CU puts Greeks on notice

[LXAAlum]

From today's Rocky Mountain News:

CU puts Greeks on notice
Frats, sororities get six weeks to agree to new restrictions

By Hector Gutierrez And Berny Morson, Rocky Mountain News
March 18, 2005

The University of Colorado on Thursday gave fraternities and sororities until the end of the semester to sign off on an agreement crafted to help rein in alcohol abuse.

One of the key components of the agreement would require fraternities and sororities to defer rush activities for freshmen from the traditional autumn period to the spring semester of the 2005-06 academic year.

The 14 fraternities and 10 sororities at the Boulder campus have until April 29, the last day of spring semester classes, to sign off on the agreement.

If they don't, the Greeks will lose certain privileges on campus such as inclusion on the CU Web site, in publications and on student lists. Fraternities and sororities that do not sign the agreement also would lose access to the Greek affairs office, the university's Greek adviser, campus meeting spaces, and sports fields and facilities.

"The purpose of this agreement is to help the Greek organizations return to their core values of scholarship, leadership, service and brotherhood/sisterhood," Ron Stump, vice chancellor for student affairs, said in a statement.

"We believe they have drifted from these important values over the past several years, and the entire Greek system has suffered as a result. Our expectation is 'no more business as usual.' "

A list of fraternities and sororities that have signed the agreement with CU will be available to freshmen students and their parents.

"The groups that have signed have agreed to a certain level of standards, that here's a group that's making positive changes," CU Greek Affairs Director Laura Strohminger said. "Parents would investigate that more and make sure they feel more comfortable, and the students, themselves, have to understand what they're joining.

"It will show that the institution is working with them and has a relationship with them, and the others we do not. And we have no way of knowing what expectations they're living up to," she said.

Administrators at CU and Colorado State University sounded the alarm last fall when both campuses lost a student to binge drinking at a fraternity house.

So far, the national offices of all of the sororities are backing the changes in the agreement, which also includes a requirement for a full-time staff member in each chapter house and a prohibition against hazing and alcohol consumption at events for new members.

The fraternities, however, have balked at a couple of the proposals, including delaying rush week for freshmen until spring, Strohminger said.

"They have said that they don't necessarily agree with some of the recruitment pieces," she said. "The women have said that they're pleased with the draft, and they've been asking their local chapters to support it. There's a need for cultural change and I applaud the women for doing that."

Requests for comment from fraternities were referred to representatives of the North American Interfraternity Conference in Indianapolis, who weren't available Thursday.

Katie Matthews, president of CU's Panhellenic Council, which represents the school's sororities, acknowledged that the sororities also were uneasy about delaying rush week for several months.

"It isn't what we prefer, but we're already working to change over all of our plans for the recruitment," Matthews said.

"We already have live-in advisers and, obviously, people don't drink underage at our parties and hazing is already prohibited, so our only main concern was deferred recruitment," Matthews said.

New rules for Greeks

Under the fraternal organization agreement, fraternities and sororities will be expected to:

• Engage a full-time, live-in staff member in the chapter house.

• Prohibit underage consumption of alcohol at events.

• Schedule rush activities according to a date determined by the university, which will be in the spring semester of the freshman year beginning with the 2005-06 academic year.

• Abide by federal, state and local laws.

• Meet the national organization's academic standards.

The agreement also prohibits any form of hazing and use of alcohol in new-member programming. The deadline for signing the agreement is April 29.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by LXAAlum
"Our expectation is 'no more business as usual.' "

"Abide by federal, state and local laws."

Out of the entire article, two things struck me as the message schools are sending now.

They're sending, I hope somebody is receiving.

[Tom Earp]

Amen to My Two Good Greek Brothers!

Now, I just wonder if this applies to The Athletic Programs?

Amazing is it how being in one position as compared to others that it changes things.

[33girl]

Are the freshmen at CU the dumbest and most naive freshmen ever? Like, they think beer only can be acquired from a keg in a fraternity house?

If they're not, I don't see what deferred rush has to do with controlling alcohol abuse, or how it will prevent it.

this is THUPER GHEY.

[hoosier]

1 - adult in every house = good

2 - deferred rush = bad

I visited several CU houses last summer, and several were dumps. Anything would be an improvement.

Postponing rush will lead to several fraternity chapter casualties in the next two years.

There has apparently been some attention to CU by the NIC, and maybe they can organize some common action. See my earlier posts on "get a lawyer".

[exlurker]

University of Colorado fraternities have refused to agree to spring rush for freshmen, according to the Denver Post.

http://www.denverpost.com/Stories/0,...840180,00.html

[Tom Earp]

It is amazing that so many Chapter Houses are dumps or they dont even have Houses on a Major University

It seems like there are some good points that are requisted by the Adm. but shoving the gobblygook down only Greeks throats is uncalled for. CU cannot take care of thier own inhouse problems.

