Amidst the confusion of returning to school during a pandemic, Central Michigan University Greek Life organizations are preparing different ways to do things.
Sororities and fraternities are required to submit a coronavirus plan before the start of the fall semester. The plan must explain how they will take precautions like face masks and social distance, along with designating a room or house for members who contract the coronavirus.
Molly Schuneman is the Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life. She said they are required to follow executive and university orders.
“Those include not having more than 10 people indoors and not having more than 100 people outdoors, as well as wearing masks in all public places and then additionally the university mandate of not having any events on campus, indoors or outdoors, until they kind of reassess the situation and figure out if they will allow outdoor activities.”
Schuneman said sororities and fraternities will recruit new members virtually this year and are in the process of determining what apps they will use.
Jason Gelsey, president of the Interfraternity Council at CMU, is in the process of a mass mask order to supply all members of greek life with three to four masks each. He said the initial order was for 8,000 masks and they will continue to purchase more in the future as needed.
Some Greek Life organizations at Central Michigan University have vowed not to hold events that break the executive order.
Connor Drake, President of Sigma Pi Delta Alpha Fraternity, said they are implementing measures to contact trace among other things.
“We’re in the process of having a QR code in place so that anybody who enters our house, they scan the QR code it adds them to a list of people that have entered our house, and then in the event that anybody does get COVID we can notify the people that have been in the same area of that person.”
Drake said he hopes all of greek life will stay on the same page.
“Basically what I’ve been talking to with other fraternity and sorority presidents is that really the only way this is going to work is if all the fraternities and sororities are on the same page,” he said. “So, in theory we're hoping that no frats or sororities hold social events that break the social distancing rules. I've already told my members and I know other presidents of other fraternities and sororities have been great at communicating with their chapters that we need to follow state guidelines.”
In addition, Drake said greek life events and community service will be held live on social media apps like Instagram, Facebook or other apps like zoom.
Tiera Radford, President of Zeta Phi Beta, said they will also move many events to a virtual format.
“We’re doing a lot of brainstorming on ways that we can have virtual events but still keep people entertained and keep them involved and allow them to still be able to engage in the events as well,” she said. “It’s kind of tricky but we are trying our best. We’re coming up with a lot of good ideas.”
Radford said they do not have a house, so social events are less of a concern for them. She said they are trying to set an example by taking precautions including wearing masks.
“We’re making sure that we’re setting an example because we do see ourselves as leaders so we want to give off that example of wearing masks and social distancing,” she said.
