252 ICC The Beginning Of Reformation "Taking the initiative" seemed to be the theme of this year's InterClub Council s. With minimal prompting from the administration, the newly formed men 's ICC and the long-standing women's ICC combined forces to reform Harding's methods for inducting new members into socia l clubs. It was probably one of the hardest tasks that the ICC had o r wi ll take on for a long time . The men 's ICC was formed in the sp ring semeste r o f 1983, by the suggestion of Dean Ted Altman. Dr. William Robert McKelvain was chosen to act as consultant for the counci l, and the project was underway by March 1983. The women 's ICC had long been in existence and Patty Barrett acted as their consultant. The two council s began the reformation process in the spring of '83. Because of comp laints and problems concerning the traditional pledge week, the administrati on fe lt a change was necessary. ' 'The administration simply said, 'tell us how you want to do it, ' " McKelvain said. "They (councils) came up with a plan of action and ways to enforce th is plan. The administration didn ' t have to parent them. " It was decided to extend the period and slow down the activities. While the original plan was for the period to be only three weeks, due to tests and other activities, it was ex tended to four weeks. Only two days we re set aside as. official "silly days" on which inductees could be required to dress up and si ng cl ub songs and chants. Due to many factors, such as injuries and complaints, it was decided to ban 'rough night ' and 'rass night. ' In order to replace these activities traditionally included in the induction of new members, the counc il s decided to include club study halls during mid-term examination s, spirit week during Homecoming, and service projects during the final week, Big Event. "1 don ' t think there will be many changes made ," Barrett said of the new inducti on period. " I think that it will be done much better. Hoepfully something will be done about the time period. " She spoke in reference to the feeling of most students that the induction period lasted too long. Unlike years in the past, the new inducti on gu idelines allowed clubs to revote on inductees after the final week. Most club members and ICC members felt that revoting would be necessary to encourage inductees to part icipate and not become apathetic before the period was over. "Revoting is a good idea, if clubs will get tough and really use it ," said Kim Kesler, vice president o f Omega Phi women 's club. Some did question the valid ity of revoting, however. "I don' t feel that revoting is necessary ," said Deborah Taylor, president of Regina 's women's club. "I don ' t feel that we have the right , as Christians, to exclude anyone. We can' t predict how the care and fe llowship of a club might benefit even a seem ingly 'un interested' inductee at a later time." The real va lue of this year's new induction guidelines seems to be the process used by the ICCs to decide on them. "What 's so valuable is the way it came about , not the actual substance ," McKelvain said. "The basic philosophy of the councils th is year was to take the initiative. They (the councils' members ) realized that you don ' t make changes by demanding but, by li stening. The mo re you listen to others, the more they will listen and act on what you say. They li stened to the administration first. " Barrett said that she thought that both the administration and the council members wre surprised when, after the men met and li stened to the Deans, they rea li zed they were concerned about the same things . She expressed her pride in the success of the ICC, "If you've got the leaders developing the program, it 's going to be so much better." ~ - fohn 1- Radcliffe - fohn 1. Radcliffe
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