[MUGreek2011]

Originally Posted by UofM-TKE

This link is interesting. It's clear that things are not as they should be at Miami U. At least among some members of some chapters. But...

The vibe I get from this Professor though, is that he misses the 'Good old days', and has a definite dislike for one particular house. He also seems to enjoy naming all of the failed houses through the years, which seems strange to me for a faculty adviser. He is an Alumni Initiate and has only seen things from a faculty point of view. He saw what the brothers let him see.

Well, I was there in the Good old days and there were a good few cinder blocks tossed around then too. Or, in my school's case, coconuts.This guy clearly hopes that another house will close, so that he cam add it to his list of failed chapters.

On another topic. When I read this article and I got to the end, I was surprised to see my own picture. It was my Facebook account, offering to let me 'Like' or comment on this story. Somewhere, there is a database which knows that I read this article, and which I find very creepy.

Never thought I'd be on this site, but alas, here I am. This post should be exhibit A on why you shouldn't make judgments without having the full context. Jerry Miller, one man, has done more for greek life at Miami than any collection of 5 individuals you could put together, and it isn't really close. My mother graduated from Miami in the 70s. My brother just graduated from Miami this past weekend, and I will graduate next May. Jerry was helping fraternities back when my mom was there, and I've recently seen the immense amount of counsel and help Jerry has given my own chapter as he mentored one of our young, emerging leaders. Bear in mind he is not an official adviser of my chapter--he is the adviser for another chapter, but he goes above and beyond to help others in any way that he can.

He was recently recognized with some kind of lifelong recognition award for his service to the greek community. Additionally, the "Outstanding Faculty/Staff Member" award given out annually at the greek awards banquet is named in his honor, and rightfully so. I have not had the pleasure of meeting Jerry or thanking him for his service to my chapter and the numerous others, so this isn't a friend of his sticking up for him, just someone who would hate to see a good man's reputation dragged through the mud when he has done so much.

Despite Miami touting its status as the "Mother of Fraternities" and using that as a recruiting tool, what many do not know is the stance the administration has taken towards greek life in recent years. As mentioned in the article above, faculty members are discouraged from serving as advisers to greek organizations, whereas it used to be lauded (and helpful in attaining tenure) in the past. The university's stance on hazing is ludicrous, as under their mandates having pledges participate in any event as a group constitutes 'hazing'. As in, where there used to be a philanthropy basketball tournament between the fraternities pledge classes, this year the tournament had to be opened up to everyone so that it wouldn't be 'hazing'. I'm certainly not suggesting we be allowed to paddle the crap out of our pledges or do some of the stuff that was completely fair game in years past, but lets be reasonable. Instead of being reasonable, the university has looked for every opportunity to hinder greek life in years past rather than addressing the problem chapters and letting those who operate responsibly to continue to do so, free of ridiculous red tape and regulations. Unfortunately, in all likelihood the university will use all the negative publicity just received as the means to attain the end they have wanted for awhile, which is a significantly diminished greek system.

While it may seem in the article above that Jerry is 'gunning' for one particular fraternity, in reality he just wants organizations to operate responsibly. He has put countless hours into making sure houses do succeed, but at the same time he will call a spade a spade when need be. I've been here for 3+ years, which has been more than enough to know that his criticisms of Sigma Chi at Miami are completely justified. In addition to the violations noted in the article, they were found to be violating our dry rush regulations by smoking weed in a back room during rush. They were also supposedly involved in a coke deal gone bad with the football team that left a pledge in the hospital with serious injuries. Despite all this and our IFC's best efforts to have them banished long-term so a culture change could occur, the administration caved to their Alpha status and alumni pressure and gave them a joke of a punishment, only kicking them off for one semester.

It's all politics, as is seen yet again with the recent punishments of Pi Phi and Fuzzie. Take some time to read the letters from the Pi Phi and Fuzzie formals back to back. Tell me which is worse, and if you show me someone who tries to justify Pi Phi (with a history of showing up drunk to the few philanthropies they actually attend) getting 1 year off and Fuzzie (involved on campus, no bad history) getting 2 I'll show you a liar. Our administration thought back to the Princeton Review slamming Miami for a lack of diversity, and decided that they couldn't afford to be seen as giving a slap on the wrist for bad behavior at the Freedom Center. I have been told that this was the first large event held at the Freedom Center, so they didn't know what to expect. While the drinking and trashed bathrooms are certainly not appropriate, they are not really that far outside the realm of expectations for a formal. Obviously the student attempting to pee on a monument is completely unacceptable, but that was a date and the girls certainly didn't condone it.

I would make the argument that while the Fuzzie girls were not well-behaved, the Freedom Center never should have been hosting an event like that in the first place. But they are hard up for cash, as the center has lost money every year since it opened to the best of my knowledge, so they are looking for any possible additional revenue (see: the spokesman suggesting they come back for a tour in the fall). They deserve a punishment, but social probation is more appropriate, not kicking off for 2 years a chapter that contributes on campus.

On the other hand, Pi Phi showed a complete disregard and treated the staff at their formal as if they weren't even human, with one responding to a worker telling her a stall was out of order by saying, "You don't understand..I don't care." The rest of their actions that night reflected that attitude. Pi Phi not getting the 2 year kiss of death is a joke. They earned it. I'm extremely disappointed by the way our administration has handled greek life over the past few years, and the way they have handled these two cases is absolutely despicable. Instead of doing the right thing, they are ruining the sorority experience for a whole chapter (Fuzzie) in an attempt to save face with the African American community. The university was going to take a massive image hit once the Pi Phi letter went public anyway, so throwing Fuzzie under the bus wasn't going to help anything. They deserve a reprimand, but not to have their whole experience ended.