Interfraternity Council to focus on accountability, inclusivity next academic year

Members of the incoming Interfraternity Council for the 2017-2018 academic year believe they can cast a more positive light on the Greek community.

They have identified the problems that will be guiding principles and goals for their upcoming terms.

Bryce Macomber, ’18, will serve as the IFC president. He is a member of Sigma Chi fraternity and served as its president from March 2016 to 2017. Prior to that, Macomber was house manager for his chapter.

He said it was through his positive experiences with Greek life that he became interested in serving as IFC president.

“Greek life has given me many opportunities to grow outside the traditional classroom environment,” Macomber said. “I believe that every student here on campus should have the opportunity to engage in the same experience that I have.”

One of Macomber’s goals as IFC president is to help refocus attention on the positive impact Greek life creates for its members and the Lehigh and Bethlehem communities.

After events this semester, Macomber hopes to shift away from the negative attention and believes he is a good candidate to reflect and realign IFC’s objectives in order to create a more positive change on campus.

The largest issues Macomber sees within the Greek community have much to do with taking responsibility for actions, on an individual level as well as a chapter level.

“Members do not hold themselves accountable to themselves or their own chapters, and chapters do not always hold themselves accountable to one another or their respective governing councils,” Macomber said.

Macomber wants incoming board members to act as an advisory body to each of IFC’s 17 chapters.

He hopes by offering his and the board’s own experiences and expertise to executive boards and general members of chapters, they will encourage each organization to think about the meaning behind their actions and their true intent.

Andrew Brown, ’18, is also a member of Sigma Chi and will serve as the vice president of judicial affairs. As VPJ, Brown will serve as chairman of the IFC Judicial Committee and oversee its operation.

“It’s my responsibility to meet with chapters when they are in violation of policy or when they are close to being in violation,” Brown said.

Of these violations, some of the most common Brown will deal with are disorderly house citations, recruitment policy violations and experimental party weekend issues.

Brown wants to create standard expectations across chapters and hold members accountable to these expectations through the Interfraternity Judicial Council.

“I think opening the lines of communication can help get IFC members on the same page,” Brown said. “Across the IFC Chapters, there is a wealth of knowledge that could be of use to other chapters, and I want to make this available to everyone through a more unified and communicative system.”

Ian Davis, ’18, will serve as vice president of IFC. Davis just completed his term as president of Alpha Epsilon Pi.  He will work closely with the president and other board members in setting IFC’s goals for the upcoming year.

Davis plans on focusing on IFC’s outreach with both Greek and non-Greek organizations and student centers on campus.

“I hope to have a positive and lasting impact on our Greek community,” Davis said. “I intend on working with IFC, OFSA (Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs) and other on-campus organizations to create a safer social environment on campus.”

Davis plans on educating fraternity men and Lehigh students in general on the best practices for risk management. He believes clearing up confusion on Lehigh’s medical amnesty policy and holding discussions to raise awareness on gender violence will lead to positive change in the community.