Interfraternity Council Bylaws
A. A majority vote of all IFC member fraternities present shall be sufficient for passage of all motions unless otherwise provided in the Constitution or By-laws.
B. The IFC President shall have a vote in the case of a tie.
Section II. Attendance (Amended 3-1-05)
A. All IFC officers, cabinet members, and fraternity delegates are expected to attend all council meetings.
B. Any fraternity absent from more than two general council meetings in one semester without a written, valid excuse submitted to the IFC Executive Assistant or the IFC President twenty- four hours prior to the meeting, shall receive a twenty-five dollar fine on the third absence. An additional twenty-five dollar fine shall be assessed for every subsequent absence. The fourth absence shall also result in the notification of the fraternity’s Inter/National Headquarters. The fifth absence shall further result in the suspension of
the fraternity’s voting privileges in Interfraternity Council meetings. All fines are to be paid before the following IFC meeting. If they are not, the chapter will be called before the Judicial Board for further reprimand.
C. Any fraternity absent from more than five roundtable meetings in one semester without a written, valid excuse submitted to the IFC Executive Assistant or the IFC President twenty-four hours prior to the meeting, shall receive a twenty-five dollar fine on the sixth absence. An additional twenty-five dollar fine shall be assessed for every subsequent absence.
Section III. IFC Cabinet Responsibilities
A. Vice President of Administration and Scholarship Cabinet
1. Scholarship
i. He shall serve on the council as a scholarship resource to all member chapters, providing them with the necessary information and materials to promote academic achievement.
ii. Attend all IFC and Cabinet meetings.
B. Vice President of Recruitment and Public Relations
1. Member Development
i. Coordinate and distribute materials helpful and educational to all member fraternities, including the maintenance of an IFC Resource file. He shall be available to aid chapters with education materials, data and programs, and shall serve as a resource to all chapter New Member Educators
ii. Coordinate educational programs for all new members, which will benefit them during their time of new membership
iii. Facilitate and coordinate the New Member Greek Council effectively
iv. Meet with the New Member educators frequently to discuss individual programs and aid chapters who are establishing new programs
v. Attend all IFC and Cabinet meetings
vi. Work with Vice President of Recruitment and Public Relations and representatives from IFC fraternities to improve retention amongst IFC fraternities
2. Marketing
i. Promote the fraternity system through use of Campus media (WBGU, The Gavel, The BG News)
ii. Make arrangements for the annual pictures of the Interfraternity Council for the Key Yearbook
iii. Produce and distribute a monthly Interfraternity Council newsletter
iv. Hold meetings for IFC fraternities Public Relations, Technology, or Marketing chairs as designated by the Vice President of Recruitment and Public Relations
v. Work with the Vice President of Recruitment to promote all IFC sponsored recruitment events
vi. Collect information on the activities of the individual chapters and the Interfraternity Council and release it to the local news media
vii. Attend all IFC and Cabinet meetings
C. Vice President of Judicial Affairs Cabinet
1. Risk Management
i. serve as a resource to the Interfraternity Conduct Board, IFC, and individual chapters on various risk management issues.
ii. Collect and disburse all pertinent risk management information published by the NIC fraternity national offices to each member chapter and the Interfraternity Council.
iii. Update the liability manual each semester.
iv. Coordinate and promote Alcohol Awareness Week, including programs such as Party Smart.
v. Organize and oversee actions of Greeks Advocating the Mature Management of Alcohol (GAMMA).
vi. Attend all IFC and Cabinet meetings.
D. Vice President of Service and Involvement Cabinet:
1. Community Service
i. Coordinate two major IFC community service projects per semester.
ii. Hold two roundtable discussions on community service opportunities as designated by the
Vice President of Service and Involvement
iii. Provide community service opportunities to chapters throughout the semester, by means of the IFC community service resource packet
iv. Attend all IFC and Cabinet meetings.
2. Greek Unity
i. Promote Greek Unity between all IFC Chapters
ii. Attend all NPHC and GIB meetings except if they are in time conflict with IFC Meetings.
iii. Hold roundtables for social chairs in conjunction with other Greek Councils to promote socials between all fraternities and sororities. These roundtables shall be optional for IFC Chapters to send social chairs or representatives to.
iv. Work with officers of other Greek Councils that do not have a counterpart in IFC and be knowledgeable in their programming.
v. Put together one IFC Event per semester to promote Greek unity. This event can be in conjunction with other Greek Councils.
vi. Assist IFC and other Greek Councils in preparing other All Greek Events.
vii. Attend all IFC and Cabinet meetings.
3. Philanthropy (added 1/8/08) i. Keep an up to date list of all philanthropic events occurring in all four Greek Councils ii. Conduct a round table meeting with chapter philanthropy chairs prior to Greek Week iii. Attend all IFC and Cabinet meetings
Section IV. Treasury
A. Dues
A. Each member fraternity represented on the Interfraternity Council must pay dues in the amount of $9.00 per individual in the chapter.
