As IFC President I only had one thing left to do before my term was officially over. Emily and I prepared the awards, scheduled the room, bought refreshments, and created an schedule. The only thing left for me to do was to write a welcome speech.

I did just that. Those who know me know that I tell it like it is. I often tell people I’m a realist. The truth is, the truth hurts. The truth this year was that fraternities weren’t up to par. Instead of acting like the men they promised to be when they joined their organizations they, instead, performed poorly in academics and had a high rate of risk management violations. In my speech I addressed all of these issues, bluntly. Here it is for historical purposes.

Welcome to the 2002-2003 Greek Awards Reception. For the men this year has been full of a few highs and many lows.

The highs include working with National Panhellenic Council to raise triple what was raised last year for Up ‘til Dawn as well as passing the progressive Greek Social Policy.

However, these highs were overshadowed by many lows: low grades, low numbers, and lower participation.

Men, the women have raised the bar. They have proven that recruiting without alcohol works. They have proven that high numbers can be sustained despite Eastern Michigan University being a commuter campus. And they have proven that responsible risk management does not hinder Greek Life.

It is now up to the men to respond to the challenge. I challenge the men to focus on grades rather than parties. I challenge you to choose recruitment over rush. I challenge you to learn the value of philanthropy and risk management.

It is not going to be easy, but IFC is here to help along the way. We have a newly elected Executive Board that is excited and eager to take the challenge and I have faith that the men will again see better days.

In other news I won Greek Man of the Year at Eastern Michigan University, which was a great honor.