CORRECTION: Due to a source error in Wednesday’s editorial “Fee has some benefits,” the board incorrectly said all four Greek councils voted to approve a fee proposal. The Interfraternity Council did not vote on the fee. The editorial has been amended to reflect this change.
Greeks are facing the possibility of a $12.50 fee per semester next year, even after it was voted down unanimously by the student fee audit committee.
While the proposed fee is quite large, the subcommittee should consider approving a reduced fee, which would still have many benefits for the Greek community.
The proposal, now with the student fee advisory subcommittee, would allocate revenue to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life and Community Involvement and only charge students after their first semester in a Greek organization.
Increased funding for the office would enable it to target areas of higher risk for Greeks, such as alcohol and substance abuse and violence.
Campus programs, such as One Act and Haven, are available to all students, but their budgets would not permit a massive influx of interested Greek students to complete the trainings. With money from the fee, the office would be able to subsidize the programs for fraternity and sorority members using the resources.
Women participating in Panhellenic recruitment would benefit if the process was subsidized. With the fee proposal, the restrictive recruitment fee could be significantly reduced or removed.
The increased funding would subsidize two smaller Greek branches, the National Pan-Hellenic Council and the Greek Alliance Council, allowing them to access the same opportunities that Panhellenic Council and the Interfraternity Council fund themselves.
While Greek students might initially be skeptical of another fee, Aaron Bachenheimer, director of fraternity and sorority life and community involvement, advises the organizations’ members to trust their councils’ leadership, three of which have voted to support the fee.
