University of Virginia Library

Away From Housing Committee

Shift Of Fraternity Authority Urged

By Thom Faulders
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Pending the approval by the
Board of Visitors or President
Edgar F. Shannon, the fraternity
housing and parental rules will, in
the future, be under fraternity
authority and the composition of
the Committee on Fraternities, the
3-3-3 Committee will be changed.

A motion passed late last
semester by the Committee on
Fraternities, recommended that
control over fraternity housing be
transferred from the Housing
Committee to the Committee on
Fraternities.

Sprinklers Remembered

One member of the Governing
Board of the Inter-Fraternity
Council noted that the Housing
Committee purposed the
installation of sprinkler systems in
the fraternity houses within the
immediate future, while the
Committee on Fraternities strongly
opposed the motion.

A second motion which will
broaden IFC authority is the ability
of the Governing Board to establish
female visitation hours at fraternity
houses. The motion, which was
made at last Friday's meeting of the
Committee on Fraternities, reads as
follows:

Visitation Rules

"That the Governing Board be
empowered to make visitation rules
for women visitors in fraternity
houses.

"That the houses, as a whole, be
responsible for their enforcement.

"That the Governing Board will
act on any reports of violation that
come to its attention, regardless of
source.

"That this authority may be
revoked by the President of the
University or his representative for
due cause.

"Any house may set limits less
than those set by the Governing
Board."

Ed Hayes, president of the IFC
noted that the motion had the
overwhelming support of the
Governing Board and unanimous
backing from the IFC as a whole.

In arguing for the proposed
extension of IFC authority, the IFC
president noted that the houses are
owned by the fraternity
corporations and any abuses would
put the burden on the individual
fraternity and the system.

"Best Interests"

"It is in the best interests," he
added, "of the fraternities not to
abuse this opportunity. It is even
more clear that it is much more in
the interest of the fraternities to
avoid abuses than it is for the
dormitories. Of course, the
University would be able to
withdraw this opportunity for due
cause."

Mr. Hayes also looked at the
benefits of such a rule to
fraternities in his letter to the
Committee on Fraternities. "It
would increase the authority of the
IFC and help it to better lead and
regulate the fraternities. It would
make the houses more attractive to
live in, and help to make the
fraternities more aware of their
responsibilities.

The two motions will appear on
the agenda for approval by the
Board of Visitors this weekend or
will be presented for the
consideration of President
Shannon.

Mr. Hayes, commenting on
the Visitors, said, "It is a simple
consideration of the first motion by
matter for the Board of Visitors to
consider this along with the
dormitory proposals, especially
since it has already been considered
by the Committee on Fraternities.

Most Knowledgeable

He added that rules governing
the organization and operation of
fraternity houses should be handled
by those who know most about
fraternities, the Committee on
Fraternities.

Concerning the second motion,
Mr. Hayes noted, "The Fraternity
system has shown increasing
responsibility. There is no question
that the Governing Board should
have the authority to make
visitation rules. This is not, in my
mind, a privilege but a right. The
fact that we own the houses further
strengthens the right of a student to
guide his own life."

Mr. Canevari, assistant dean of
Student Affairs, noted that thus
far, two motions have come
through the Office of Student
Affairs and a third one is in
processing. The first two, the
changing of the Committee on
Fraternities with its composition of
three students, three
administrators, and three faculty
members to a combination of four,
two, three, respectively, and the
empowering of the Committee on
Fraternities to assume authority for
fraternity housing, will be
considered by President Shannon,
the Board of Visitors, or both. The
third is the aforementioned
proposal concerning female
visitation rules, which is scheduled
to come through the Office of
Student Affairs in the next few
days.

Girls In Rooms

Another motion concerning the
permitting of students' dates to
visit any part of the fraternity
houses, including the bedrooms on
a trail basis during Midwinters
Weekend, was originally stated to
come before the Board of Visitors.

Tabled Motion

Mr. Canevari explained that this
motion was tabled by the
Committee on Fraternities, because
it was superseded by the motion
concerning the empowering of the
Governing Board to determine
visitation rules for the fraternities.
This authority will also include the
ability to allow female guests to
visit all rooms in the fraternity
houses.

608 first-year men pledged the
more than 30 fraternities at the
University in the first semester of
the 1968-1969 year. This works out
to roughly 42.5 per cent of the
first-year class.

Even more first-year men are
expected to pledge this semester,
with rush being conducted on a
more informal basis.