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UB Vice President of Student Affairs on "Fraternity & Sorority Life"
This statement from the UB Vice-President of Student Affairs was on the student newspaper's website today.
The Mail
To the Editor:
As you may know, MTV filmed the latest installment of its
reality television show, "Sorority Life," and its first edition
of "Fraternity Life" in Buffalo last fall, featuring two UB
student groups. The shows are being aired at 10 p.m. on
Wednesdays for 13 weeks, starting last night. The show
follows several members of Delta Xi Omega sorority and
the Sigma Chi Omega fraternity during new-member
education period. Because the show undoubtedly will
depict some positive content and may include some
negative images, we thought it was worth revisiting how
MTV "Sorority Life" and "Fraternity Life" came to be filmed
at UB, and what might happen after it airs.
First and foremost, these students, who are in good
standing at UB, exercised their legal right to participate in
off-campus activities. Whether their choice to star on MTV
benefits or hinders them, we will protect their privacy and
welfare as we would with any students.
It should be noted that MTV contracted directly with the
student organizations and the individual students. All
content is controlled entirely by MTV. UB did not endorse
or participate in the production. The university did permit
on-campus filming in an effort to provide a more
balanced look at student life. During filming, UB did
everything within its rights to eliminate disruption and
protect student interests on campus. The shows were
filmed primarily off campus, in pledge houses that were
not UB residences. The houses were rented, furnished
and maintained by MTV.
These students were aware that as community and
university citizens, they would be accountable for their
behavior. They were reminded that their behavior would
reflect on them, as well as on UB, their sorority or
fraternity and Western New York. We believe they took
this to heart. Although MTV has not given us access to all
13 episodes, we sense there is more positive than
negative content. On the positive front, we will see our
students participating in community-service activities,
building school pride, studying hard and modeling many
healthy behaviors. We remain concerned, however, that
some behaviors exhibited by some featured students
may not truly represent UB as we know it—as a
world-class academic institution and a responsible
community citizen.
As appropriate, UB will enforce our student judicial
processes and student organization conduct standards.
Additionally, we cannot predict how authorities outside UB
will react if the program depicts unlawful conduct, such as
underage drinking. Obviously, we hope future episodes
will not require campus and off-campus responses.
At the end of the season, we hope that MTV will show the
world what we already know—that UB is among the world's
best places to learn and grow.
Sincerely,
Dennis Black
Vice President for Student Affairs
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