Greek life at Wesleyan has been under a microscope for some time now. A few years ago, the administration mandated that fraternity houses open up their residential living to women, which Psi U and DKE did. More recently, Beta Theta Pi has been under scrutiny for a sexual assault lawsuit and a student falling out of a window while intoxicated.
I just opened my email and saw this letter concerning the future of Greek life from President Michael Roth (himself an alum of Alpha Delta Phi, which at Wesleyan is a co-ed literary fraternity), and the head of the Board of Trustees. If I'm reading this correctly (as a non-Greek), won't this mean either de-recognition from the school or from the national organization? Or they have to give up their houses (DKE and Psi U's are beautiful)?
Quote:
To the Wesleyan community:
As you may know, we have been considering the future role of Greek life at Wesleyan, and over the summer a great many Wesleyan alumni, students and faculty offered their views. Some have urged that we preserve the status quo; others have argued for the elimination of all exclusive social societies. The trustees and administration recognize that residential fraternities have contributed greatly to Wesleyan over a long period of time, but we also believe they must change to continue to benefit their members and the larger campus community. With equity and inclusion in mind, we have decided that residential fraternities must become fully co-educational over the next three years. If the organizations are to continue to be recognized as offering housing and social spaces for Wesleyan students, women as well as men must be full members and well-represented in the body and leadership of the organization.
This change is something that Wesleyan and the fraternities have been contemplating for many years, and now the time has come. The University looks forward to receiving plans from the residential fraternities to co-educate, after which it will work closely with them to make the transition as smooth as possible.
Our residential Greek organizations inspire loyalty, community and independence. That's why all our students should be eligible to join them. Although this change does not affect nonresidential organizations, we are hopeful that groups across the University will continue to work together to create a more inclusive, equitable and safer campus. We look forward to working with all campus constituencies to improve the residential experience of Wesleyan students now and for generations to come.
Joshua Boger '73, P'06, P'09
Chair, Board of Trustees
Michael S. Roth '78
President
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