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Phi Delts on Capitol Hill

FGRC 2024 Phi Delts on Capitol Hill

Seven student members of Phi Delta Theta were selected to join hundreds of undergraduate fraternity men and sorority women to represent the Fraternity and the larger Greek movement on behalf of the Fraternal Government Relations Coalition (FGRC) in Washington, DC.

Participants included:
Richard Steiner-Otoo, Montclair State ’24 (NJ Epsilon)
Austin Lauziere, UCF ’24 (FL Iota)
Cayden Stone, Boise State ‘26 (ID Beta)
Daneel Konnar, Mississippi ‘24 (MS Alpha)
Colin Shea, Cal Poly ‘26 (CA Nu)
Zachary Mayer, Washington State ‘25 (WA Gamma)
William Bechtel, Illinois ’23 (IL Eta)

On Wednesday, April 10, 2024, these Phis joined David Almacy, Widener ‘92, Phi Delta Theta General Council President, and Sean Wagner, Widener ’02, Phi Delta Theta’s Executive Vice President and CEO, in meetings with Members of Congress and their staff.

The National Panhellenic Conference and North American Interfraternity Conference set legislative agendas that guide the FGRC’s work. The agenda includes the following priorities:

  • Protect students’ freedom of association rights by ensuring they can join women’s-only and men’s-only student organizations like fraternities and sororities;
  • Pass anti-hazing legislation to provide additional transparency and education about hazing on college campuses, and
  • Advocate for the passage of the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (CHIA), which would update the tax code to provide more access to funding for infrastructure improvements to fraternity/sorority housing.

FGRC 2024 Phi Delt dinner with Rep David RouzerLater that evening, the Phis met with Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC-7th), NC State ’94, to discuss how leadership roles in the fraternity helped prepare him for a career in public service.

FGRC 2024 Phi Delts on Capitol HillDelegates visited the office of Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-TX-19th), Texas Tech ’94.

ABOUT THE FGRC
The Fraternal Government Relations Coalition (FGRC) is a collaborative effort that includes the North American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), which is made up of 59 men’s-only fraternity organizations, and the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC), which is comprised of 26 women’s-only sorority organizations. In total, the FGRC represents 85 fraternities and sororities nationwide with more than 600,000 undergraduate members at 9,300 chapters on nearly 700 campuses.

Phi Delta Theta Lobbies in Support of Stop Campus Hazing Act

Anti Hazing Coalition Max Gruver Foundation Capitol HillPhi Delta Theta is a values-based organization that is committed to promoting a culture of responsibility in our chapters, and we remain vigilant in our efforts to protect the safety of our members and guests. Phi Delta Theta has long battled the societal issue of hazing through policy and education. On November 15, 2023, Phi Delta Theta stood on Capitol Hill in support of the Stop Campus Hazing Act (S.2901, H.R. 5646), which will require each institution of higher education that receives federal student aid to maintain and update biannually a website page that discloses student organization violations of the institution’s code of conduct that threaten the safety of students.

Phi Delta Theta Executive Vice President and CEO Sean Wagner joined to lobby with our partners at the Anti-Hazing Coalition and the Max Gruver Foundation. They met with several elected officials, including Brother Dusty Johnson, South Dakota ’99, U.S. Representative for South Dakota, and Senate Co-Sponsor, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Minnesota, to help spread the word about the Stop Campus Hazing Act.