Learn your ABCs of IFC, NPHC, etc.

Pitt’s Greek organizations will try something a little different this semester: cooperation. … Pitt’s Greek organizations will try something a little different this semester: cooperation. ‘We’re trying to work together because we all are Greek. We all wear the same letters, so we should coordinate activities,’ said Molly Humphreys, the president of the Panhellenic Conference at Pitt. In the past, Panhellenic sororities and fraternities in the North-American Interfraternity Council and historically black Greek organizations in the National Panhellenic Council have each worked separately within the Pitt community. NPHC President Jada Ginyard said the main reason for the separation comes from differences in how the organizations were founded. ‘Panhel and IFC focus more on philanthropy and raising money for causes, whereas NPHC is rooted more in community service,’ she said. But the ultimate goal of building a better community is the same for all the organizations, Ginyard said, and acknowledging the need for inter-conference unity is just the first step. ‘It takes a while for groups that are not used to working together to start programming together. There will maybe be one tri-council event this semester,’ she said. As yet, there has been no discussion on what the tri-council event might look like. The structure of the Greek system can also make cooperation difficult. In addition to responding to national conferences or councils and their respective area advisers, each fraternity and sorority is also governed by individual national chapter headquarters. Each national Greek organization maintains a certain level of autonomy within the conference or council, including the ability to set membership criteria and designate philanthropy recipients. As a result, individual sororities and fraternities may sponsor their own events, set minimum GPA requirements for their members and charge various membership dues. Some NPHC organizations, for example, require that pledging members have at least 24 academic credit hours to be eligible, said Ginyard. In most cases, this prevents students from pledging as freshmen. While philanthropy, cost and size are all important factors to consider when choosing to join an organization, the most important is an individual’s connection with other chapter members, said Humphreys. ‘It’s a personal decision when you’re trying to pick a house … You want to find a place where you fit best,’ she said. Of the 26 sororities involved in the National Panhellenic Council, 12 are currently at Pitt, including associate member Theta Nu Xi multicultural sorority. Eight of the nine National Panhellenic Conference organizations are represented at Pitt, and 18 out of 73 total IFC chapters have Pitt representation. Currently, intra-conference cooperation produces some of the most popular campus events each year, including various Greek Week events, the Pitt Dance Marathon and the Steel City Step Show. Even if quantity of membership has remained relatively stable in the past few years, the quality of community involvement is increasing, said Jennifer Daurora, the National Panhellenic Conference area adviser. ‘[Greek life at] Pitt is at a great size, and the community is improving and getting stronger each year,’ said Daurora. The recruitment process begins today. Humphreys and Ginyard encouraged students simply to be genuine and open. ‘Have an open mind … don’t try to put on a show, because then you won’t find where you’re comfortable. There are certainly a lot of stereotypes out there, and not all of them are necessarily true,’ said Humphreys. ‘Hold on to your core identity,’ said Ginyard. ‘It’s about the connection, not only with the organization, but within the organization. Meet the Greeks takes place today at 9 p.m. in the William Pitt Union.