The Hype

Acacians in the IFC and Greek System

Interfraternity Council Representation

by Andrew Chew and Jacob Sloan

The fall 2005 semester was one of acheivement and participation for the actives of the Texas colony. We have begun a resurgence in the Greek community and, as of now, Acacia has once again become highly recognizable on the University of Texas campus. Other fraternities have provided encouragement and are anxious for us to get back into our original house at 2614 Rio Grande. The actives have also done several functions with sororities on campus and are looking into doing more events with the other Greek organizations at UT.

Acacia first joined the Interfraternity Council, or IFC, in the spring of 2005. Acacia was voted into the council with an almost unanimous vote--just one vote opposed Acacia joining. As the fall semester comes to a close, Acacia will be wrapping up its final semester as a probationary member in the IFC and receive full membership status and voting rights. Acacia has remained a good-standing organization throughout our probationary period and never had a judicial incident or fine.

In our first semester as a part of IFC, Acacia seized the Intramural Basketball Championship for one of the IFC leagues. Acacia came back from being behind in the first half and out-cheered by the other team's fans in the championship game. More about this story can be found in the article written by Jacob Sloan on the Acacia International Headquarters website.

Acacia has made a point to be an active participant in all council functions. This past summer, new members attended an IFC-sponsored seminar pertaining mostly to risk management and were able to converse with the other chapters in IFC.

Jacob Sloan, Acacia's recently elected Venerable Dean and Webmaster, was appointed to the IFC Cabinet as the Alumni Relations Chair last spring and assumed his position this fall. Brother Sloan has been working with each IFC chapter to obtain a master list of noteworthy alumni from all of UT's fraternity chapters. He has also been making plans for a massive alumni BBQ for all of the IFC fraternity alums.

Evan Sylvester, Acacia's current Rush Captain, was recently appointed to the Greek ThinkTank, a forum composed of individual members from each Greek Council that meets on a regular basis to discuss issues concerning the community. As the only member ThinkTank from an IFC fraternity, Brother Sylvester is making Acacia's voice heard for the entire IFC and filling a vital role in the IFC at UT.

Andrew Chew, Acacia's current Alumni Relations Chair and IFC Representative, is currently enrolled in the Greek Leadership Class and just attended the CHANGE Institute, a weekend-long retreat to discuss racial and sexist issues in the Greek system. Brother Chew was one of a small handful of IFC members that participated in the CHANGE Institute.

Evan Autry, current president of the IFC and a member of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity, made a point to thank Acacia for our efforts in applying for the CHANGE Institute as well as the Greek Think-Tank.

Acacia looks forward to being a larger part of the IFC in the future and making more gains in the Greek community.