Q&A with new Interfraternity Council President David Shapiro

On Wednesday night, the Interfraternity Council held elections for its new executive board. College junior and current Zeta Beta Tau brother David Shapiro was elected as the IFC’s new president. He sat down with The Daily Pennsylvanian to discuss the organization’s five-year plan, ongoing alcohol policy reforms and new IFC academic requirements.

Daily Pennsylvanian: What is your previous involvement in the Greek system? Did you hold a position on the IFC Executive Board before?
David Shapiro: I was the social chair last year, and I am vice president of ZBT this year. I was not involved previously in the IFC, but the kid who was president the year before me told me what it was about and it seemed interesting — so I just threw my hat in the ring.

DP: Why did you choose to run for president?
DS: I thought it would be a good experience. I figured it would be a good way to meet other motivated kids in the Greek community and help my own chapter out a little bit.

DP: As president, what are your main responsibilities?
DS: Serving as an advocate for the different chapters in the eyes of the administration. I work closely with chapter presidents and Office of Student Affairs/Fraternity Sorority Life to hammer at any disputes and make sure everything is running smoothly. I also oversee Greek Week.

DP: What is your number-one priority as president this term?
DS: The implementation of the recently passed five-year strategic plan. That was a big accomplishment. There’s a lot of good material on that, especially in terms of helping kids who are struggling with their academics. We are also looking to get some new chapters on campus.

DP: What is the IFC’s five-year plan looking to change?
DS: The primary concern of the five-year plan is academics. Although the Greek [grade-point] average is actually consistently higher than the all-undergraduate average, that system is skewed in a way. Instead of looking at chapter averages, we need to look at individuals who are struggling. They have raised the GPA requirement to where … you need to meet with an academic adviser to increase your performance if you are lower than a 2.75 to a 3. The review of the alcohol policy is another thing we are looking forward to implementing.

DP: Why did the IFC support a review of the alcohol policy?
DS: The idea is to reward and incentivize groups that choose to follow the rules on campus. The alcohol policy does not apply only to fraternities — it applies to all student groups. If you give student groups an incentive to stay within the rules and do things safely, the idea is that we are going to get more participation instead of people doing off-campus stuff. We are trying to keep it safer and more above the table and trying to combat hospitalization problems.

DP: Is there any upcoming IFC philanthropy?
DS: Right now, there is a food drive where each chapter is trying to raise 75 cans, so if all the chapters do that it should be a significant amount of food. We are more focused on rush right now and once that’s completed we will start some more initiatives.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.