Interfraternity Council confirmed its first community liaison last week in an effort to foster a better relationship between the Northwestern Greek community and Evanston, said IFC president Jay Ward.
IFC, the governing council for the 18 traditional fraternities, appointed Weinberg junior Andrew Xia to the position. Xia’s job will be to act as the voice of IFC at Evanston City Council meetings and to relay city developments to NU.
“We’re not expecting an epic change” in city politics, said Ward, a Weinberg senior. “We can maybe have an impact on the formulation of policy.”
IFC was interested in creating the position because many of its members live in off-campus housing and are interested in decisions made by the City Council, Ward said.
This year’s liaison was selected among a pool of candidates voted on by IFC’s executive board. He was later confirmed by the IFC chapter presidents.
Ward said Xia was selected for his initiative and interest in the position.
Xia is a former Associated Student Government senator for IFC and served on the ASG academic committee for two years. This year, he is a Greek Student Counselor and acts as a liaison between the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and his fraternity, Beta Theta Pi. Xia said he applied for the position because of his long-standing interest in Evanston politics.
“It seems there is always a huge disconnect between the city and students,” Xia said. “I was interested in attending the City Council meetings and being the voice of the students.”
The liaison’s constant presence at meetings will help establish a “continual relationship” with the city, said Erin Huffman, assistant director of Fraternity and Sorority Life and adviser to IFC. Huffman added that IFC hopes this position will educate IFC about Evanston.
Huffman also said the position will benefit Evanston city officials because they will have a friendly face to turn to with questions or concerns.
Xia will attend his first meeting Nov. 28. The meeting will include a discussion about a new amendment to the liquor ordinance that bans people under the age of 21 from Evanston bars after midnight. Xia said he would speak on behalf of students who have raised concerns about the ordinance.
The issues he will raise during council meetings will pertain to NU students at large and not only members of the Greek community, Xia said. But because Xia will act as the spokesman for the entire IFC community, his opinion will carry more weight in council meetings, Huffman said.
For now Xia’s primary goal is to show Evanston that IFC is dedicated to more open dialogue.
“We want to work with them,” Xia said. “I’ve been e-mailing the aldermen (and) kind of letting them that we know that we do care and that we’re not just crazy college students,” Xia said.
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