B. When necessary, pro-rata assessments may be made to the member fraternities to cover expenses, provided assessments are approved by a two-thirds vote of the Council.
C. The Treasurer shall submit all necessary recommendations for maintenance or adjustment to the IFC
By- laws Section 3; paragraph A., to the IFC for ratification. Ratification shall take place at the final IFC meeting of the Spring semester.
D. Each fraternity will be notified by mail or at IFC meetings for the charges due to the Interfraternity Council. Upon receipt of the invoice, payment is due in full by the date designated. It is the responsibility of the fraternity to speak with the Treasurer and/or the IFC Graduate Advisor (Director of Greek Affairs) if payment cannot be made in full by the due date. The payment penalty is as follows:
1. If paid in full by the due date: No penalty.
2. 4 - 14 days late: Finance charge of 15 percent of remaining balance.
3. 15 - 30 days late: Finance charge of 30 percent of remaining balance.
4. 31 - 45 days late: Finance charge of 45 percent of remaining balance and suspension of voting privileges.
5. 46 - 60 days: Finance charge of 60 percent of remaining balance and inter/national office contacted and advised of the delinquency.
E. A member fraternity may appeal to the IFC Executive Committee for an alternative payment schedule, which would alter the above stated plan.
F. Chapters attaining a cumulative GPA of 2.8 or higher for a semester will receive a 10% discount off the total amount of their dues for the following semester.
G. Chapters attaining the highest possible score on the assessment in the Spring semester shall receive an additional 5% discount off the total amount their dues for both fall and spring semester of the following academic year.
B. Scholarships
A. It is under the discretion of the IFC executive council what scholarships will be awarded each semester.
C. Co-Sponsorships by the Council
A. The Treasurer of the Interfraternity Council shall appropriate a variable percentage of each semester budget to individual for co-sponsorships to individuals and groups, subject to an approval by vote with the whole budget at the beginning of each semester.
1. These co-sponsorships shall be in two categories:
a. Requests from the general co-sponsorship allocation.
b. Requests for set and itemized co-sponsorships.
B. Any individual or group who wishes to request a monetary co-sponsorship whether set and itemized or from the general allocation shall adhere to the following:
1. Any organization requesting a co-sponsorship must be an official registered organization in good standing affiliated with
2. Any individual (requesting a co-sponsorship) must be from an official registered organization with
a. Said individual(s) making a request for an activity, cause, or other action on behalf of an organization where the cause is NOT necessary affiliated with the actual university must see that the requesting agency IS registered and in good standing with the university.
3. The requesting organization or individual must submit a formal, written request on that organization official letterhead by the meeting of the Executive Committee immediately prior to the meeting of the Interfraternity Council where such organization or individual wishes to ask for the co-sponsorship.
a. If an individual is making the request or the organization has no official document with a letterhead, a letter with the contact information of the requesting party(ies) shall be submitted.
b. The letter must state who the organization or individual(s) are, what the cause or event is, how much money is being requested, and how exactly the money will be used.
c. The letter shall be read by the Executive Committee and then read to the council when a representative comes to the general meeting to request a co-sponsorship.
d. This letter, if the request is approved, shall be kept on file with any receipts or returned checks from the co-sponsorship.
4. The requesting party/parties shall appear before the general weekly meeting of the Interfraternity Council to ask for the co-sponsorship. The council shall discuss and vote on the request. If said request is approved, the Treasurer of the Interfraternity Council shall appropriately transfer the funds from the account(s) of the council to the requesting parties.
C. If the co-sponsorship is approved by a vote of the Interfraternity Council, the organization or individual must see that the official logo of the Interfraternity Council appears in all material publicizing the event and/or have IFC recognized during the event if no such publicity material is made. This recognition can be by a list of sponsors, public thank you, or other means.
D. Philanthropy
A. The ability of a group(s) hosting an event to set entry fees for their event will be up to that hosting group.
1. The maximum price for an IFC event will be $35.00
Section V. Recruitment
A. IFC Recruitment Programs
A. A unified program for recruitment of new members is approved each year. The IFC recruitment program can define conditions but not deny the rights of individual chapters to affiliate new members outside the IFC recruitment period once an individual has completed 12 credit hours at Bowling Green State University, not including summer school, advanced placement, or Spring testing hours.
B. Purpose:
1. The promotion of the entire Greek community and support of chapter recruitment chairs.
2. Actively reaching out to prospective members rather than waiting for them to come to the fraternity allows the Greek community to reach a higher quality man interested in fraternity affiliation.
C. The guidelines, policies, and procedures of the IFC recruitment process shall be contained in the Interfraternity Council Recruitment Rules. These rules shall be used and interpreted as a subsection to the By- laws of the IFC constitution.
