The Interfraternity Council held its New Member Institute at 2 p.m. Sunday afternoon in Riddick Hall with programming aimed toward developing young fraternity members into upstanding young gentleman.
“Today is a workshop for all new members from the spring in IFC fraternities to give them the tools to succeed overall with their fraternity experience,” Peter Barnes, a junior in natural resources and the President of IFC, said.
Workshops throughout the day included topics such as academic success, safety do’s and don’ts taught by Campus Police, résumé building, dressing for success, safe sex and students’ legal rights. The day concluded with a buffet-style dinner during which the young men were instructed in proper etiquette by Lu Ann Ely-Randolph, a professional etiquette and protocol consultant.
“They’re going to learn both American and Continental dining styles, as well as basic table manners and how to interact with wait staff,” Ely-Randolph said. “Also, they’re going to learn about proper conversation and interview do’s and don’t, such as what to do when offered alcohol at a job interview (politely decline) or how to address a prospective employer.”
The Institute, which is required for all new members, has grown in size and scope in its second year of existence.
“We’ve done it before but it hasn’t been this structured and well organized,” Michael Curran Sullivan, a junior in civil engineering and the Vice President of Finance for IFC, said. “We’ve never had the dining tutorial or this many different workshops. We really wanted to step it up to enrich the experience for everyone.”
According to IFC Advisor James Byars, the New Member Institute helps to broaden the benefits young men gain from being involved in a fraternity.
“When we looked at doing this, we saw a need to provide training and opportunities for success and to fill in the gaps in what members can learn from their experience in Greek Life,” Byars said. ”It’s hard to do a program like this for undergraduate men since they may have other priorities in mind, but [the institute] puts the resources in place for them and makes them readily available to anyone interested.”
Many young men were in attendance and most saw it as a valuable experience with lots of useful knowledge for personal and professional use.
“I came today for the leadership training and to build valuable life and study skills,” Emmanuel Acquaah, a junior in psychology and a new member of Alpha Tau Omega, said. “For example, I just got out of a class where we learned workplace skills such as how to dress, how to interview and other just generally useful things.”
Acquaah said he joined Greek Life to increase his involvement on campus and learning life skills is just a bonus.
“I had never really been involved on campus, and my roommates were in [a fraternity] and I hung out with them a lot anyway,” he said. “It’s good to know that aside from the social aspect, I’m learning how to interact in a professional environment other things that will come in handy after graduation.”
Sullivan agreed that it’s good for people to see more character building, a beneficial side of Greek Life.
“A lot of people think fraternities are just drinking and social clubs,” he said. “But in reality they do a lot to build you as a person and to prepare for success in the real world.”
