The Interfraternity Council will convene tonight and interview the four presidential tickets in this year’s UPUA election. The event begins at 9:00 pm in 101 Thomas. The IFC has published an open letter in advance of the meeting outlining its expectations for a chosen UPUA ticket.

The IFC endorsement is a meaningful one, perhaps more so than any other organization’s. It’s not surprising to see the IFC state outright that it will hold its chosen duo accountable during their time in office. For the past three years, IFC leadership has appeared to be held accountable by its constituents, the Greek community, to a larger degree than their UPUA counterparts. Now, in turn, it seems the Greek community is asking the same of its student government.

Attention UPUA Candidates:
 
Tomorrow night, you are invited to present to the Interfraternity/Panhellenic Greek Community Coalition. You will have the opportunity to speak in front of the presidents of the IFC fraternities and PHC sororities in hopes of getting our endorsement. As a result, you will gain access to our ListServ and gain our support for your election bid.
 
But we want you to know that this year we will be holding you accountable for your actions while you are in office. The IFC has brainstormed a list of issues that we deem important to our Council and that we would like you to advocate for on our behalf:
 
Key issues: We want leaders who will work had on student life.
Fiscally responsible leaders: We want leaders with the experience and know-how to lobby on behalf of all Penn State students in Old Main and in Harrisburg.
State Patty’s Day: This past semester we launched a Community Coalition and helped encourage responsible behavior on State Patty’s Day. University administrators, downtown officials and the State College Police Department recognized our efforts. However, student government should have stepped up to plate to encourage responsible behavior with us.
Environmentally responsible students: We’d like to see student government work with the Borough Council through the non-voting student member to allocate us more trashcans from the Borough at Fraternity houses to help our efforts in cleaning up our houses.
Open lines of communication: We want leaders who will meet regularly with IFC leadership and general fraternity members through formal settings like Greek Forums but also at Chapter meetings. But we recognize that it’s important for all students to have access to their leaders. So we want leaders to meet regularly with all students.
Lobby with Greeks for the Collegiate Housing Infrastructure Act (CHIA) which allows Greeks to raise tax deductable funds.
Town and Gown relations with freshmen: We’d like to see UPUA reach out to freshmen and encourage responsible behavior. Let them know that our Fraternity houses are homes — not playgrounds — and they should be treated with respect. We already do this, but UPUA can help push that State College is a community where citizens reside and people raise families.
 
We look forward to hearing your ideas tomorrow night at 9 p.m. in 101 Thomas Building.
 
Sincerely,
The Interfraternity Council