Greek groups hold orientation forum

With visions of Greek life dancing in their heads, approximately 300 students attended an educational forum last night to learn more about fraternity and sorority life on campus. The orientation, held in the Zellerbach Theatre at the Annenberg Center, was a collaborative effort by the BiCultural InterGreek Council, the InterFraternity Council and the Panhellenic Council to inform all interested parties about the three organizations. Philadelphia Mayor and University alumnus Ed Rendell was slated to present the keynote address, but was unable to make the event due to a late meeting. In his place was his deputy chief of staff, Theodore Beitchman, also a University alumnus. Although Beitchman admitted to not seeking a fraternity membership during his time as an undergraduate, he urged those present to do so. "If I were going away to school, I'd probably consider it a lot more seriously than I did," he said. "It's a great way to build friendship and to network." Beitchman apologized for Rendell's absence, adding that the mayor is almost never unfaithful to his alma mater. "He never misses an event at Penn," he said. "Aside from his wife and his dog, Woofy, Penn is the most important thing in his life." Following Beitchman's speech, the presidents of each of the three Greek organizations spoke about the purpose of their groups, emphasizing such aspects as social involvement, academic achievement and service to the community. The rush/intake process was also addressed separately for each organization. The forum was the first of its kind in several years. And this may be attributed to the report by the Commission on Strengthening the Community issued last spring, according to the presidents. The Commission report suggested ways to improve Greek life on campus, including a revised rush policy. "In light of the Commission report, we felt it would be useful to us, as well as to the freshmen, to inform them," said Panhel President Suzanne Rosenberg. "For the Greek system, it's better to have people come in who know what it offers." "After all the work that we did with the Commission, we thought the best way to attack the problems was to be pro-active," Big-C President Wayne Wilson said. Wilson added that the event served to inform and sensitize students to the practices of particular organizations. He cited a tradition of the two Latino Greek organizations on campus, which each year mark the intake of new members with a late night celebration in Superblock, often to the chagrin of many students. "We thought that maybe it's time we inform them and educate them before it happens, so they don't make rude or insensitive comments," Wilson said.

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