The governing body of the Multicultural Greek Council voted over the weekend to sponsor a new interest group that hopes to establish the first multicultural fraternity at the University.
The new interest group, the Fraternal League for All Men, has been working to attain special CIO status for the past three years, FLAME President Anthony Peng said.
Prior to the creation of FLAME, MGC President Julie Chung said Peng was part of another CIO that sought to establish itself as a local, Asian-oriented fraternity. The members faced challenges because in order to recruit only men, a CIO must attain special status after receiving sponsorship from one of the four Greek Councils.
Also, the original group lacked national sponsorship. Now, the group has shifted its goals to a multicultural focus and received MGC sponsorship, allowing them to receive special CIO status.
FLAME seeks to foster relationships between men of different ethnic and cultural backgrounds and hopes to add new perspectives on diversity issues, Peng said.
As an affiliated member of the MGC, FLAME has a special status that enables the group to recruit new members based on gender, Chung said.
Chung said FLAME members will begin a four-month research period to find existing national and University organizations that complement the purpose, mission and ideals of the MGC.
"We will review their progress at the end of their research period, and they'll need a three-fourths majority vote of the governing council to be recommended to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life for final approval," Chung said.
Peng said the four-month research period is the minimum amount of time the MGC requires, but it is possible the time frame could be extended. He said because the process for final approval is lengthy and complicated, it is hard to judge when FLAME will become an official fraternity.
"It's a long process, and we still have a lot of work ahead of us," Peng said. "It's certainly not a done deal."
David Bynes, assistant dean at the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, said he thinks FLAME will succeed in becoming a fraternity after the process is completed.
"In meeting with the gentlemen, I don't have any reasons to see that they wouldn't abide by the policies set out by MGC," Bynes said. "They have put forth a lot of work and seem very interested in achieving their goals."
The biggest challenge FLAME will face is finding a national organization to sponsor the group, Bynes said.
"It's a lot harder to become a fraternity without a national organization for insurance and liability purposes," Bynes said.
Peng also said acquiring support from a national organization is going to be an obstacle.
"It's preferable to have backing from a national organization because it will guarantee that we stay active, and it could also give us a viable chain of responsibilities to follow," Peng said.
The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life is looking forward to approving FLAME, Bynes said.
"We're very happy that they're trying to bring a new organization to the University because it provides students the ability to choose an organization that best fits their values," Bynes said.
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