The return of Sigma Alpha Mu to GW brings with it some perplexing points in need of clarification. Ultimately it is the Interfraternity Council’s decision whether to permit Sigma Alpha Mu’s re-entrance on campus, but allowing the group to rush and recruit new members without first being recognized by the University is a break from common-sense policy.
Typically, organizations are approved by GW before fraternities begin recruitment. Zeta Beta Tau colonized and recruited in a similar fashion last year, and the results were disastrous. When the IFC rejected Zeta Beta Tau, it stayed on campus and competed with Sigma Alpha Epsilon for top honors in campus hell-raising.
This is not to say that Sigma Alpha Mu is doomed to fail like Zeta Beta Tau did, but requiring Sigma Alpha Mu to attain IFC recognition before recruitment might have been a safer way to go.
IFC recognition ensures consistent enforcement of IFC guidelines and engenders a sense of fair play among chapters desiring a place in our community.
Now, should the IFC fail to recognize the fraternity, it will create its own worst enemy: a fraternity that is unregulated and unbound by campus standards.
All the IFC can really do now is cross its fingers and hope its blunder won’t cause more gray hairs.