Quote:
Originally posted by AWSPE
No he is trying to kill it. He is strongly against the greek system. Maybe it is different in your situation but not here.
|
I'd make DARN sure the Greeks didn't give him a reason to kill it. Don't be/act stupid.
Quote:
|
This basically means that a public institution cannot prohibit the right of students to associate with whom they please. They also cannot refuse to "recognize" an organization merely because they do not like it or agree with its purposes.
|
Keep in mind that you can associate without having Greek letters. I tell struggling chapters (who want to do nothing but hang out and drink together) that a charter and a letter shirt aren't required to "hang out and drink".
Quote:
HOWEVER, fraternities and sororities have been given special privileges by congress-including the right to maintain a single-sex status. These protections come because it was recognized that fraternal organizations had greater purposes, standards, etc.
In order to keep these rights there is an expectation that we keep what makes us special- developing leaders, service, ritual, etc...
Public institutions have the right to set reasonable standards for recognition, etc. If it can be shown that those we rush ( freshmen ) do poorly academically, are prone to risk management violations or violations of law, etc...there is nothing that would prevent a public institution from deferring that rushing.
|
And therin lies your challenge. Prove that it isn't detrimental to freshmen
at your school to join in their first semester (the "national" statistics aren't going to amount to a hill of beans at your school if your behaviors/records aren't consistent with what the statistics say). That proof comes not only from grades, but from disciplinary records as well. If freshmen are getting alcohol violations after coming home from a fraternity party...that's not going to help you out any.
As far as what your organizations can do to regain 1st semester recruitment, you mentioned in the beginning that the Dean's reasoning was because the fraternities aren't living up to their standards, yet you feel as though there are no clear standards.
Sit down with him/her and clarify those standards. Then live up to them.
This is where the 5 Star programs come into play. IF the expectations listed in them are fair, they are a great tool for assessing the state of the chapters and looking at what needs improving for each chapter. (Yes, I know Delaware's program is kinda harsh, but you don't have to use that one. There are TONS of them out there...ask your fellow SigEp chapters about them). At the school I advise, it's not a matter of points or percentages, instead for each Star level (in 6 different categories), you have to earn something like "4 out of 5 standards" or "4 out of 6 standards" to achieve that level. So....if your chapter GPA wasn't above the All Greek GPA that semester, you can still earn 4 Star status because you have the opportunity to check something else off. The bare minimums of chapter existence are the 3 Star standards (and these are the BARE minimums or less needed to stay in good standing with your HQ so they aren't hard to achieve)...if a chapter falls below that one semester, we sit down and discuss what needs to improve and how they can improve it. If they stay below 3 Stars for a full year, we have a more serious discussion (and that's where probations can come into play) because the chapter may have lost it's focus and direction and is going downhill fast.
So, I'd ask that Dean what standards he wants all of the Greeks to live up to, and then I'd form a committee/task force to craft a mutually agreeable list of standards, along with the consequences and rewards tied to them. Then go achieve them.
At a conference this week I heard a SigEp alum (who ranks up there in the Greek Advising world) comment about chapters "If we evaluated our current existing chapters on the requirements we have in order to charter a new chapter, we'd probably lose half of our chapters." We were talking about the difference between the standards for new chapters to be installed and the current chapters/initiated members. So if you're looking for a place to start, check out your chartering requirements.
By the way...the SigEp chapter on my campus doubled it's size this year with deferred recruitment (as did another chapter...the other two pledged about 1/4 of it's current size...which is healthy for them right now). ALL the fraternity men changed their approach to recruitment tactics and really pushed "going Greek" to the freshmen in the fall. Since this issue may not be resolved before Fall semester begins, I'd start thinking about your recruitment plans now.
Good Luck!!
PsychTau