The Penn State greek life task force is entering its sixth month of conversation.

In an effort to improve the experience of students, Penn State President Eric Barron appointed a task force last fall to make recommendations about the fraternity and sorority system, Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims said via email.

“The Penn State fraternity and sorority community is one of the largest communities in North America and consists of a diverse group of men and women within 89 fraternities and sororities,” according to the student affairs website.

Members of the task force include student leaders, members of greek life, faculty and community members.

Since the task force’s formation, it has been discussing the system, learning what is working and what is not, identifying key areas of challenge and meeting with various constituencies, Sims said.

Shawn Lichvar, president of the Council of Commonwealth Student Governments, said the task force was charged with constructing “a report card” for the fraternities and sororities, helping them make improvements and offering data to the community.

With greek life present on three commonwealth campuses, Lichvar said it’s important to think of the system holistically.

The task force has been broken into seven areas, each with its own subcommittee: accreditation, assessment and rewards; community relations; drugs, alcohol and sexual misconduct; obtaining and educating new members; ongoing member education; oversight; and police and enforcement, Lichvar (junior-nuclear engineering) said.

University Park Undergraduate Association President Emily McDonald said the subcommittees will come together to improve the system, as all members have invested interests if not also backgrounds in greek culture.

“We'll dive into them, learn what's good and what's less good in each area, and make recommendations for improvement,” Sims said.

McDonald (senior-economics and international politics) said a hope she has for the task force is that it will help not only improve greek life itself but also the image of greek life.

Also a member of the sorority Alpha Xi Delta, McDonald said being involved gives her a better background, while her other involvements outside of her sorority allow her to be unbiased.

“My perspective [on greek life] hasn’t changed, but being involved makes me more informed,” McDonald said.

For students not involved in greek life, McDonald said they should still be interested, as the image of greek life at Penn State reflects the entire university and community.

“I hope that whatever the task force brings forward will bring positive change,” Lichvar said.