Roy Baker considers "frat" to be the equivalent of a four-letter word.
"Let's try to get that word out of our vocabulary," said Baker, the director of fraternity and sorority life. "People never use it with a positive connotation."
Baker and the Interfraternity Council (IFC) believe the stereotypical "frat boy" image, perceived by students and reinforced by the media, has hindered recruitment numbers in the past.
Through a revised recruiting policy that focuses on organized, alcohol-free events, they hope to increase the size of future recruitment classes by changing the public perception of fraternity life at Penn State -- a perception Baker believes has been hurt by a string of incidents that occurred during the past year.
One such instance that received national attention occurred in October. A YouTube video depicted Penn State fans shouting obscenities and throwing beer cans at two Ohio State fans in front of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, 417 E. Prospect Ave.
The username of the YouTube account that posted the video was the same as the AOL Instant Messenger screen name of Pi Kappa Alpha's vice president at the time. The incident resulted in the chapter's suspension by the Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity as well as by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority life.
Another Penn State fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, had its national charter suspended in December after a violation of a dry-house policy that also occurred during the weekend of the Ohio State football game, Jesse Moyer, director of chapter services, said in January.
Last month, Daniel Costenbader (junior-electrical engineering), who is not a member of a Penn State fraternity chapter but is associated with the national fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa, was charged with burglary, criminal trespass, criminal mischief, theft by unlawful taking, receiving stolen property and public drunkenness after police say he caused $5,000 of damage to the Lasch Building in a 21st birthday romp.
"Any of these events are just simply opportunities for people to confirm what they believe about fraternities and sororities," Baker said. "When we behave that way, we make their perception a reality."
Baker and the IFC believe they can improve upon that perception.
"I think that we're trying to make steps as a fraternity system, so that it doesn't matter what term you use, people will think of us in a good light," IFC President Kelsey Gingrich said.
Pending official approval by the IFC, a new recruitment plan this fall will be highlighted by non-drinking recruitment events, held during specified hours and only on designated nights.
Baker hopes the new methods will show potential members fraternities are not just a place to party but a brotherhood that participates in service and philanthropy.
Fraternity parties are supposed to be the reward for joining the organization and participating in service activities, but the incentive to join a fraternity is diminished by the fact too many non-members are welcomed into parties, Baker said.
The new recruitment methods are designed to help fraternities depart from the stereotypical image of a "frat" and "frat boys."
" 'Frat' brings that kind of Animal House image that some people have," Gingrich said.
Mattison Ford, IFC vice president for communications, agreed with Gingrich's Animal House reference, saying "frat" conjures the image of people who "get drunk all the time and don't do anything good."
"When they just hear 'frat,' they think of a frat party or a bunch of frat boys acting stupid," Ford said. "Whenever you say fraternity, people more tend to think about all of the other things we do."
State College Police Cpt. Dana Leonard said for the most part, fraternities are well behaved. He said the State College Police Department has had recurring issues with less than a dozen of the about 50 fraternities at Penn State
"More often than not, fraternities and their members are good neighbors. A percentage of them are not," Leonard said.
Leonard said he understood the negative connotation of the word "frat."
"I can see the value of that. I'm in a business where some people call a police officer a cop, and some abbreviations are less than flattering. It is a fraternity," Leonard said.
State College Borough Council President Elizabeth Goreham called Baker's definition of the word "interesting," though she said both "frat" and "fraternity" have a negative connotation "when a neighboring fraternity creates a problem."
While some fraternities are good members of the community, others are not, she said.
"I think some of them are quite good members of our community and are very helpful in our community, and others have a pattern of bad behavior," Goreham said.
In February 2007, Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, 408 E. Fairmount Ave., was evicted from its house for six months based on violations of borough ordinances and state laws, borough manager Tom Fountaine said at the time.
Another fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, 346 E. Prospect Ave., also faced eviction at the same time because, like Phi Kappa Tau, it was labeled a "nuisance propert[y]." Tau Kappa Epsilon was not evicted after it signed a consent agreement, Fountaine said at the time.
Baker said he understands some people use "frat" as an abbreviation just like any other slang, and that's why he can't get upset with people.
"I don't want you to think that if you use the word 'frat' you're a bad person," Baker said. "I just use the opportunity to educate."
As the director of Penn State's Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender Community and its Allies Student Resource Center, Allison Subasic deals with the ongoing issue of educating students about derogatory terms.
Subasic never considered "frat" a derogatory term but after thinking about the word, she said it's similar to the phrase "that's so gay."
"A lot of people don't understand why 'that's so gay' could be harmful," Subasic said. "You need to respect the voices of people within the groups who are offended by language."
One fraternity member offended by the word "frat" is Daniel Alexander of Kappa Alpha Order.
"The context that it's used in most often is a negative context," Alexander said. "When it's used often in a negative way, the word itself starts to become negative. You never hear someone refer to 'frat boy' when they are linking it to the positive things we do."
Goreham said the movement to eliminate "frat" could create self-awareness.
"I know words are powerful. That's a good idea; if that will create a more civilized self-awareness -- then good," she said.
Baker said the media, including the ABC Family show Greek, play into the negative stereotype of fraternities -- a lifestyle he doesn't want recruits to expect at Penn State.
There is currently a petition to cancel Greek on www.ipetitions.com, but Baker said he wants to see the program more accurately depict fraternity and sorority life rather than have it canceled.
"People need to join because of the right reasons," Baker said of students' incentives to join fraternities. "I think the word 'frat' and 'frat boy' conjure up an image we don't want to be portrayed by."
