The Interfraternity Council here at SMU (a council consisting of the nine IFC fraternities here on campus) is probably better known for having a good time than for giving back to the community.
We are consistently in the news for doing this or that wrong, or for having some sanction placed against one of our houses, but what is very rarely talked about is the other side of fraternity life: the values.
Each of our houses has core values such as virtue, friendship, scholarship, diligence and service and every member of our community spends the first eight weeks of his fraternity experience learning what these values mean.
Living out these principles doesn’t stop there, and the IFC community has made some serious strides over the course of the last year in improving not only the image of the fraternity/Greek system here at SMU, but the ways in which fraternities give back to the community as a whole.
A lot of people on campus are aware of the major parties hosted by our houses during the week of Halloween, but very few know that the IFC held an event called “Trick or Treat on Greek Street” where we hosted hundreds of urban elementary school kids for Halloween goodies in front of each of our houses.
In addition to hosting “Trick or Trick on Greek Street,” the IFC also partners with Special Olympics to host a volleyball tournament by providing facilities, equipment, T-shirts, food, transportation, coaches and officials for a day of fun and friendly competition.
It is unfortunate that the number of alcohol violations given to each of the houses has received more press and is probably better known than the amount of money raised by our community for charity, but IFC raised more than $13,000 for the March of Dimes last year and the fraternity system as a whole raised well over $50,000 for numerous charities throughout the nation.
Another interesting fact that often goes overlooked on campus is that the IFC average GPA has been consistently higher (for at least the past four semesters) than the average non-Greek male’s GPA. Fraternity men aren’t historically known for excelling in academics, but times are changing and there are numerous members of our Greek system who are involved in academic clubs and honors societies and are members in all the schools here on campus.
The SMU IFC also unveiled its campaign to “Frat Responsibly” to show that it is important to be safe and make smart decisions while having a good time.
The campaign included multiple forms of media such as pens, posters in public areas/residence halls and t-shirts distributed to every member of the fraternity community.
A major component of the new campaign is the newly developed IFC Late Night, which includes sober parties from 9:00 PM to 1:00 AM at a fraternity house on a weeknight. It is always co-hosted by one or two sororities and is open to the entire campus.
The image of the SMU Fraternity system is one rooted in mistakes of the past and a misunderstanding of the values that unite the fraternities here on campus.
The IFC is doing its part to fundamentally change this image and we are dedicated to the hard work needed to remain a valued partner in education to the university and administration.
Haynes Strader is a junior political science and advertising double major. He can be reached for comment at [email protected].