After a historically brief election Shihwan Chung '02 of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was elected president of the Coed Fraternity and Sorority Council while the position of vice president was left unfilled due to a lack of candidates.
This year's election differed from last year's in both number of members seeking office and in the length of the meeting. The significantly smaller number of applicants overall contrasted strongly with the highly competitive races of past years, as did the 45-minute duration of the meeting, compared to last year's three-hour marathon session.
Neither Chung nor former CFSC President Eric Etu '01could offer any definitive explanation for the decline the number of aspirants.
Etu, however, told The Dartmouth that it may have been due to what he believed to be a "general sense of apathy on campus" or, in the case of the vice presidency, the work-intensive nature of the job. He also thought the decrease may have been due in part to the Student Life Initiative.
"I think the SLI process did come to a closure and not everyone was entirely thrilled with the results," he explained.
Although Etu reported feeling "disappointed" with the low turnout, he does not foresee the CFSC having a problem filling the position of vice president within the next few weeks.
Etu also said that he did not believe the small size of the candidate pool translated into less qualified individuals being selected.
"I'm very impressed with this group and I'm confident that [Chung] and the other execs will do a very good job," he said.
Indeed, as secretary and former vice president of SAE, a member of the Greek Life Steering Committee, Drug Abuse Peer Advisor in training and co-chair of the Dartmouth Special Olympics program, Chung is no stranger to leadership.
Even with such an experienced leader at the reigns, however, both Etu and Chung agreed this year's CFSC directorate has several important issues to tackle.
According to Etu, the group's constitution is in need of revision.
"It's old and could definitely use some work," he said.
As part of the revision process, Etu suggested that the new CFSC create rules and standards regarding secession and re-admission to the organization, an issue raised by Delta Delta Delta sorority's withdrawal from the CFSC last year.
Chung said that he hopes to help the organization to become a "vocal advocate" for the Greek system as a whole, especially regarding issues on which the Greeks and the administration do not always agree. Chung cited the decision to move rush from fall to winter term next year as one of these.
Ever-optimistic however, the new president views such issues as opportunities for growth rather than as insurmountable obstacles.
"With the Student Life Initiative I think that this is a very good time for the Greek System to improve and evolve," Chung said.
Other electees yesterday evening included Programming Liaisons Sarita Hudgins '03 of Sigma Delta sorority and Tracy Davis '01 of Phi Tau coeducational fraternity, Treasurer Kari Hacker '02 of Alpha Xi Delta sorority, Secretary Will Trepp '02 of Kappa Kappa Kappa fraternity and Events Manager Shayan Bhattacharyya '01 of SAE.
