University of Virginia Library

Link Security Protection
Debated At IFC Meeting

By Tom Jenks
Cavalier Daily Staff Writer

Link Guards have been required
by the Inter-Fraternity Council
Governing Board for fraternity
houses during the Easters Weekend
in spite of objections by many
Fraternity Presidents to the Link
System.

The purpose of the IFC meeting
that was held last night was for the
IFC to present to the fraternity
presidents its reasons for continuing
the Link Service and for the
presidents to air their views concerning
the system. Tom Link, a
director of the security system,
gave a presentation at the meeting
of what he felt to be the main
benefits of the system.

Controlled Parties

Bob Fisher, president of the
IFC, began the meeting by saying
that it is a rule of the University
that fraternity parties must be
"controlled and closed" and that it
is the responsibility of the Governing
Board to see that this standard
is met. He pointed out that it was a
responsibility of the Governing
Board, specifically, and not of the
IFC as a whole.

"The job of the Governing
Board is to act in the best interests
of fraternities - both individually
and as a system, both for their
present and their future interests.

"The Governing Board feels that
the concept of uniformed and
trained doormen, the concept of
some continuity and conformity of
party management, and the concept
of a fraternity are, patrolled and
safe for brothers and their dates,
are all good for the fraternity
system for the present and the
future," Mr. Fisher said.

The Governing Board's general
reaction to the complaints about
Link Security and its operation on
Midwinters Weekend were expressed
by IFC vice-president Artie
Freidman, who said that the complaints
had come out of a lack of
information concerning the Link
System.

Riff Raff

Mr. Freidman cited the fact that
off-duty University and Charlottesville
police would no longer be
allowed by their employers to work
at the fraternity parties and that
without Link, doormen at fraternity
parties would be graduate
students, married students, and
houseboys who would not necessarily
be able to maintain a controlled
party atmosphere.

He added that on Midwinters
Weekend Link Security was on
short notice and consequently was
forced to hire many poorly trained
people from Charlottesville, in
addition to bringing additional
people and equipment from Danville,
Link's base of operation and
being forced to forego detailed
organization.

Rising Costs

Mr. Freidman concluded that all
of these things raised the cost of
the guard service and lowered the
efficiency.

Mr. Link, in his presentation,
stressed that his company's concern
was to serve the fraternities by
controlling entrance to the house,
with regard to the individual wishes
of each house. In conjunction with
this goal, he passed out a questionnaire
to each fraternity president
that is to be filled out and
returned to Link. The questionnaires
will be used to brief
individual guards as to their job at a
house.

The items required on the Link
questionnaire were: a statement
from each house regarding the
policy of admitting guests at their
party; a list of all available telephones
in each house; designation
of a responsible party for communication
between Link and the house
during the party; a list of all
brothers, pledges, rushees, and
invited guests; and a statement as to
what policy shall be followed for all
persons not appearing on the guest
lists.

The questionnaire also asked if
the house would designate a pledge
or other person to identify brothers
and guests of the house and if the
doorman would be given the
authority to judge the sobriety of a
person requesting admittance to a
house.

Mr. Link felt that such communication
between the house coupled
with Link men patrolling the
fraternity area would create a
unified network of communications
that could be utilized if needed to
resolve a problem and that would
create a restrained party atmosphere.