A new group of faculty, students, staff and volunteers is looking to give the greek system at the UA a facelift.

Following a troublesome year for UA fraternities ÷ at least six fraternities lost university recognition or were put on probation since last May÷ a greek life task force has been formed and will spend this school year looking into issues that include hazing, academics and alcohol.

"It is probably going to bring about some pretty radical changes," said Clint Walls, a pre-physiological sciences sophomore and vice president of public relations for the Interfraternity Council (IFC).

The task force will focus its research on scholarship, risk management, hazing, membership development and rush and recruitment, said Chris Bullins, coordinator for greek life.

"(This is) an effort to be more proactive to solving our problems than reactive," he said. "I would like to see a change in the culture of what being greek is about."

The task force will be co-chaired by Senior Associate Dean of Students Carol Thompson.

"The goal is to really get a better feel for some of the issues and challenges and needs of the community," she said.

Bullins said that he would like to see a better balance between social life, scholarship, leadership and service in greek organizations.

The greek life task force is not a new idea. It has been done at a number of universities across the country, said mechanical engineering sophomore and IFC President Ted Burhans.

"We want to achieve the same thing that greek communities across the country are doing," he said.

The task force will bring together representatives from the dean of students office, the greek governing councils and selected chapters, Campus Health Services, the business college, the alumni association and ASUA, along with chapter advisors and a sorority house director.

Bullins said that by collaborating with a diverse group of people he hopes to fairly assess the greek community and rebuild from the ground up.

"Setting the rules from the top about change has not been the most effective way to approach this," he said.

The task force will also look into greek life policies on other campuses and try to identify the best practices, Bullins said.

These practices will be considered when the task force makes its recommendations for the greek community at the end of the school year, he said.

The task force will look into past disciplinary cases at the UA and other university policies when they put together recommendations for the greek community.

"(We are) creating a standard for chapters to follow so they can be in good standing with the IFC and with the dean of students," Burhans said.

When making its recommendations, the task force will also look into documents from the Council for the Advancement of Standards, which has set forth national guidelines for student organizations, Bullins said.

The task force will have its first meeting at the end of the month.