New Greek Leadership Council

by Brian Ross

The presidents of all Greek organizations voted last Monday, October 1, to replace the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council (CFSC) with the new Greek Leaders Council (GLC). The new council will be made up of the presidents of all College recognized Greek organizations, a non-voting moderator, and the presidents of the Greek sub-councils, who will not be able to vote in meetings. Brent Kesler, the newly elected moderator, will maintain GLC financial accounts, which will be used for Greek-wide events only, moderate meetings, and grade programming reports. In addition, the GLC will have a Public Relations Manager and a Social Events Manager, neither of whom will attend weekly meetings. Stephen Dietz was also recently elected Social Events Manager.

The GLC replaces the now-defunct CSFC. Most members of the sub-councils viewed the CSFC as inadequate and tied down by bureaucratic red tape. Tasha Francis, the president of the Panhellenic Council, which governs the sororities of Dartmouth, praised the streamlined council, saying, "There are not so many people between what the administrators are saying and what the presidents are hearing." The GLC is expected to improve communication, as the administration will no longer speak to the head council, but rather to the sub-councils themselves. This improvement should limit problems like those experienced by Chi Heorot last year with Minimum Standards.

The GLC is also expected to better serve the diverse interests of the Greek community at large, which include the Interfraternity Council, the governing body for all fraternities, the Panhellenic Council, which governs over sororities, and the Coed Council, the body for coed houses. According to Eric Powers ‘02, the president of the IFC, the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council, "was prevented from getting any significant work accomplished…" because of "the diversity of organizations within Dartmouth’s Greek system." The GLC solves this problem by delegating authority over problems concerning specific groups back to the sub-councils. For example, if a concern arises concerning only the sorority houses, the Panhellenic Council could assume control of the situation rather than bringing the issue up to the GLC, where it could get bogged down in other issues. The GLC will be a place where issues that relate to the Greek system as a whole – issues that relate to not only the Panhellenic Council, but to the IFC and the Coed Council as well – are discussed. The Greek Leaders Council will not interact with the administration, since that responsibility now falls on the sub-councils. This further promotes the diversity between the Greek Councils. Powers also said, "… the GLC allows for each sub-council to offer its distinct opinion rather than allowing a singular figurehead to work with the administration."

The GLC will place much more responsibility on the sub-councils. Each council is more accountable to their own houses now, as problems that arise within a fraternity or a sorority are not brought up to the GLC. Furthermore, it could allow one council to issue an opinion that does not coincide with the opinion of another. Tasha Francis confirmed this, saying, "In this system, if an inappropriate action occurs in a non-sorority house, we now have the opportunity to voice our opinion independently." The GLC will also force the sub-councils to focus more on their own houses. The Panhellenic Council will form an internal review board that will mediate any conflicts that might arise within the sororal system. According to Powers, the IFC will also undergo changes, as programming for fraternities now falls strictly on the shoulders of the sub-councils. Monetary responsibility will also fall on the sub-councils, as the GLC is not responsible for the allocation of funds. "Finally, and perhaps most important," Powers added, "the fraternities will execute policy that better satisfies their needs." Policies and events established for all Greek organizations are often watered down according to the needs of each group. The GLC is also expected to help the Coed houses. Frederick Hurley, the president of the Coed Council, said, "I think the GLC will be much better able to serve the needs of the Coeds. Since much of the power of the CSFC has now been divested into the subcouncils, the…Presidents can now meet in a smaller session with each council having an equal voice…, whereas before the voices of the three houses were lost in CFSC meetings." The Coed houses will now be able to better address issues that directly affect their own houses, a big help to the smaller council. Hurley added, "The Coed Council will be taking on more responsibility for such things as coordinating programming among its houses, and helping to plan multi-council activities." The GLC will indeed bring more responsibility to the individual councils.

When asked for a statement concerning the GLC, Cassie Barnhardt of the Office of Residential Life replied, "ORL is supportive of assisting CFS students to create a governance structure that will help them best achieve their goals."