Is This Legal?

[jwright25]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

no matter how good ones intentions are, she cannot operate outside the written guidelines of the organzation. if this duty has been written into the panhellenic bylaws, then it is a moot point, and all sorority members should cooperate with the panhellenic officer.

YES YES YES. I admire her intentions - to ensure that the image that Greeks put forth is a positive one. But unless your constitution and bylaws give her authority over you, she has none. And she cannot enforce any sort of punishment or fine over you or your chapter unless it is written down and voted upon and passed by the members of Panhellenic.

In fact, this it has disaster written all over it with sorority women putting up inflammatory stuff just to see what she would do about it. I agree with others, don't be her friend, set it to private, and wait. In the meantime, make sure you have told your sorority's Chapter Advisor and/or Panhellenic Advisor (I don't mean campus Greek advisor, I mean the alumna of your sorority that works with Panhellenic officers). Then go to the Panhellenic Inter/National officer in your sorority. Surely you have someone on a level between chapters and actual NPC Delegates. Not necessarily to fight it, but to at least make her aware of the situation should something come up in the future - like this person filing an NPC infraction on your chapter and trying to levy consequences without being permitted to do so by constitution and bylaws.

I hate when people get on power trips. Especially when they try and impose their personal issues on my business. Ugh. I feel for you!

[Phi_Mu_Belle]

As far as I know, this is NOT in the PHC By-laws or my chapter's by-laws/National Laws (that I know of). I was junior delegate last year and NEVER heard this issue brought up for discussion at PHC. I also think she has good intentions, but she's taking it too far. Next thing you know she'll be telling us who can be our friends.

I have complied with her requests and removed myself from the groups with the "bad words" in them, although I'm not happy about it. I never had any provocative pictures or pictures with alcohol in them so that isn't a problem. I don't think it will go to the extreme that she'll try to sanction us, but all of the suggestions and help you all have offered has been a big help. Thanks!

[gpb1874]

regarding the housing office using facebook....they are looking for violations of the STUDENT CODE OF CONDUCT or housing lease. Drinking in your room if you are under 21 is a violation of those rules. Thus, they can use it against you as it gives them proof (especially if it's a picture) that you were violating those rules.

the PHC officers cannot randomly decide to do this, especially if some sort of fine or other punishment is involved. That would need to be voted upon by the chapters and added to the by-laws. She can decide to start looking and having conversations with people about why they shouldn't have those things on their profile. Think of this as being proactive and providing educational opportunities through discussion.

If she is "forcing" people to change their profile when the chapters have not agreed to that rule, freedom of speech and association issues can be brought up. While chapters themselves are private organizations, I do not belive college Panhellenic organizations fall under the same category. It is a governing body and chapters are private under title 9 as single sex, social organizations. If I'm wrong, feel free to correct me.

I hope this explains the difference between housing looking for actual violations of policy and PHC officer looking for something SHE thinks is wrong.

happy spring break everyone!

[ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl]

Before getting worked up about it, I'd ask your Panhellenic rep if this was passed as a bylaw...this is something she should know, and she should be able to get a copy of the bylaw for your chapter.

If not then I don't see how this can be enforced...BUT I believe in picking battles. Is it really that big of a deal? It sounds like you didn't have much to worry about in your profile in the first place, but I'm sure some Greeks on campus do, and honestly, whatever her motives, she's doing them a favor. People just don't understand that anything you put on the internet can be found and used for/against you at some point. Having a totally clean facebook profile in the midst of so many that aren't is going to look good to employers who are pulling up profile after profile with offensives material in it. I think it IS a little harsh to tell a college kid not to be in groups because they include a "cuss" word...I mean, that won't impress employers, but it isn't as offensive as illegal activity, for instance. But she's probably trying to make one rule to cover all bases...for instance...a lot of people joined a group that was something like "What the f did I do last night?...f, no I didn't...I did? F". There is a difference between that and "I wish facebook had a b-slap button".

[UGAalum94]

It would make more sense to me if she were reviewing public profiles periodically, but it seems strange to me that she insists on seeing pages that aren't visible to anyone but friends. I think people should be mindful about what they have even on private profiles, but it's hard to figure out how it is panhellenic's business.

And here's a random question: when a person starts looking for jobs or internships, can't he or she deactivate his or her profile completely?

[valkyrie]

Originally Posted by ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl

If not then I don't see how this can be enforced...BUT I believe in picking battles. Is it really that big of a deal?

Honestly, I think it IS that big of a deal. It's too bad I'm not still in college, because I would DARE the self-appointed internet police to try to control what I have on the internet. What authority does she have for her actions -- someone should question this before she gets even more out of control. She sounds like the Dale -- er, Hoosier of PHC.

It sounds like this woman has her head so far up her ass she doesn't realize how absolutely ridiculous it is for her to try to control what every sorority member posts on facebook. She says she wants to break the "stereotype" of sororities -- so she's being a super-controlling, tightass freak who gets to tell everyone what they can and cannot do on the internet? Please. I think crap like that makes us look even worse than belonging to a group that uses profanity or "bad words" (what does that even mean?).

