After speaking with Adam Rosenkranz, president of Interfraternity Council (IFC), and Samantha Mraz, president of Panhellenic Council, some new developments have come forth in regard to the recent issues surrounding the Sonoma State University Greek life system. Rosenkranz had an hour-long conversation with President Ruben Armiñana regarding some of the instances that had occurred in the Greek community.
“He explicitly expressed that he felt the Greek community does so many positive things for the community as a whole,” said Rosenkranz. “He was the one that said, ‘you guys need to be careful because you can do 15 things right and one thing wrong, and that is what will attract attention.’”
One of Rosenkranz’ biggest frustrations was he wanted to emphasize that Armiñana in fact stated the Greek community is not in real harm of being shut down.
“I asked Armiñana if we are in jeopardy of being suspended or getting kicked off the campus and he said explicitly no,” said Rosenkranz. “He said he would look into it some more, but at this time he does not believe it is a remote possibility that the Greek community will get kicked off campus.”
Rosenkranz said they recognize the Greek community does have instances of over consumption of alcohol, and those instances are concerning to the organizations. The problem Rosenkranz recognized is how one negative incident can impact and harm the reputation of the entire Greek community.
Mraz was frustrated with the Greek community being classified as a whole. She does not think it is accurate to refer to the Greek community as one. Some people make poor decisions and others make wise decisions according to Mraz.
“We are disproportionally scrutinized in my opinion compared to the other clubs on campus,” said Rosenkranz. “These problems are prevalent campus wide. It’s not isolated in the Greek community. We just get highlighted for it.”
Rosenkranz believes the best way to change the perception of the Greek community is by changing the culture and educating the new members.
Both Rosenkranz and Mraz are looking forward to the future to educate the SSU campus about the positive attributes of Greek life rather than being recognized for a few negativities of the organizations.
