End ‘self-governance’ for frats and sororities
About 20 million students are descending on college campuses across the nation in the next few weeks, and nearly 750,000 of them will take part in a time-honored tradition of membership in a fraternity or sorority.
The recent tragic death of a student after a night of drinking at a Penn State fraternity unnerved our university community and has further elevated awareness that the Greek-letter system is in dire need of reform. No family should ever have to endure such a tragic loss.
Alcohol misuse, hazing and sexual misconduct are universal challenges that we have been working to address for decades in tandem with independent Greek organizations — many of which occupy privately owned houses. The self-governance model for fraternities and sororities is not working and must be altered.
Fraternity and sorority life used to be associated with leadership, service and brotherhood. Examples include 18 U.S. presidents, 85% of Supreme Court justices and 85% of Fortune 500 CEOs, according to The Atlantic.
The failure of guidance and oversight by the national bodies that govern these young men and women, coupled with the excessive drinking culture these groups have cultivated, have fostered a dangerous reality. A Bloomberg study found that from 2005 to 2013, freshmen accounted for 40% of campus deaths in fraternity-related events involving hazing and drinking.
With student safety at the forefront, we have initiated a range of sweeping measures that, collec- tively, are unique to campuses, especially one of Penn State’s size. At the heart of these changes, we will now assume control and responsibility from the Greek-letter organizations for monitoring and adjudication of their chapter misconduct.
Our safety initiatives include unannounced drop-in monitoring at fraternity houses by university-hired and trained staff; eligibility requirements for new members that do not allow firstsemester freshmen to join; a reformed and shortened new member (“pledging ”) process; an informational scorecard for parents and students publicly displaying critical information about each chapter; strong social restrictions that limit alcohol availability and use; strict limits to the size and number of social gatherings; increased parent and new member education; and a no-tolerance policy regarding hazing — if a chapter is found to have jeopardized another student, we will immediately and permanently revoke Penn State recognition.
Universities need the Greekletter community to step up and help ensure that their organizations are sustainable — including looking more closely at amnesty and the risk-management policies that may create perverse incentives that discourage calls for medical attention.
We all want students to have a positive, safe and productive experience that will support lifelong learning, friendship and community enrichment — all hallmarks of Greek life at its best.
Penn State is committed to setting the foundation to make impactful, lasting change.