problems on campus

penguintpa_lady · #1 03-30-2009, 12:04 AM

hey everyone im just curious if any of you have had a problem with campuses trying to "do away with greeklife". since i graduated the rumor i have been hearing is that some of the staff at SSU would like to remove greeklife from their campus. the more i think about this im starting to believe this rumor. when i graduated there were 2 fraternities and 2 sororities (one local). since my graduation ,two years ago, one of the fraternities has been kicked off campus, the other has been recently suspened, and the local sorority is being forced to go national due to insurance. my sisters now feel that there is a target on there back.

i was just curious if anyone else had ever had any problems like this & how they were handled.

Thanks
Bekki

Theta Phi Alpha
Gamma Epsilon

navane · #2 03-30-2009, 12:37 AM

If the campus is forcing the local to go national, that doesn't seem like a case of trying to "do away with Greek Life". If the campus wanted to be like that, they'd take this opportunity to close the local saying, "Nationals only. You have to close due to liability issues." The fact that the two fraternities got themselves into trouble is probably a coincidence. The only way I could see your theory working is if the campus staff "know" that no national will ever take the local and it will, therefore, have to close.

.....Kelly

WhiteRose1912 · #3 03-30-2009, 02:30 AM

Do you still have AGL? If so, maybe talk to the advisor about your concerns.

RaggedyAnn · #4 03-30-2009, 07:28 AM

Every year the university calls for a donation, I:
1. ask if Greek Life is still on campus and 2. earmark my donation for Greek Life. The year they say no, my answer will be the same.

penguintpa_lady · #5 03-31-2009, 06:03 PM

well they kind of still have AGL but from what the girls told me they have not met in a while (i think since the guys were suspened).

part of me thinks that in the end the local sorority may not go national they started to go national 6 years ago (same time we went national with TPA). far as i know so far they have not found an national org. to go with. \

some say the goal is not so mcuh to do away with GL but to do away with greeklife as we know it & start fresh with all new orgs.

33girl · #6 04-01-2009, 02:48 AM

You are backed by a national org - unless something really bizarre happens with that org, if they trump up charges to try and "get rid" of you, they'll be getting sued really soon.

My campus also tried the "start fresh" thing w/ the fraternities. It worked so well (sarcasm) that they ended up asking one of the groups they kicked off to come back. You can't force students to accept a group they do not want.

LocalDGPhi139 · #7 04-14-2009, 01:49 PM

Actually, one of the easiest and most common ways to kick a local off campus is to force them to go national for "insurance reasons". Other organizations have been trying to do that to my local for years, but since it's not the administration saying it our GC can vote against it.

The local might be able to fight it by saying the school should cover them because they're a club. The reason our local stays local is that we grandfathered ourselves into the constitution (along with one other local) so even though no more can come on campus, we're here to stay. There are many great national sororities, however, and I'm sure they would be able to find one that suits their purpose and ideals.

As for Greek life being edged off campus, it sounds like you're completely right and that's what's happening. The only advice I can give you is to tell your actives to watch themselves very closely and give no one any reason to get them out. I don't know anything about your chapter, but trying doing a big, very publicized event for your philanthropy. It sounds awful, but putting yourselves in the media and the minds of the community is the best way to make them want you to stay. Good luck!

sinfonian19 · #8 04-15-2009, 02:03 AM

No the most problems that I've seen on my campus is the powers that be showing favortism to certain orgs at times....or thats the way it seems

CTSigmaChi · #9 04-15-2009, 11:00 PM

I don't think that requiring general liability insurance coverage should be construed as aggressive to the organization involved, local or otherwise. Nor should it be viewed as an attempt to force a "local to go national". There are many companies out there that would be more than happy to provide the service of insurance coverage for local greek organizations (MJ Insurance and Kirklin being the two that come to mind quickest). Rather, this is a protection for people in these local GLOs. It's easy to get into the mindset of "it can't happen to me", but I've heard enough stories to know that liability is a big issue in Greek Life and if, God forbid, something were to happen... I think it would be better to require the insurance coverage, even if it is costly, than to have the President of the organization stuck with a million dollar lawsuit. Besides, having general liability insurance coverage for a GLO in this day and age isn't only commonplace; it's the standard. Most schools require at least $1,000,000 in general liability insurance coverage.