require changes in its membership and the CFSC's Constitution and Minimum Standards. Programming would become the responsibility of the CFSC subcouncils: the Interfraternity, Panhellenic, Coed and National Pan Hellenic Councils.
The new structure was implemented this fall on a trial basis and will be proposed to Dean of the College Lee Pelton after some adjustments, Reinders said.
Chris Donley '95, president of the CFSC, officially proposed the restructuring in a letter to Reinders last May. He said the language of the constitution and the voting system still needs revision before it is appropriate to submit to Pelton.
Donley said the revamped structure is intended to give the president of each house more direct decision making ability.
The main power of the revised CFSC would rest with the Presidents' Council, comprised of the presidents of each of the 28 College-recognized CFS houses.
The current CFSC model gives most of the policy making power to the Executive Committee. As described in the Dartmouth College Coed Fraternity Sorority System Constitution and Minimum Standards, the Executive Committee is composed of the CFSC president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, programming chair, public relations chair and the chairs from the IFC, Panhell, Coed and Pan Hell Councils.
"We decided we wanted to make the CFSC more responsive to the individual houses and not just a group of executives," Donley said.
The current CFSC is also much larger than the proposed council. Each house sends its president and another representative to the CFSC. A representative from the Sexual Awareness through Greek Education and another from the National Order of Omega are also members of the current CFSC.
The new CFSC would eliminate one representative from each CFS house, leaving only the 28 presidents.
Under the present system, Reinders said, the house presidents are involved, but it is "more indirectly." She said, "The Presidents never had an opportunity to sit down with the executives on a weekly basis to discuss issues."
Other positions also face elimination under the restructuring. The public relations chair on the Executive Committee would be eliminated and the secretary and treasurer jobs would be consolidated into one position under the new CFSC.
In his proposal to Reinders, Donley wrote that the CFS supports the changes "in order to make the CFSC a more effective governing body." Donley also wrote in the letter that at a presidents' meeting last May, the CFSC presidents voted in favor of the proposal 24-0 with two abstentions.