Alumni fraternity group reforms

To psychology professor Phillip Summers, there is no substitute for greek life.\n"Fraternities and sororities are an experience far above anything else a student has on campus," he said. "When you commit to a fraternity or a sorority that means you commit to their values, and you're going to be part of that group. That's the strength of the group, because people participate."\nSummers uses more than praise to support IU's greek system -- he is president of the Alumni Interfraternity Council.\nAfter a 10-year hiatus, the council began reorganizing last year and was officially reinstated in August. It's composed of former fraternity members and aims to unite alumni, who serve as advocates for greek life and work to improve and strengthen chapters.\n"AIFC is a positive milestone in the development of the IU fraternity community," said Steve Veldkamp, assistant dean of students.\nThe organization wants to have members representing all 26 fraternities on campus, but only about 20 are participating, Summers said.\n"I think maybe some of the alumni don't understand what we're doing or the importance of it," he said. "What we're really looking to is the future of the greek community at Indiana University."\nTo do this, Summers said the council acts as a continuing force in the fraternity system so chapters remain strong once members graduate. \nAlumni must be advocates for the fraternities because undergraduates alone can't improve the community, especially when it means talking with administrators, Summers said.\nOften, University officials view students as self-serving when they defend policies because they'll only be at school for a few years, Summers said. \n"The alumni, having had the fraternity experience and then been successful in their own career field, approach the trustees and the administration in a different way," he said. "They see us as people invested in the community to the point that we want to help it."\nAlumni approach University officials concerning issues such as housing and vandalism, Veldkamp said.\nThough Justin Sloan, Interfraternity Council president, has only attended one AIFC meeting so far, he said the organization is "definitely a big help" and a "valuable resource to IFC."\n"They normally get a lot of good things discussed," he said.\nOne of the council's goals is to strengthen the fraternity system by making it an asset to the campus and to have each chapter meet requirements set by their national counterparts, Summers said.\nHe also said the council also wants the University to provide an environment that will foster fraternity growth.\n"We want to make sure the policies the University develops do not in some way hinder the greek experience and that they're fair to greeks," he said.\nSummers said he hopes more alumni will become involved with the council.\n"It is tough for an 18- or 20-year-old person to direct a chapter of 100 men, especially because many are your peers," he said. "Having that alumni positive force makes a difference"