IFC and administration address MoCos, social climate

On Sept. 14, Lehigh’s Interfraternity Council held a meeting to address the social climate on campus —specifically in regards to the excessive amounts of trash, noise and most importantly, concern for safety. Edward Shupp, the chief of the Lehigh University Police Department, and other important members of Lehigh’s administration were attended the meeting.

“In the past there wasn’t much transparency between the administration and the councils or student groups,” said Brendan McCullagh, the vice president of the Interfraternity Council. “But in the past few years it has been much better.”

Matthew Bay, the president of the Interfraternity Council, admitted that since being back at school, there has been a breakdown in how Greek organizations handle their off-campus events. While this is the case, the IFC and administration were able to discuss this problem through a forum that allowed open and honest discussion among everyone involved.

Among the problems that were discussed, the constant noise complaints associated with large parties seemed to be a common thread. From parties late on Tuesday nights to morning cocktails, or MoCos, at 9 a.m. on Saturday mornings, it was agreed on both ends that it is important to be conscious of the South Bethlehem community and understand how Lehigh students’ activities affect the quality of life for local residents.

“We put cards on the table about safety, about expectations about social life, off-campus versus on-campus,” Shupp said.

As of the spring semester of 2015, 41 percent of all undergraduates at Lehigh were involved in a Greek organization. Since the Greek community has a large presence on campus, many believe its organizations are responsible for being a positive representation of Lehigh.

Brown and White Fridays are catching on as a weekly tradition at Lehigh. Since Founder’s Day is on Friday, the IFC is trying to restructure MoCos into a tailgate in order to support the hardworking student athletes.

During the meeting, Bay emphasized that the IFC has been passionate about making it more convenient for members of fraternities and sororities to access the tailgates prior to the football games. The administration worked with the IFC and moved the bus pickup location to behind M&M and Taylor halls, starting at 9:30 a.m., so it would be closer to the Hill.

“Instead of everyone being separate,” Bay said, “we talked about what it would look like if we were more united as not only a Greek community, but as a student body, organization and school.”