The Coed Fraternity Sorority Council approved an amendment to their programming standards Tuesday night, requiring organizations to expand programming beginning this Spring term -- including non-alcoholic and coed event requirements -- or face a fine.
The primary change reflected in the guidelines is a requirement ensuring a Greek sponsored non-alcoholic event, such as dance parties, concerts and performances, every weekend night while classes are in session.
Although the new standards address some of the issues raised in the Trustee's five principles for social and residential change, they have been in development since the beginning of Winter term, according to Coed Fraternity Sorority Council co-programming liaisons Michael Orchowski '00 and Lyndsay Harding '00.
"We want our organizations to become the campus leaders in non-alcoholic programming of all sorts," Orchowski said.
A coeducational programming standard requires that all single-sex organizations plan and carry out at least two events per term that are actively coeducational and jointly organized with other CFS organizations.
"The pairing of the sororities and fraternities is done to help encourage better gender relations in a way that will be fun for both groups," Orchowski said.
In addition, each house must host one event with an intellectual focus and another with a cultural or diversity focus, one of which must be open to the entire campus.
Community service and membership development regulations have been modified to encourage more cohesive events promoting sisterhood or brotherhood. Service events must be house organized with each active member performing at least one hour of service per term, Harding said.
To enforce the guidelines, a grading and fine system has been set up. At the end of each term a house submits a programming report which is evaluated by the CFS programming chair and the Assistant Dean of Residential Life.
"We were concerned that the existing programming standard was minimal and we felt we should be offering more programming to the campus at large," Orchowski said.
Houses that receive failing grades will be assessed a fine of five dollars per active member. Money collected from fines assessed will be used to grant three awards for the best or most improved programming.
Orchowski and Harding said although many organizations already have programming that meets the new standards, the new regulations are intended to ensure all CFS organizations are contributing equally to campus programming.
"Right now we have a large discrepancy in the programming reports we receive from the different CFS organizations," Harding said. "Things like this have been happening, it's just going to ensure that they happen more consistently."
"There are some organizations right now that are doing programming that even exceeds the new standard, but certainly not all are doing that, and some groups may have to put a good deal of work into meeting it," Orchowski said.
The new standards expand the total programming responsibilities of each CFS house, requiring at least five events per term from organizations with less than 50 active members and six events from those with over 50 active members.
The old standards required four events per term at each house.
