After much discussion at the Union Governing Board meeting Sept. 8, the board recommended that the Interfraternal Council and Panhellenic Council keep their previous offices located in Room 004 of the Student Union.
The IFC and PHC had been told in May they needed to move out due to the dissolution of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.
“During Union renovations, this space was specifically designed and intended for use by fraternities and sororities,” Lucas Renz, senior in marketing and IFC president, said. “We have meetings almost every day, and we have resources that need to be stored somewhere. It made sense for me to go to the UGB and ask for an office space — more specifically, to keep this same office space we’ve been housed in.”
Renz and Laura Herter, senior in education and theatre and PHC president, came to the UGB meeting prepared with a written proposal in hopes of swaying the council.
“An office for our councils is exceptionally important, but it is even more important that we are able to have a space in the Student Union,” Herter said at the meeting. “IFC and PHC have been housed in the Union for years. We appreciate the opportunity to present to the Union Governing Board, and I hope that you can find a space to house our two largest student organizations at K-State.”
After hearing the proposal, UGB members Patrick Kennedy and Jordan Martin moved and seconded, respectively, the motion to recommend that IFC and PHC keep their previous office.
“I wanted to support them because I think that fraternity and sorority life does and always will have a large impact on the student body and individual student lives,” Jordan Martin, senior in computer science and mathematics and UGB member, said. “And it’s important we keep them front and center in the Union as well as some others.”
Although the recommendation is beneficial for IFC and PHC, it does not mean the change will be made, or be permanent. The recommendation will go to a higher board that oversees the Union after it is finalized.
“From my understanding, there has never been a UGB recommendation that has been rejected, so it’s nice to have that support moving forward,” Renz said. “But we can’t get our hopes up too much.”
Renz and Herter will be going back to the UGB today to discuss the matter further.
