The Interfraternity Council changed the definition for “Level 1” hazing at a meeting on Wednesday. It passed the IFC Hazing Overhaul Resolution to reduce confusion about hazing among the Greek community. 

“We went through the old bylaws line by line and addressed concerns people had about the language,” said IFC Vice President of Judicial Affairs Steven Wald ’12.

For example, Level 1 hazing was previously defined as any action “perceived to be hazing,” according to Wald, but it will now be defined as any action that “the Greek Judicial Board determines to [be] beyond acceptable behavior as part of the new member education process.”

Actions that would now constitute Level 1 hazing include “publicly wearing apparel which is conspicuous and not ‘normally’ in good taste” and “Not permitting new members to talk for extended period of time,” according to the hazing resolution.

Wald said that many members of Greek life considered the original definition ambiguous.

He also said that some specific examples of hazing under both Levels 1 and 2, such as “assigning or endorsing ‘pranks,’” will now be assessed “case by case.”

Level 2 hazing is defined as actions “that the Greek Judicial Board clearly identifies as hazing,” such as “Requiring or encouraging new members to act like animals or other objects,” “Forced nudity (full or partial) at any time” and “Forced calisthenics.”

“There was some confusion last year about what constituted a Level 1 and a Level 2,” Wald said. “We made this change because we believe that the Greek Judicial Board is the best way to determine if a fraternity is in violation.”

The new resolution also changes punishment for Level 1 hazing from social probation to changing the registration process for Rush Week, so that students interesting in rushing can easily identify fraternities that have violated IFC’s hazing policies in the past year.

In the old system, “the crime didn’t fit the punishment,” according to Dan Freshman ’12, president of IFC.

“The changes are going to create a better, more worthy punishment for stepping outside of IFC rules,” he said. “It will create a deterrent that will work toward an eventual change.”

Additionally, IFC passed two motions on Wednesday to change its fall recruitment process.

One created a formal fall recruitment for upperclassmen and transfer students, which will be held on a voluntary basis for each fraternity. This motion encourages houses to hold scheduled daytime events on the second weekend of the fall semester.

The second motion proposed the creation of three open houses to be held during the fall semester. These events will be  opportunities for “students interested in learning more about the fraternity or the Greek system as a whole,” according to the resolution.

Additionally, each open house is required to be dry, and fraternities will not be permitted to hold open parties on a night following an open house.

IFC Vice President for Recruitment Mike DeLucia ’12 expressed optimism about the creation of fall open houses.

“I think it gives us a lot more opportunity to have freshmen experience the Greek system before formal recruitment in the spring,” he said. “It allows us to be more of a presence to them.”