The current state of the Penn State Greek community is one that is currently going through a major change. With the tragic incident at the Beta Theta Pi house involving the death of Timothy Piazza, new sanctions and rules have been implemented from the University to make the Greek community a safer place. With these sanctions come changes that our Zeta Zeta need to make as well.
Strides we have made to adhere to these new sanctions include:
- An updated Fraternity Education Program (that encompasses all members and not just associate members)
- Approval to continue our current associate member program (through an interview process with advisor Danelle Del Corso
- Various steps and rules added to make our social events safer when we are allowed to have events at the chapter house.
The IFC, as well as the Presidents’ Council, have been meeting on a weekly basis to make sure all houses on campus are on the same page when it comes to the new Greek Life reform. One key topic that the IFC and presidents are currently working through is the removal of a Fall Recruiting Class that the University passed in their latest sanctions. We believe that although we fully understand change needs to happen in the Greek community, the way the University has handled it without seeking the opinion from the IFC is not right. The abolishment of fall recruitment has several negative impacts, including a huge hit to Zeta Zeta’s house budget. By the time spring rolls around next year, freshmen will already be tied into apartment contracts. More than half of the brothers living in the house this year are sophomores, which means we would miss out by not welcoming new freshmen to the house next year. We are working hard on a weekly basis to communicate to the University our concerns and work out a final program that will be beneficial to ALL parties.
Tommy Martin
[email protected]