[FSUZeta]

if this facebook rule is not written into the panhellenic bylaws, then she has no more control over facebook photos or groups that sorority members join than the man in the moon. if the rule is not official, and she is trying to create her own rules and standards for everyone else to live by and is bypassing the correct procedure to have a new rule passed, then the other panhellenic officers or the greek life advisor (or all) should tell her that she is out of bounds, a memo should be sent to all the campus sorority presidents stating that, and that should be the end of it.

i would pursue this until you find out what is what.

[ADPiLove]

We're having a problem with Facebook as well, but not that someone is going a bit crazy checking them. 3 of the 6 sororities on campus have been put on social probation for Facebook. Someone not in the Greek community reported them, and mainly it was because of only one or two profiles. My chapter is just warning us to make sure they are cleaned up, and have been doing so even before the 3 went on probation.

Our Greek Director of Student Organizations supposedly goes through our Facebook. Personally, you shouldn't put stuff up that would look bad to an employer, etc. but it's your choice. It is getting to be a problem, but I don't think that makes it ok to make people resign from groups, although I understand the whole image of being Greek thing.

[UGAalum94]

My personal opinion is that nobody should worry about regulating the image of being Greek. A particular group has an interest in protecting the image of that group, but trying to impose an image standard on the whole system and every individual in it is silly and counter-productive.

However, there's a big difference between trying to contol "image" and using self-posted photographs to decide that people are engaging in activities that are illegal and/or contrary to the schools student code of conduct.

If you are brazen enough to leave up photos of yourself or members of your group breaking the law or school and GLOs rules, you deserve whatever sanctions you get hit with.

And I also think it's weird that it has become a panhellenic officer's job to screen an entire system's facebook pages. That's kind of crazy.

[CZAXOTerp]

Something no one has addressed is that sometimes these pages can present/create safety issues. When people put their schedule of events on there you know where they are going to be when, with who, and if you are on a campus where chapters have houses you know where they live, so possibly when they will/won't be home, etc.

I know that at our last convention "social networking" sites were addressed as being potentially dangerous and not just from a PR/image standpoint.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by CZAXOTerp

Something no one has addressed is that sometimes these pages can present/create safety issues. When people put their schedule of events on there you know where they are going to be when, with who, and if you are on a campus where chapters have houses you know where they live, so possibly when they will/won't be home, etc.

I know that at our last convention "social networking" sites were addressed as being potentially dangerous and not just from a PR/image standpoint.

Oh, yeah. And not just the events. Kids put addresses and contact info out there. It's a stalker's paradise.

[CZAXOTerp]

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Oh, yeah. And not just the events. Kids put addresses and contact info out there. It's a stalker's paradise.

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Well if you are on a campus w/ chatper houses it's pretty easy to determine where many of the members live. I remember when my initiation class moved into the house and they went over all of these safety measures - like not having a key chain w/ letters on it, that has the house keys on it. People posting all of this info are really putting themselves at risk.

Infomation on event timing, location, etc. is one of the reasons why I didn't do an elaborate wedding website- it's like an invitation for your house to be robbed- they know the house will be empty and potentially full of wedding gifts.

Originally Posted by Alphagamuga

Oh, yeah. And not just the events. Kids put addresses and contact info out there. It's a stalker's paradise.

I see girls with their cell phone numbers on there all the time.

When I was an undergrad, the Board of Publications put out a Student Directory each year with the addresses and phone number we had listed with the Admissions Dept. It wasn't that big of a deal before, but after a while people got more and more concerned with privacy issues that they quit publishing them my senior year. It was a waste of paper, anyway.

Some people just don't think. You're basically asking for stalkers to come and get you!

[UGAalum94]

Yeah, it's weird how our perceptions have changed.

Most of us aren't bothered by traditional phone book listings. But when you are online with a "map it" function, it's get's really weird, really fast.

But really, a picture, a name, an address and phone numbers all in one place and open to anyone who will register: not such a good thing.

[33girl]

Wait a minute - let me get this straight - this is an UNDERGRAD doing this?

An undergrad who is an active member of a sorority?

And she's the ONLY one checking this?

Umm, this is kind of like having one person on Panhel be the one to decide who did and who didn't commit rush infractions and - wonder of wonders - her sorority didn't, and the sorority that's her chapter's biggest rival did.

Imagine having one person on the Supreme Court.

Either the sororities should be self-policing according to guidelines from their HQ or set by their chapter, or the Greek advisor should be spot checking, but there is NO WAY IN HELL (ooh, bad word) that one undergrad should have that kind of power over the entire sorority community on ANYTHING.

I would definitely make up a nickname for her, leak it to all the other sororities, and then create a group called "Dalina Terrina = Adolf Hitler" or something of the like. It would be funny to see if she would be stupid enough to join it herself without knowing what it was about.