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We, the members, brothers, alumni, and leaders of the independent and autonomous Interfraternity Council at the University of Colorado at Boulder, Inc., come together to make the following statement about the common, core beliefs of our fraternity community.
- We are currently one united community, comprised of fifteen national fraternities, with over twelve hundred individual brothers who are undergraduate students at the University of Colorado.
- Fraternity men and their chapters have been an integral part of the CU community for well over one hundred-thirty years, with many thousands of alumni brothers in Colorado and throughout the world.
- Individually we are members of our fraternities as well as hundreds of other student-based CU organizations of every type. We are first and foremost serious, degree-seeking students at the University of Colorado and we will always be loyal "Buffs." We know that the primary reason to be a brother in a CU fraternity is to add future value to our undergraduate educations and our baccalaureate degrees through our current life experiences.
- In accordance with our commonly held fraternal values, we strive to the best of our ability to be good and contributing citizens of our country, state, and local communities, as well as good, productive members of our fraternities, our colleges and university, and our families.
- Since the spring of 2005, our Interfraternity Council and our member chapters have been neither recognized nor registered as campus student organizations by the university administration.
- As a community, we collectively and unanimously chose not to sign the University's "Registered Fraternal Organization Agreement" in the spring of 2005. This decision was unanimously supported by our IFC leaders, our chapter presidents, our local alumni advisors, our International Fraternity organizations, our International Executive Directors, and the leadership of the North American Interfraternity Conference.
- We fully understood, both then and since, the impact of that decision. Both the Interfraternity Council and its member chapters take full responsibility for the consequences of that decision.
- Since making that decision, we have grown into a genuine, thriving community in Boulder. Working together and with the Alumni Interfraternity Council, we have come together, formed new and better relationships with one another, established higher standards and expectations of ourselves and each other, and learned how to hold ourselves accountable to those standards.
- We know that, individually and communally, we are an asset to our University, the City of Boulder, the State of Colorado, the United States of America. We have developed outstanding, collegial relationships with many Boulder entities including the Boulder Police Department, Boulder Fire Department, Boulder Environmental and Zoning Enforcement Office, the Boulder Valley School District, the University Hill Business Alliance, and the Boulder Chamber of Commerce, to name a few. We also provide ongoing support and service to many local and national non-profit organizations as well as University of Colorado organizations, departments, and resource centers.
- We are continually striving for the improvement of our community, our chapters, and our brothers. However, while perfection in everything we do is an ideal goal, it is not an appropriate standard for the evaluation of our performance. It is the Interfraternity Council's and its member chapters' constant and consistent performance standard to meet and exceed the performance of "all undergraduate men" by any objective measure. That includes, but is not limited to, scholarship, academic accomplishment, good citizenship, campus and community leadership, athletics, social activities and behaviors, philanthropy, and community service.
- Therefore, we jointly resolve that at this time, we are actively seeking neither rapprochement nor "reaffiliation" with the university administgration. Rather, we will invest all of our time, energies, fiscal resources, and organizational endeavors in the improvement of our fraternal community. It is our goal to be the best fraternity community in the nation. This can only happen by the growth and development of even better fraternity chapters than we have today. Such chapters can only grow and develop by the recruitment and "building" of even better fraternity brothers than those of the present or the past. This is our primary goal and our main reason for existing at the University of Colorado.
- In conclusion, we firmly believe that if we do this well, our value as members of the University family will become increasing apparent to all stakeholders. When that happens, we believe that we will be asked to return to the folds of the University of Colorado community as full partners in a common future.
Adopted by unamious action of the CU IFC Presidents Roundtable
Original Date: 26 August 2007
Approved by unamious action of the CU Undergraduate IFC Executive Board
Original Date: 27 August 2007
Endorsed by unanimous action of the CU Alumni IFC Executive Board
Original Date: 30 August 2007
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