By Ryan Gilroy ’19, staff writer

A proposal could change the status of new transfer students wanting to join Greek Life at LVC.

The proposal, written by Chris Miller, a sophomore biology major, was introduced to Greek Council on Sept. 19 and seeks to change the policy to allow new transfer students, including international students, to join Greek life in their first semester.

Miller is a brother of Tau Kappa Epsilon, who joined last spring in his first eligible semester. He currently serves as one of two representatives for TKE on Greek Council.

“This would mean any transfer student from any other institution, domestic or abroad, would have to wait a full semester before being initiated,” Miller wrote. “This is where the problem lies.”

The current policy states that all pledges must be full-time students and have completed at least one semester at Lebanon Valley College.

“By taking away their ability to join an organization, they are at a disadvantage socially, which makes it unnecessarily difficult for them to build relationships,” Miller said. “Relationships are, ultimately, the key factor in increasing retention, and so putting them in any sort of position where they cannot make friends optimally debilitates the likelihood of them staying here at LVC.”

If passed by Greek Council, the proposal would move for approval by Gregory Krikorian, vice president of student affairs and dean of students.

“The career opportunities, job placement and overall friendships are just a few of the benefits our fraternity can offer a foreign exchange student, and so to take that option away from them is, quite frankly, unfair,” Miller said.

rg004@lvc.edu