Dear Gauchos,

My name is Eric Landrok. I’m a 3rd-year economics major from the Bay Area, the former president of UCSB’s Sigma Pi fraternity, and the sitting Interfraternity Council President.

UCSB’s IFC community consists of eight chapters, each possessing a uniquely distinct culture. As a member of UCSB Greek Life since 2021, I’ve observed a universally expressed characteristic by each of these recognized organizations through their attempts to construct brotherhoods, which serve to provide young scholars with a community.

You may be reading this because you’re considering joining a Greek Organization. In that case, a term such as: “brotherhood” might sound confusing or intimidating. As a first-generation Greek and a first-generation immigrant, I, too, felt these nerves. I want to provide insight into this community for those unfamiliar with IFC organizations.

Brotherhood is described differently depending on whom you’re speaking with. The feeling of brotherhood is composed of the experiences collected by an IFC member. Hence, everyone’s definition of brotherhood is intricately unique. While individuals within IFC organizations typically share experiences and develop similar senses of “brotherhood,” due to differing perspectives, no two people can truly share the same experience or perception of what “brotherhood” is.

These experiences take on a variety of forms. Many IFC members align brotherhood with memories of fun times they’ve enjoyed with members of their chapters. Others have derived their most vital sense of brotherhood through the support of other members during difficult times. Whichever way brotherhood is generated, IFC individuals are fortunate to have men around them who share similar values and support one another during both fun and tough times.

If this notion of “brotherhood” is something you’re even remotely interested in, I challenge you to put previous narratives you may possess about this community aside and check out the rush information linked above.

For those of you reading this who are already a part of the IFC community, I’d like to briefly share my promises to you.

As IFC president, I aim to make the Greek experience as positive as possible for each member. I will do my best to strengthen the presence of Greek Life at UCSB while providing all resources available to me directly to your chapters, benefiting our broader community and you as individual members.

To conclude this letter on a collaborative note, I encourage anyone with questions, concerns, or new ideas for our community to email me at ifcpresident.ucsb@gmail.com.

Sincerely,

-Eric Landrok

University of California, Santa Barbara, Interfraternity Council President