For some, pounding music, Jell-O filled pools and scattered Natural Light cans in the yards of fraternity houses has become a standard of springtime at Penn State.
But last semester, the Interfraternity Council coupled with the State College Borough and decided to temporarily ban fraternities from hosting “daylongs,” IFC Vice President of Communications Jordan Rolon said.
The unofficial daylong definition is “an outdoor social event that a fraternity is holding,” Rolon (junior-recreation, park and tourism management) said.
On Wednesday, the popular forum site Total Frat Move featured a post, stating Penn State IFC is considering banning daylong parties. It also called for members of the greek community to anonymously sign a petition on change.org.
A Petition to Maintain the Rightful Standard of Greek Life has the goal of reaching 1,000 supporters, and as of press time Thursday, there were 861 signees.
The description of the petition reads: “[Daylongs] are a cemented part of the Penn State culture and a staple of the springtime. Let the kids have some beers.”
The post said IFC and director of greek life has no just standing on the ban, according to the website.
“Obviously an utter insult to everything that is fraternal, this has been met with great disdain from Nittany Lion students, understandably so. Literally, in one fell swoop, this new rule disregarded decades worth of tradition over night,” according to Total Frat Move.
A user with the name Ashley Schaeffer BMW submitted the post. A search for the name "Ashley Schaeffer" on the Penn State directory returned no results.
Though the post just appeared, the ban was instated last semester with a different IFC executive board in response to concerns from the borough, Rolon said. This semester’s IFC executive board is currently working with the State College Police to create a compromise and to make sure members of the community and university are safe, Rolon said.
Rolon said the rumors of all daytime parties are sprouting from greek members’ confusion between daylongs and daytime socials. Daytime socials are not banned, Rolon said.
Daytime socials are held indoors, while daylongs are considered an “outdoor event,” Rolon said. According to the IFC bylaws listed online, outdoor events are allowed to be held from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., though there is no mention of daylongs. But, the bylaws read, “alcohol may not be served for a period of greater than four consecutive (4) hours.”
But Rolon said the bylaws online were never changed to reflect the temporary ban on daylongs placed last semester, though they have been amended and distributed among the fraternities.
According to the bylaws online, fraternities must submit a formal proposal if they wish to have a daytime party. The proposal must include a risk management policy and a list of the groups attending the party, Justin Laskowski, IFC vice president for community outreach, said.
IFC Executive Vice President Lorenzo Massaro said the post stemmed from a “miscommunication” between the IFC executive board and a fraternity president. Massaro said one of the fraternity presidents misunderstood the recent amendments to the bylaws. That president then told his chapter, and the miscommunication occurred, Massaro (senior-crime, law and justice) said.
Laskowski (junior-philosophy) added that though the presidents of Penn State fraternities could bring a proposal for a policy change to the floor, the executive board is not looking to revise the policy.
Director of Greek Life Roy Baker and former IFC President Vinny Lizza could not be reached by press time.
