Longwood’s fall InterFraternity Council, (IFC) walk was held Friday, Sept. 9. The walk displayed the seven recognized fraternities on campus as they accepted bids for new members. IFC is the umbrella organization on campus that is in charge of all the recognized fraternities. There are several fraternities that are “unrecognized,” meaning that they operate outside of campus and may not follow all of Longwood’s policies. Subsequently, they do not receive the benefits that a recognized fraternity does.
The event was quite a sight to see with the organizations’ flags, the toga outfits that members of Alpha Sigma Phi, Inc. opted to wear and one student in a gorilla costume who announced that he was dressed as Harambe, the late Cincinnati Zoo gorilla.
“36 percent of our campus is involved in a social sorority or social fraternity,” stated Sean Ryan, the associate director for fraternity and sorority life. He has been in this position since June, and was previously in a leadership and development position at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where he, “worked with about 32 fraternities and sororities.” He said that this year’s Fall IFC walk had about the same number of people involved as last year, which is, “phenomenal, considering that we essentially pushed up fall walk by two weeks…(it shows) the groups and their ability to connect with the students on campus, and it really shows the positive aspects of going Greek.”
The spring IFC walk is usually larger than the one held in the fall because of Longwood’s policy that all students must first complete 12 credit hours before joining a Greek organization. The size of the event is also reflective of the student population. Last year a large number of seniors graduated, so the quantity of people that attended was slightly lower, but was still a good turnout overall.
“It’s a test to the fact that they want to get involved. They want to take advantage of opportunities. They want to know their network on campus,” said Ryan. He also notes that students who are in Greek organizations “actually have a higher GPA than the overall population on campus.” Ryan believes that Longwood’s number of Greek chapters, including four Alpha chapters, on campus is unique for a Division I state school.
The fall IFC walk is held annually. Though, Greek organizations accept new members each semester. The spring IFC walk will be held next semester, and students can sign up for that at the Fraternity and Sorority Life web portal. The open house for College Panhellenic Council, (CPC) who is in charge of the sororities, will be held on Sept. 17. The 2017 Sorority recruitment registration form is currently available to Longwood students.
Student leaps into the arms of his new brothers.
Junior Dante Bowles was welcomed into fraternity, Phi Mu Delta.
Brody Mahaffy joins his brother of Alpha Sigma Phi at the end of the IFC
Interfraternity Council brought together all sororities and fraternities for the walk.
Student runs to his new brothers.
