Regulation sets rules for acceptance

On June 15, a regulation was approved that outlines qualifications and procedures for social fraternities and sororities.

Any fraternity or sorority registered with FGCU must be an active member of a Greek governing body, such as the Interfraternity Council, the National Pan-Hellenic Council, the Panhellenic Association, or any subsequently registered fraternity or sorority.

But the new regulation was not in response to Kappa Sigma's unhappiness at not being recognized as part of FGCU's Greek Life. "We've always had this process and we just decided to make a regulation for it," said Mike Rollo, vice president for Student Affairs.

While other universities don't have clear expansion policies for Greek organizations, FGCU decided to implement its policies from the beginning, Rollo clarified.

FGCU is still a young university compared to others, so the council can be selective, but does not overlook the demands and interests of the students each year.

"We really want strong (Greek) chapters and organizations here; these are life-long commitments," Rollo said.

On March 23, the FGCU Interfaternity Council (IFC) voted on whether to bring another fraternity to campus.

Kappa Sigma had asked the council to immediately recognize them.Under a secret ballot, the council cast a 4-1 vote against the fraternity.

According to David Mavsonet, president of Kappa Sigma, the group originally came to FGCU two years ago. "[The campus colony] started here on Dec. 10, 2008, with 25 members," he said.

Even though the colony has existed at FGCU for a while, and will continue to function off campus, they must continue to operate independent of fellow Greek chapters. Travis Mann, a freshman and first year Kappa Sigma member, feels that there was a mis¬conception about how to apply.

Although he agrees Kappa Sigma "went about it the wrong way," and that previous members had done some unethical things, he believes the fraternity deserves a second chance. "We have grown from what we used to be, grown as a whole, and made better decisions than from before," Mann said.

Kappa Sigma has made efforts to formally apologize to the university. In November 2009, an email was submitted in order to reconcile with the IFC. "We were trying to open up a more formal way to apologize but we never got the chance," Mann said.
President Mavsonet feels that the IFC has been fair to the fraternity.

"They have been fair in enforcing their rules," he said.g hookah," Angius said.