After two years of petitioning to become a member of the Interfraternity Council (IFC), Delta Chi was welcomed into the council Monday.

Delta Chi petitioned to become full members of IFC multiple times over the years but was denied each time, said Kyle Aragon, Delta Chi president and senior engineering technology major.

According to an Oct. 30, 2011, Northern Star article, Delta Chi member and current SA Senator Kazimier Chevas said the IFC was vague about the criteria for full membership. A dispute between the IFC and Delta Chi was settled by the Student Association (SA) Supreme Court, which ruled the IFC’s actions toward Delta Chi were constitutional.

“It feels amazing to finally be recognized as full members,” Aragon said. “This has been a goal of ours for some time now, and to finally have the recognition that we have worked so hard for is very rewarding.”

The IFC voting system for organizations to become full members changed April 15, Chevas said. The SA Senate created a bill defining what a Greek governing council was and allowed them to receive SA funding as long as they adopted the two new policies.

Greek governing councils must now set a criteria for organizations to fulfill before petitioning for full membership.

Aragon said he likes that councils must now have criteria for new members.

“If an organization fails to meet criteria or has any extenuating circumstances regarding their requests to become full members of a governing council, then I agree that organization should be denied,” Aragon said.

Once the criteria is met, Greek governing councils must have an open recorded vote for that organization’s membership. Open recorded voting makes the voting decisions of Greek chapters known, but not the reasoning behind it, Chevas said.

“The closed vote was never followed up with reasoning as to why those organizations could not become part of the council,” said Chevas. “I am definitely for open voting as it is a step in the right direction to create a more inclusive community at NIU.”

Delta Chi was the first organization to be voted in since the recent change to the SA bylaw. Aragon said he believes the open voting may have had some sway on which way some chapters voted.

“It exposed exactly who voted what, and that allowed for much more transparency to the whole process,” Aragon said.