The Interfraternity Council (IFC) is making a reappearance in Simpson College’s Greek Life community. Although the IFC is not new to the Simpson scene, it has not been active for several years. IFC is recognized across the country by different fraternities, but each campus is able to amend the constitution to fit its own needs.
The IFC is a council with rules and guidelines to oversee the fraternities on campus. Currently, the constitution is being amended by a committee with representatives from three all-male fraternities on campus. Each fraternity has its own bylaws for its members, and the IFC is a system to help all fraternities communicate and assist each other on campus. Jessica Stormoen, Fraternity and Sorority Life Area Coordinator, is assisting the committee in amending the constitution.
The IFC is also responsible for helping with scheduling events across the fraternities. This past fall during recruitment, they were not allowed to schedule events that overlapped with another fraternity’s event. Joe Degen, a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, who is part of the constitution committee said, “That’s like an ultimate goal, having a calendar so we see what Greek houses are holding which events, and that’s not just for recruitment. Overall, when we table in Kent for something or if we do an event outside.”
A more centralized way to communicate with each other is important during events such as Greek Week. Instead of fraternity members communicating 1 on 1 with each other, a council with representatives makes communication and planning far more efficient.
“Jessica is bringing this over from larger campuses she’s worked on, where they’ll have 10 or 15 Greek organizations operating under this,” Degen said.
Being able to alter the constitution to fit a smaller campus is what makes the IFC effective. Currently, the committee is reworking the guidelines to be implemented in the spring semester.
Joseph Wollum, a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, also part of the constitution committee said, “We did struggle right away because KOY [Kappa Theta Psi] was in it, they’re not a national fraternity. In order to be in IFC, you have to be a national fraternity.”
The IFC can be thought of as an umbrella over the three all-male fraternities. The guidelines set in place by the IFC apply to all three, but the individual fraternity also has its own rules they can set into place.
The IFC is not officially underway, currently the constitution committee is working on finalizing the bylaws and electing officers for the official council. Thursday, Nov. 21 officer positions will be elected and will go into effect in the spring semester. After the final constitution meeting in December, the committee will dissolve, and the elected council will take over.
