CU Boulder’s Interfraternity Council (CUIFC), the home of the 11 university-recognized fraternities on campus, knows there is a stigma around Greek life. Led by a dedicated executive board, CUIFC is working to break down that perception.
“I’m really proud to be a part of this organization because I really do believe that we’re in the process of building better men,” said CUIFC Vice President of Finance Roy Slavin. “No matter what we’re doing or event we’re planning, the overarching theme is always to empower principled and exemplary individuals.”
By focusing on philanthropy, community engagement and building stand-up individuals, this group of CUIFC members is actively reshaping the narrative around fraternity and sorority organizations at CU Boulder, demonstrating that they are not just social clubs but integral contributors to the CU Boulder community.
Philanthropic expansions
When CUIFC was first established at CU Boulder in 2019, the new council had only a couple hundred dollars in its budget. Four years later at the beginning of 2023, the group increased their budget to tens of thousands of dollars, close to 80 times their original amount.
“We’ve come a pretty long way, and I think this semester has definitely been the culmination of that budgeting work,” Roy explained. “Through better money management and increased revenues, we’ve really been able to expand how we can support our councils.”
With that budget expansion, the council can allocate more funds for philanthropic efforts. They are in the process of setting up a CUIFC chapter event fund that will allow fraternities to apply for funding for charity events. Their goal is to give back to the community.
Each chapter has a local, national or international cause that they support, including but not limited to cancer research, mental health support and inclusivity. Some of the philanthropy events that CUIFC fraternities have held include:
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Golf tournaments to raise money for cancer research.
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Volunteer work at local animal shelters.
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Philanthropy concert events.
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Silent auctions.
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Participating in sorority philanthropy events.
Ongoing growth and recruitment success
The proof that students on campus are seeing the positive changes that CUIFC is making is in the council’s recruitment numbers. They saw nearly 500 students participate in fall 2023 rush compared to about 300 last year.
“Our main focus so far this semester has been recruitment, which just wrapped up,” said CUIFC Vice President of Recruitment Nick Brand. “It was very successful. We had our biggest CUIFC recruitment class to date. All of our chapters have seen positive growth.”
This achievement is more than just numbers; it symbolizes the council’s dedication to fostering a supportive environment for its members. National fraternity organizations are recognizing it too and are submitting applications to expand the CUIFC community at Boulder.
Two CUIFC fraternities have recently chartered, or officially recognized, their CU Boulder chapters this semester. To get chartered, the CUIFC fraternities chapters needed to complete a number of community service projects, and show that they are recruiting, growing and maintaining a good reputation on campus.
Other national organizations are bringing their chapters to the CU Boulder campus for the first time. Triangle fraternity joined the council this fall, and two more organizations are expected to join by fall 2024 or spring 2025. That would bring the council up to 13 organizations.
“Expanding the council shows that fraternities don’t have to be disconnected from the university,” CUIFC President Luke Lozano said. “It’s essential to grow to demonstrate to prospective members that they have options for affiliating with the university. They can choose to be a part of the university-recognized fraternities and choose to uphold CU Boulder’s values."
CUIFC also recognizes that they can do more to promote diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in their growth. They have a vice president of DEI on their executive board, and just recently put together a board comprised of fraternity members to talk about how they can implement more DEI initiatives.
Community involvement
CUIFC aims for its members to be positive influences on campus and in the community. They are advocates for fostering strong relations with their neighbors and interacting with them in respectful ways.
For example, after Homecoming weekend this fall, the group plans to organize their biannual Hill clean-up event, where teams compete to collect the most pounds of trash. They hope it will promote responsible behavior and sustainability efforts.
“We’re all very proud to be members of CUIFC," Luke said. “We’re creating something that’s going to be really sustainable and worthwhile here in Boulder. I know all our chapter presidents and members have a lot of pride in being affiliated with CU. I’m excited, even after I graduate, to keep watching it grow.”