I am sure there could be a working situation worked out, but it seems that the school is of the mind set, "Do It Our Way or The Highway".

Now, if the Greeks would begin to act like Semi Adults there would not be this problem!

It just seems a force issue, everytime a Greek Org. closes, the Un. snaps the House up and recycles it or tears it down for someother use.

It seems interesting that if The Greeks dont abide, then they will no longer be able to use School facilitys. Da, play by My Rules or I will take my toys and go home.

[valkyrie]

Originally posted by exlurker
University of Colorado fraternities have refused to agree to spring rush for freshmen, according to the Denver Post.

You know, I say good for them.

[James]

Why are the girls so willing to bow to the administration?

[33girl]

Originally posted by James
Why are the girls so willing to bow to the administration?

Because a lot of sororities (more than fraternities) have in their charters that if the school doesn't recognize them they will immediately pull their charter. Right now the school says deferred rush = recognition, so they are going along with it, but believe me, they don't want to. And they probably requested of the sororities that DON'T have it in their charters to stand with them on this. This is just my speculation.

Gordie Bailey's stepfather sounds like an asshat. So does this guy.

"What is particularly troubling about it is that there are other campuses that the National Interfraternity Conference has chapters at that do have deferred rush," he said. "Why they are singling out the University of Colorado is perplexing to me."

Ummm...because you're doing it for the wrong reason and trying to use it as a quick fix for something that is an ALL CAMPUS problem.

Asshat.

[PhoenixAzul]

It sounds like they're expecting freshmen to learn that alcohol is bad mmmmkay. They're basically singling out a part of freshman life that just associates historically with alcohol....kids are going to drink one way or another, and pushing rush back two quarters or whatever is not going to fix the freshman mind on alcohol.

[exlurker]

Originally posted by James
Why are the girls so willing to bow to the administration?

Some other posts have given possible reasons; I'd like to mention another possibility or two.

Think of just a handful of well-known schools that have deferred recruitment for women -- Indiana U., Northwestern, Vanderbilt, Duke, Southern Methodist, Cornell, Stanford, and Harvard, for instance. Since all of the NPC sororities at the U. of Colorado* have a chapter at at least one of those schools-- and some are at lots of them-- those sororities may feel, based on experience, that deferred recruitment isn't the end of the world. Or at any rate they may feel that when you have to pick your battles, this particular tussle isn't one they want to pursue.

Another reason may be that the NPC sororities at Colorado feel, rightly or wrongly, that they are in better shape financially than the fraternities and can weather a semester or a year or two of adjustment to deferred.

A third possibility could be that NPC sororities might tend to view deferred recruitment a bit more positively than fraternities do. Besides giving freshmen a semester to acclimatize themselves to university life, deferred recruitment can give the sororities a chance to see if some potential prospective new members are showing any substantial problems with grades, time management, out-of-control behavior, or extreme flakiness. Active members can have the chance to know PNMs slightly better after a semester has passed than at the beginning of the school year.

Not to say that deferred is perfect or always desirable -- but I can at least imagine that sororities might be willing to accept it.

* Note: NPC at U. of Colorado: Alpha Chi Omega, Alpha Omicron Pi, Alpha Phi, chi Omega, Delta Delta Delta, Delta Gamma, Gamma Phi Beta, Kappa Alpha Theta, Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi.

[AGDee]

When they tried to defer recruitment at U of Michigan for similar reasons, individual NPC alumnae and various headquarters' campaigned against it. To my knowledge, that part of the agreement with the University was dropped. Perhaps some administrations cave to pressure more easily than others. Or, they came up with more convincing arguments? Or, the alumnae who campaigned against it donate more money?

Dee

[33girl]

Originally posted by exlurker
A third possibility could be that NPC sororities might tend to view deferred recruitment a bit more positively than fraternities do.

LOL, that DEFINITELY isn't it.

I think you are right when you say that they don't feel like fighting this one because there's been so much controversy there. It's another instance of the sororities trying to distance themselves from the actions of the fraternities. I wonder, though, how this will play out - because don't a lot of sororities also have bylaws now about not having mixers or other events with groups who aren't recognized?

[boz130]

FWIW, I've seen from personal experience where the deferred rush works well @ Northwestern. The Lambda Chi Alpha chapter recruited 20+ men in Feb. 2004, and many of them were frosh.

I suppose the case could be made that for every good thing that comes from waiting, there's a negative. But isn't that always going to happen?

Later-
BF