Letter to the editor – Roanoke Times

New Hall West, Suite 117

190 West Campus Drive (540) 231-6609

December 10, 2015

To: Lawrence McConnell

Roanoke Times Senior Editor

201 W. Campbell Ave. Roanoke, VA 24011

 

Dear Mr. McConnell,

 

My name is Travis Bauer and I serve as the Director of Community Relations for the Interfraternity Council at Virginia Tech, otherwise known as IFC. It is regrettable that one of our chapters deviated from a values-based experience with respect to treatment of its members. We wholeheartedly support the decision of our University to revoke recognition for this chapter as their values and culture did not align with what we believe is most important to the fraternity experience.

Fraternities across the country have come under great stress and national attention during recent years due to similar actions. As a result I thought it imperative to contact you and discuss what has happened here at Virginia Tech and why this chapter does not define our fraternity and sorority community. I hope to give you a brief glimpse into an unfiltered look at what exactly the IFC and Fraternity and Sorority Life at Virginia Tech stand for and how we operate.

We value learning, leadership, service, and personal growth through membership in Fraternity and Sorority Life. IFC at Virginia Tech works alongside three other governing councils to continually foster these values within each fraternity and sorority on our campus. The overwhelming majority of men involved with Fraternity and Sorority Life at Virginia Tech exemplify these values and are upstanding, kind, and hard working student leaders. These student leaders, as a result of their fraternity membership, are committed to giving back to the greater Blacksburg community. They push each other to better themselves and hold themselves responsible to be better men each and every day. Moreover, they inherently believe that treating all members – to include new members, with respect is critically important to becoming better men.

The Virginia Tech fraternity and sorority community is currently comprised of over 4,500 students who account for roughly 20 percent of the undergraduate population All things considered, the actions of a few do not define an otherwise wholesome and productive community. Our IFC represents 28-member fraternities collectively committed to being a force for positivity and progress at Virginia Tech and throughout the New River Valley.

Thank you for your time and consideration, I hope I was able to properly convey our values and purpose as leaders within the fraternity experience at Virginia Tech.

 

Sincerely, Travis C. Bauer

Director of Community Relations

Interfraternity Council at Virginia Tech