Move over IFC NPHC and Panhel.
Leaders of culturally based Greek organizations met for a second time Wednesday to plan a fourth Greek council for themselves. The new council will have the same powers as Interfraternity Council, Panhellenic Association and National Pan-hellenic Council, said Sean Thomas, interim associate director of Greek affairs.
Representatives who attended the meeting said the new council would help meet the needs of groups that IFC and Panhel cannot fulfill because those councils focus on the larger fraternities and sororities.
Lambda Theta Alpha and Sigma Lambda Gamma, both Latina-based sororities, are associate members of Panhel. Omega Delta Phi, a Latino-based fraternity, is an associate member of IFC.
Melissa Romero, a member of LTA, said since the culturally based chapter don’t recruit members through rush or participate in events such as Gone Greek Night, many topics Panhel discusses don’t concern them.
“A lot of the things Panhel talks about don’t pertain to us,” Romero said. “We hope that this council will provide a better place to discuss issues that pertain to us.”
Jose Alonso, president of ODPhi, agreed. Alonso said the new council would give groups the power to create policies relevant to them and to have more control over their issues.
For example, he said, IFC rush procedures do not work for his fraternity.
“Since we are smaller and newer, we do different types of recruitment,” Alonso said.
Alonso also said the council will be instrumental in improving communication between chapters. Working together is important because many of the culturally based Greek organizations share a primary focus on service, he said.
“My No. 1 goal for the council is to create a venue for communication between minority Greeks,” he said.
Thomas said leaders began thinking of forming a fourth council when SLG, NU’s first Latina-based sorority, received official recognition from Northwestern in October 2000.
Writing a constitution and bylaws will be the first step toward establishing the new council.
Representatives at the meeting agreed that each of the five chapters will choose a member by the end of the week to be part of a committee that will write the constitution. The members will be responsible for representing their organization’s interests.
After the constitution is written, it will have to be approved by William Banis, vice president for student affairs, so the council can receive official university recognition.
Two Asian-based organizations, fraternity Lambda Phi Epsilon and sorority Kappa Phi Lambda, also had representatives at the meeting. Though they are not recognized by NU, members of those organizations said helping form the council could be a step toward gaining recognition.
Houses in the new council likely would be able to have dual membership in Panhel or IFC if they choose to do so, Thomas said.
Though LTA members at the meeting asked about the possibility of remaining in Panhel, Romero said there would be benefits to having a council tailored to the needs of the smaller chapters.
“If we do it, I’m going to be glad for the chance to network with other multicultural groups to plan more events,” Romero said.
