In the past four weeks, UCLA’s Interfraternity Council has instituted patrols of fraternity row to improve accountability within the Greek system.
Problems have arisen in recent years because many fraternities do not complete paperwork or follow policies when they hold events and then do not expect repercussions, said Cory Brandt, the IFC vice president of risk management.
Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol is the entity that makes sure Greek chapters know and adhere to policies of safety and risk management. GAMMA, however, has been a dormant organization for many years, said Greek advisor Mande Adams.
Now IFC plans to rebuild GAMMA through the increased meetings and patrols, Brandt said.
“We’re … developing a different perception of what GAMMA is,” Adams said.
This change in perception involves hosting weekly meetings with IFC and Panhellenic members to make sure they know the rules, and collaborating more closely with university police, Adams said.
Brandt said IFC is requiring each IFC fraternity and Panhellenic sorority to have one representative to patrol for GAMMA in pairs at least once a quarter, so instead of being restricted by only authorities, peers are regulating each other on Thursdays, Fridays and possibly Sundays.
The point of GAMMA is not to get people in trouble but rather to make sure the Greek community knows and follows the correct procedures to prevent a situation in which the police or university have to become involved, said Kayla Staples, a fourth-year sociology student and former Panhellenic vice president of risk management of 2008-2009.
Brandt received the applications for GAMMA this week, and the official patrols will begin spring quarter, he said.
Ramzi Dudum, IFC president and a third-year study of religion student, said building up GAMMA was a part of his goal when he became president in January.
“We’re trying to enforce something that hasn’t been enforced before,” Dudum said. “And that’s a learning process.”
Brandt said one of his goals is to eliminate the gray area within the Greek system.
For example, social probation is not a concrete term, Brandt said. There are varying degrees of probation, and houses may receive different levels of punishment for the same violation.
“We’re trying to make it black and white … because you can’t enforce something if you don’t have anything to back it up,” Brandt said.
IFC provided a list of sanctions to multiple houses during the fall and winter quarters for disregarding the rules, Brandt said.
Dudum said he could not comment on which houses have been contacted or reprimanded for breaking IFC laws.
The council has also begun holding weekly meetings to clarify the policies fraternities and sororities must follow, including registering events one week in advance and conducting safe social and philanthropic events, Brandt said.
Members of fraternities said they were reminded of the rules at the beginning of the quarter.
Lamda Chi Alpha external vice president Nigel Frazier said IFC contacted his fraternity earlier this quarter because they were holding an unregistered social event.
According to Frazier, the fraternity received a letter that advised against holding social events for the remainder of the quarter and provided a list of strongly encouraged and required activities, including increased philanthropy and events that promote a positive Greek presence on campus.
“I’m sure we’d all love to have no rules in the Greek system, but that’s not the case,” said Patrick Slater, president of Sigma Chi, which has been on social probation since last year.
Most members of Frazier’s fraternity thought the requirements and suggestions were fair, he said, and recognized IFC’s role in maintaining a safe and positive Greek community on campus.
To make sure chapters are now adhering to the rules, IFC began patrols of Greek row on Thursday and Friday nights about four weeks ago, Dudum said.
“We saw that there was a need for (the patrols), and it’s our duty to fulfill that need for the Greek community,” he said.
Usually, patrols will only happen during recruitment and blackout (non-alcoholic) periods, not in the middle of the quarter, Brandt said.
Currently the system consists of the 10 IFC council members who take turns walking around on Thursday and Friday nights to make sure everything is under control so police or the university does not have to get involved, he added.
Since the patrols began, Brandt said he has not had to intervene in any situations involving illegal events, proving how effective a clarification of the rules can be.
Nevertheless, university police have registered the same number of noise complaints at fraternities in the month before and after patrols began.
“It’s pretty much business as usual,” said UCPD captain John Adams.
Noise complaints are a common issue, and officers occasionally see other problems such as underage drinking, John Adams said.