The Cornell Daily Sun (https://cornellsun.com/tag/ifc/)
After a surge of COVID-19 cases which the University linked to “informal off-campus gatherings”, Cornell is discouraging fraternities from hosting social events.
Due to investigations of misconduct, the administration has banned four Interfraternity Council chapters from recruiting new members during this semester’s rush process.
Greek life is one of the oldest and most controversial systems at Cornell. The current structure of Greek life that we’re familiar with has been decades in the making, and in this week’s Solar Flashback, we wanted to take a look back at some of the most significant policy changes involving social Greek organizations. As Greek life reforms come into the spotlight once again, it’s important to understand its history in order to gain insights for future change.
The changes attempt to reform many of fraternities’ traditional spring recruitment practices, which the Interfraternity Council president called “laissez-faire.”
Pollack said she appreciated the temporary steps made by the Interfraternity and Panhellenic Councils — which included a pause on social events and some reforms — but that she would fulfill her responsibility to protect student health and safety.
The family has taken out three days of full-page advertisements in The Sun publicizing an award for $10,000 and has hired an Ithaca-based private investigator in their search for information for the Cornell first-year who was found dead in an Ithaca gorge.
The Interfraternity Council’s most recent resolution targets “dirty rushing,” or the unpermitted recruitment of first-year students. In the past, most houses did partake in dirty rushing, IFC president Cristian Gonzalez ’20 said.
Cornell’s Interfraternity Council canceled nearly all regulated fraternity events for the rest of the fall semester Friday night, citing safety concerns. The ban — which will run until Jan. 1, 2020 — cited recent events as a catalyst which had made “inherent safety hazards” apparent within the existing Greek life social system.
A Panhellenic Council proposal to freeze social mixers failed to collect unanimous support on Wednesday, despite a majority of Panhel sorority delegates voting in favor of the contentious plan to stop mixing with Interfraternity Council fraternities until the IFC undertook safety reforms.
On Friday, the President of the Panhellenic Council proposed an unprecedented shift in Greek Life on campus: a freeze of all social mixers between member sororities and fraternities on campus until the Interfraternity Council and Executive Board upped safety measures for party-goers.