Members of the Interfraternity Council passed three pieces of legislation at their final meeting of the Spring Semester, one of which updates the IFC constitution and by-laws.
The new constitution and by-laws are more efficient, shorter and written in a better way, said Cory Eyler, who was in charge of redrafting the documents.
However, the passing of the legislation was bittersweet for IFC president Ben Tietz.
Before the vote, Tietz asked for the IFC members who reviewed the old constitution and by-laws and the proposed replacement to raise their hands.
He found the response unsatisfactory, calling the amount "pathetic."
Tietz noted later in the meeting that in conversation with fraternity chapter presidents, most were unaware of the legislation on the table.
"You are not doing your job," Tietz said to the representatives. "That is very disappointing."
Tietz also said that some of the chapter presidents have expressed dissatisfaction with their IFC representatives. He told the IFC members that many may be replaced next year due to the lack of communication between the council and individual chapters.
This was not the only problem discussed at the meeting.
Tietz and IFC members discussed the recent thefts of composites from chapters. Composites are large framed collections with individual photos found at chapter houses. Tietz said possibly nine out of the 13 fraternities have had their composites stolen recently.
Tietz estimates the cost of some of the framed composites at $3,000. He said the only way to steal the composites is to physically enter a fraternity house and remove the composite off the wall. One IFC member said his fraternity had special screws holding the frame, but the composite was still stolen.
In hopes of the return of the composites to their chapter houses, Tietz named Friday Amnesty Day. Anyone who has something that belongs to another fraternity can return it without consequences or questions asked.
The remaining two pieces of legislation centered on new members.
A second piece of legislation revised the recruitment rules and regulations, a procedure the council goes through at each semester. The new plan includes recruitment dates and regulations. Most regulations center around restrictions on recruitment activities.
According to a third piece of legislation, new members will be held to new academic standards.
The council passed legislation to help fraternity members improve their academic work. The IFC Learning Center Program legislation provides "a program designed to raise scholastic responsibility to all new members based on previous grade reports," according to the legislation.
The program is partially in response to recent chapter grade point average reports, which show most chapters are below the all-male average at Ball State, said Bo Moreland, IFC scholarship chairman and author of the legislation.
Each new member is required to complete three hours of study work per week, according to the plan. The program offers five options to complete these hours, including group tutoring, supplemental instruction sessions and individual study hours completed at the Learning Center North Quad Room 323.
Moreland said members of the faculty were very helpful during the development of the plan, including Learning Center director Laura Helms and Doug McConkey, vice president of student affairs.
"The university has shown a great concern for the academic performance of the greek community," Moreland said. "This program shows we are taking positive steps toward achieving better academics."
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