In the spring semester of 2020, Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) member Ryan Ahern ’20 launched the Not in Our House Campaign. Working with the Gettysburg College Office of Sexual Respect and Title IX, Ahern hoped to combat sexual assault and gender violence throughout campus with Greek organizations at the forefront of the fight. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, however, the campaign did not gain traction.
Now, Gettysburg College’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) is relaunching Not in Our House. Beginning last semester with the work of Caden Simons ’24 and Ries Faller ’22, the IFC has collaborated with the Office of Student Activities & Greek Life (OSAGL) Assistant Director Trevor McClenon and Title IX Director Amanda Blaugher to bring the program back.
This semester, IFC President Jacob Kezmarsky ’24, IFC Service and Programming Chair Cameron Case ’25 and IFC Inclusion Chair Henry Namiot ’23 are spearheading the initiative.
“I felt like [Not in Our House] was just needed again. People, and fraternity men in general, need more education and better guidance,” said Kezmarsky.
The goal of the campaign is “to hold fraternity men more accountable for their actions, guiding fraternity men in their decision making, and building a safer community for our peers.”
To begin the relaunch, the IFC has worked with McLenon and Blaugher to create an anonymous survey that will aid in framing their conversation on the central themes of the Not in Our House program. This survey was first sent out to all fraternity chapter presidents and then to all sorority women on Feb. 6, but they plan to send it to the greater campus community as well.
“We’re using the survey as a way to frame our discussion on what kind of work people want to see in our program because we thought it was very valuable to have that kind of input,” explained Case.
