Rush move to be voted on today

The committee deliberating on problems with rush recruitment in the Greek system has saved the most controversial issue for last.

And that’s today.

The Board of Trustees will vote at its meeting this morning whether to defer the rush recruitment process to the spring semester.

But the exact resolution that will be voted on was not decided as of Wednesday evening, said Alston Gardner, chairman of the board’s University affairs committee, which met Wednesday.

This is because the board is still very much divided over whether to move rush, board members and University officials said.

Winston Crisp, vice chancellor for student affairs, said members might make competing motions on the issue, but that he expects to receive a recommendation from the board today.

The vote will represent the culmination of a five-month effort by the committee to research recruitment processes, both at the University and other schools, and to craft recommendations for the board to pass on to Crisp, who will ultimately be charged with implementing the changes.

In spite of the divisiveness of the issue, no committee members offered definite stances on deferring rush Wednesday.

Eddie Smith, a member of the committee, said at the meeting that he initially favored deferring rush but began to have misgivings.

“The deeper I got into it, the more the bias went away and the more confusion I had,” he said.

“It’s a tough call.”

The committee emphasized a desire to focus on its recommendations’ effects on the freshman experience at the University, not just the well-being of the Greek system.

Greek leaders said they shared that sentiment and were excited for today’s decision.

“I’m optimistic and hopeful that we will be continuing fall recruitment,” said Brent Macon, president of the Interfraternity Council, after the meeting. Macon was elected to the position Nov. 11.

Tucker Piner, the previous IFC president, said he trusted the board would make a satisfactory decision.

“These are the representatives of our entire University, and they’re powerful people and have a lot of skills and a lot of knowledge,” he said.

Those who support moving rush have cited its harmful effects on freshman assimilation into the University community.

But those who oppose the change said Greek organizations provide an immediate and beneficial sense of involvement to incoming freshmen.

At the Sept. 22 meeting of the committee, students, faculty and alumni spoke both in support of and in opposition to deferring rush to the spring.

Those who supported it included Dan Thorton, associate director of the Office of Scholarships and Student Aid, and Chuck Lovelace, executive director of the Morehead-Cain Foundation.

Those opposed included Pete Smithhisler, president of the National Interfraternity Council, and Rhea Keller, president of the Panhellenic Council.

The committee did approve a resolution Wednesday that contained three recommendations regarding Greek recruitment to the board.

Those resolutions were: to create a vision for the Greek system that focuses on the University’s freshman experience as a whole; to create an assessment for Greek organizations that establishes standards and evaluates organizations based on these standards; and to enhance the level of alumni support for the system.

These recommendations will be presented to the board today.

If approved by the board, the recommendations will be passed on to Crisp, who was asked to report back to the board in January.

The committee took up the task of examining recruitment after UNC alumnus Jordan Whichard conducted a review of the Greek system but did not address the issue of recruitment.

Contact the University Editor at udesk@unc.edu.