B. Bidding
A. A person can only join a fraternity if he is officially bidded by an IFC Fraternity during a period which bidding is permitted
B. Bidding shall only be permitted during the Fall and Spring semesters of the school year, no bids may be given out or accepted during any other time
C. During the Fall and Spring semester of the school year, bidding is not permitted until the Inter-Fraternity Council Recruitment Period has begun.
i. The IFC Recruitment Period begins during the third week of the Fall and Spring semesters
ii. On the date that the IFC Recruitment Period begins, bids cannot be handed out until the specified start time of the Recruitment Period
iii. Bids can be given out at any time after the IFC Recruitment Period begins until the Sunday of the second to last week of the Fall and Spring semester (dead week)
D. Once a bid is accepted, the bid must be turned into the IFC Recruitment Chair
i. Failure to do this will result in your member not being added to your roster by the University
E. Before an accepted bid can be turned in to the IFC Recruitment Chair, the member who has just accepted his bid must sign a grade release form
i. The bid must then be turned into the IFC Recruitment Chair with the grade release form being turned in to the Office of Greek Affairs.
F. If the potential new member who has just accepted his bid does not have a 2.5 GPA to join an IFC Fraternity, the individual shall not be permitted to join the chapter
G. If a member does not have a 2.5 GPA when he is first bidded, but receives a high enough GPA after the first marking period, he shall be allowed to be re-bidded and join the Fraternity. (That is, if a person got a GPA equal to or above the IFC Standard GPA the previous semester, he may join, even if he was bidded before and not permitted to join)
H. No bids shall be given out the final two weeks (dead week and finals week) of the Fall and Spring semester of each school year
I. Any chapter found violating these rules shall be referred to the Judicial Board for a hearing.
i. If reprimanded by the Judicial Board, one of the following penalties can occur:
a. Loss of recruitment rights for the semester
b. Limited recruiting rights for the semester
c. Fines
d. Intramural Sports participation for the fraternity is banned or limited for the semester
ii. The semester where these penalties shall take place affects the remainder of the current recruitment semester and the next recruitment semester after the infraction occurred
a. For example, If an infraction occurred during the spring semester, the penalty would take effect for the remainder of that spring semester and for the following fall semester
iii. After these periods have elapsed, the fraternity shall regain all their regular recruiting and intramural sporting rights, unless there is another infraction that occurs during the period which the penalty is in effect
J. Advertisements
i. All recruitment material advertisements must be approved by the Director of Recruitment for IFC
ii. All recruitment materials including t-shirts must be approved by the Director of Recruitment for IFC
Section VI. Scholarship
A. Grade Release Program
A. All member fraternities will adhere to the rules and regulations contained in the guidelines for the IFC Grade Release Program.
B. Once completed, the grade release cards will be kept in the Office of Greek Affairs.
C. Fraternities will only receive the grades of students with signed grade release cards on file in the Office Greek Affairs.
B. Intramural Eligibility
A. Any IFC member must maintain a 2.5 previous semester (not to include summer term) or cumulative grade point average (GPA) to participate in BGSU Fraternity League Intramural Sports. (Amended 4-6-04; Effective Fall 2004).
Section VII. Liability Awareness
A. Risk Management Policy
A. Alcohol and Drugs
1. The Executive Committee and/or the Interfraternity Council shall not use their funds to purchase any alcoholic beverages.
2. The possession, sale, or use of any ILLEGAL DRUGS OR CONTROLLED SUBSTANCES while on chapter premises or during a fraternity event or at any event that an observer would associate with a fraternity, is strictly prohibited.
B. Hazing
1. No chapter, colony, student, or alumnus shall conduct nor condone hazing activities.
2. Hazing activities are defined as: An action or situation created, intentionally, whether on or off fraternity premises, to produce mental or physical harm, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule. These activities can include, but are not limited to activities, which are not consistent with academic achievement, fraternal law, ritual, or the regulations and policies of
C. Sexual Abuse and Harassment
1. The fraternity will not tolerate or condone any form of sexist or sexually abusive behavior on the part of its members, whether physical, mental, or emotional. This is to include any actions, which are demeaning to women or men including, but not limited to date rape, gang rape, or verbal harassment.
D. Fire, Health, and Safety
1. All chapter houses shall meet all local fire and health codes and standards.
2. All chapters shall comply with engineering recommendations as reported by the insurance company.
3. The possession and/or use of firearms or explosive devices of any kind within the confines and premises of the chapter house is expressly forbidden.
E. Education
1. Each fraternity shall instruct its members and alumni in all Risk Management Policies listed in the BGSU Interfraternity Council By- laws, as well as those of the Inter/national organization.
2. The evaluation of the fraternities and their education of both new and continuing members will be evaluated by the Assessment Team during the Spring semester. The IFC supports the education that members will receive through the various programs as defined in the assessment document.
F. FIPG
1. The Interfraternity Council will abide by all other FIPG guidelines not outlined in this section.
Section VIII. Philanthropy
A. T-shirt approval for t-shirts pertaining to philanthropies will be up to the group(s) decision to design an appropriate t-shirt. Any group that has their design approved by the philanthropy chairman, VP Internal, or President will be exempt from judicial review of a potentially offensive design.
B. The ability of a group(s) hosting an event to allow non-Greek members to participate in their event will be up to that hosting group.
