The Coed Fraternity and Sorority Council passed last Tuesday the proposal it will submit to the Trustee Steering Committee for the Student Life Initiative - one of the recommedations include a program to slowly phase out alcohol from CFSC houses over a period of five years.
Instead of framing their proposal based solely on the Five Principles, the CFSC decided to address the problems it saw with the current College social system and drafted solutions to those problems, CFSC president Jaimie Paul '00 said.
One of the problems, reflected in the Five Principles, was the unsafe use and abuse of alcohol.
To combat what it calls the "culture of drinking" at the College, the CFSC proposes that "some (but not all) houses receive financial incentives to phase out alcohol completely over an extended period of time" in a program it calls Select 2000.
Paul said the "dry" houses can chose to have alcohol included for members-only and invitation events.
The alcohol-free option is intended to increase student options in the available social opportunities.
Paul said a major reason for including this recommendation in the proposal was that it was suggested by Trustee Peter Fahey who heads the Steering Committee.
The financial incentive from Select 2000 will encourage houses to maintain their organizations' facilities and put money towards refurbishing instead of alcohol, Paul said.
The Greek houses that choose to participate can decide for themselves how they want to design a local charter to phase out alcohol. The only provision maintained is that they will not serve alcohol at open parties.
In addition to providing students with greater non-alcoholic options, the proposal also mandates that all-inclusive houses, both coed and single sex, be represented under the CFSC to increase the options available to students.
According to the proposal, the four types of residential organizations will be equally represented under the CFSC - exclusive and single sex, exclusive and coeducational, all-inclusive and single sex and all-inclusive coeducational.
The Tabard is currently the only Greek organization that is not exclusive, Paul said.
The proposal also added two amendments to the CFSC constitution, one that gives each of the four CFSC constituents - IFC, Panhellenic Council, Pan-Hellenic Council and the coed houses - a vote on the CFSC.
The second amendment proposes to institute "Standards of Excellence" - a Greek house evaluation system - to improve upon the existing program that is run by the College.
Instead of answering to the College for physical plant evaluations, the Greek houses will be examined by six members of the CFSC in the areas of academics, behavior, leadership, physical plant and programming.
"We have minimum standards run by the College, but [the new system] is kind of a check on ourselves," Paul said. Some houses exceed minimum standards and holding houses accountable to their peers will ensure that an organization is "not slacking off and pulling us down."
The Greek council also included in its proposal non-Greek related suggestions such as better residence hall study areas, improved athletic facilities, "squatter's rights" for residences and the establishment of more student-controlled social space.
The proposal also states that disparity between fraternities and sororities be eliminated by a "more inclusive rush process" - a suggestion met with controversy when introduced.
Although the Panhellenic Council, guarantees a bid to all women participating in the rush process, the 14 Interfraternity Council organizations give out their own bids to men interested in pledging.
Last Wednesday the IFC passed new rush guidelines to help minimalize the number of students interested in joining the Greek system who do not receive bids.
