GREEK LIFE AND CAMPUS COMMUNITY - Sites at Lafayette ...

The changes being proposed are intended to transform the Greek community andto improve its relationship with the College. Most of the recommendations areconsistent with those proposed by the college presidents of the Franklin SquareGroup in their report A Call to Values Congruence, which focuses on prioritizingacademic engagement, communicating behavioral expectations clearly, usingresearch-based approaches to reduce high-risk alcohol use and improve overallwell-being, and systematic evaluation of chapters’ adherence to their ownmissions and to that of the College. Central to the mission of Lafayette Collegeis its commitment to making its campus a diverse, inclusive, and welcomingenvironment for all students, faculty, staff, and alumni.Regardless of which recommendations the Board may choose to endorse, it isimperative a reasonable period of time be employed to assess the effectivenessof the changes made. Systematic assessment has become a requirement forthe accreditation of colleges and universities and for many of their programs.Anecdotes and personal opinions will not be sufficient to make importantdecisions regarding the impact of the recommendations. Students, alumni, andCollege officials must be given adequate time to adjust to changes in decades-oldpractices and to adopt new skills and behaviors before the changes are judged tohave been successful.The Working Group believes that for these recommendations to be implemented,the Greek community must work cooperatively with the College and with alumniand national organizations to achieve academic excellence, to become morediverse and inclusive, to live up to its ideals of personal responsibility and integrity,and to fulfill its mission of philanthropy, service, and leadership.Improving Relationships between the College and the Greek CommunityThe Working Group recognizes it is vital for the College and the Greekcommunity to have a positive, open, and trusting working relationship. Thefive fraternities and six sororities currently recognized by the College must besupported in a manner that will provide them with optimal opportunity tosucceed in fulfilling the College’s mission and the purposes of their nationalorganizations. Both the North-American Interfraternity Conference Fraternityand Sorority Coalition Assessment Report and the AISB membership articulateda need for the College to acknowledge the existence of the Greek communityon campus and to make public its virtues. The Working Group concurs that, asa significant part of campus life, this system should not be ignored or hidden bythe College but that both the virtues and struggles of these organizations shouldbe made transparent to assist students as they make decisions about becomingmembers of the Greek community. Therefore:1. The partnership between the College and the Alumni Interfraternity andSorority Board must be strengthened, with active involvement from recognizedorganizations and the College. Lafayette should play a stronger role infacilitating the functioning of this organization.2. Information on Greek life at Lafayette should become fully representedthroughout the College’s public relations efforts. The activities and advantagesof Greek life should be fully transparent in areas such as admissions, tours,Family Weekend, Alumni Reunion, etc.3. The College should maintain its web presence such that a balanced perspectiveon each organization is offered to interested students and their parents.This balanced perspective would include each group’s mission and themany philanthropic and service projects each sponsors, the recent conducthistory and current disciplinary status of the groups, and each organization’saccreditation status (COMPASS or its equivalent) to afford prospectivenew members and parents the opportunity to make well-informed decisionsconcerning organizational choices.4. The College must partner more closely with the national organizations ofour active chapters, such that meaningful interaction, either in person or viateleconference, occurs each semester. These interactions should involve the VicePresident for Campus Life and Senior Diversity Officer, the Dean of Students,the College’s Greek Adviser, executives from the national organizations, andstudent leaders.5. The Working Group recommends College officials communicate with theparents of students joining fraternities and sororities, perhaps through a Parents’Council, concerning the recruitment process, the new-member educationprocess, and initiation (i.e., letter to parents on student selection to a chapter).6. The College should engage in conversations with alumni officials concerningbest practices for chapter-house management. While these residentialfacilities—fraternities, sororities, residence halls, off-campus houses—providediffering living-learning experiences for students, all must receive theappropriate physical plant attention from the College.7. The alumni advising for Greek organizations must be improved, such thatadvisers receive training from the College and the various national organizationsand performance-assessment becomes a part of this important role. Specificimprovements include providing at least two advisers per house, one havingbeen graduated for a minimum of 10 years, and personal meetings withCollege officials at least twice per semester focusing on financial management,philanthropic activities, faculty involvement, and general chapter management.18 19