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LAFAYETTE TODAY
Working Group Studies Greek Life
A WORKING GROUP ON GREEK LIFE and the Campus Community
has been formed to examine how fraternities and sororities can best
contribute to Lafayette’s future in the context of the College’s strategic
plan. Its objective is to understand more clearly the benefits of fraternity
and sorority membership and develop insight on avenues for preserving and
enhancing these benefits while mitigating problems the chapters face.
Co-chaired by Barbara Levy ’77, chair of the Trustees’ Committee
on Student Life, and Ashley Juavinett ’11, former president of Student
Government, the panel will seek to determine ways in which the Greek
system may better align its primary purposes and daily operations with
academic excellence, diversity and inclusion, student learning outside of the
classroom, responsible alcohol use, personal integrity, and the development
of organizations that both support their members and challenge them
to grow and develop. It also will focus on the relationship between these
organizations and nonaffiliated students.
Last year, an Ad Hoc Committee on Residence Life undertook a review
of Lafayette’s residence life program to provide direction as the College
implements the strategic plan and continues shaping the residential
experience for students. The committee was chaired by Robert Sell ’84,
vice chair of the trustees’ student life committee. Its final report sets forth
25 recommendations for consideration by College officials. In it, the
committee expresses the “studied opinion that resolution to the issue
of how fraternities and sororities can most effectively contribute to the
College’s mission requires further study.”
“Many students and alumni who belong to Greek organizations articulate
forcefully the merits of membership, merits that extend far beyond their four
years on campus,” President Daniel H. Weiss said. “However, as the ad hoc
committee reported, the perception also exists that Greek chapters may have
a deleterious effect on important community values.
“In conversations with members of the Lafayette community and others,
the working group will seek to improve our understanding of the benefits of
Greek membership and the contributions of the Greek system at Lafayette
and increase our knowledge of best practices with respect to fraternity and
sorority policies and management,” Weiss said. “This will help guide our
future efforts as we work with the undergraduates and alumni of Greek
organizations to mitigate problematic issues.”
The working group plans to share its findings, observations, and
recommendations with the College community during the fall 2010 semester.
It includes alumni Paul McCurdy ’82, president of the Alumni Association,
and Kevin Canavan ’76; faculty members James Schaffer, professor of
chemical and biomolecular engineering and director of institutional research,
and John Shaw, associate professor of psychology; and administrators
James Krivoski, vice president for student affairs, Karen Forbes, director
of counseling services, and Laurel Peffer, assistant director of residence
life and adviser to fraternities and sororities.
Juavinett is a neuroscience major. Other student members of the working
group are Max Bass ’10 (American studies), Kyara Gray ’11 (economics
and business), Justin Kamine ’11 (economics and business/policy studies),
Elizabeth Katz ’10 (psychology), and DeAndre Morrow ’10 (history). ■
34 lafayette • SPRING 2010
National Title
for Squash Club
WITH A 6-3 WIN over Bryant
in the final round, the Squash
Club captured its second straight
national title in the Hawthorne
Cup division at the College
Squash Association Team
Championships.
Lafayette defeated clubs from
Fordham and Vermont to reach
the final of the tournament,
held at Yale in February. The
Hawthorne division field also
included Bard, Bucknell, the
College of Charleston, and
Notre Dame.
Leading up to the CSA
championships, the team played
about a dozen matches and
competed in a tournament with
Patriot League teams Bucknell,
Colgate, Lehigh, and the
Naval Academy.
“It was fun to see how the
team improved throughout the
year and the close bonds and
friendships that developed,”
says the club’s vice president,
Chip Culp ’12, an economics
and business major. “Winning the
Hawthorne Cup again was the
cap to another great season for
our up-and-coming program.”
Carter Rufe ’12 (Spanish)
is the club’s president. Other
members are Mark Bottini ’12
(economics and business),
Molly Clarke ’12 (mathematics),
Frank Dalicandro ’12
(economics and business), Rob
Elliot ’11 (civil engineering),
Will Giammattei ’13
(engineering), C.J. Horning
’13 (engineering), Aung Lin
’10 (mechanical engineering/
economics and business), and
Lexy Pierce ’10 (American
studies). ■