Shani Shahmoon: Proactive approach needed for Greek life regulations

When organizations fail to adequately police themselves, university administration has a responsibility to step in. Nowhere is that more apparent than in Greek life on campus.

Following a string of troubling incidents at fraternities nationwide, UCLA administration has a responsibility to take a proactive, rather than reactive, approach. UCLA should not wait for a major incident on campus to take action; to do so would be to ignore the pervasive and systemic issues within Greek life as an institution.

Two recent events at other universities illustrate this reactionary approach. At Pennsylvania State University, the fraternity Kappa Delta Rho was caught with a Facebook group where brothers would post pictures of nude women, who were often unconscious, for fellow brothers to see. At University of Oklahoma’s Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter, a video was uploaded of brothers singing a racist and derogatory chant. Both universities took a reactionary response toward these problems.

UCLA’s Greek system has not yet faced such shameful cases, but that is no excuse to not take action against what is obviously a systemic problem.

Even though UCLA has never had extreme scandals like the ones at PSU and OU, we have had our own share of smaller incidents. For example, this past February there was an investigation of a sexual assault case that took place at one of UCLA’s fraternity houses. To be clear, there is no confirmation that the assumed offender was a fraternity member; but fraternity houses are often the epicenters of these sorts of incidents. Another example would be the death of a UC Santa Barbara student at UCLA’s Theta Chi.

UCLA’s Fraternity and Sorority Relations, as well as UCLA administrators, should look into what other universities have done as a response to faults in the Greek system and take similar action prior to any major incident on our campus.

At Penn State, the university’s president, Eric Barron, condemned Kappa Delta Rho for its actions and responded by creating a task force to evaluate the current Greek system.

This task force, led by Damon Sims, vice president of student affairs, will consist of questioning the Greek system on topics regarding goals and values, sexual misconduct and substance abuse and racial and ethnic diversity within the Greek community. This will result in a more direct list of methods to restructure the Greek system into something better than its current state.

UCLA should follow this example in order to set a structure for further reformation of the faults within Greek life. The task force leading these questions will include, according to Barron, “undergraduate students, alumni, trustees, ‘prevention experts’ and others.” Further information regarding this task force has not yet been publicized.

This task force at PSU should result in instituting a mandatory and in-person weekly seminar for all current pledges, both in sororities and fraternities. This seminar would include the issues presented from the task force and last the entirety of the pledge period, in order to cover all matters extensively, without skimming important details. Rather than having small educational events covering issues such as sexual assault that sorority and fraternity pledges go to with their friends and goof off in, this will be an opportunity to educate the upcoming generation of Greek-affiliated students.

Currently, UCLA’s Greek system has complied with the state audit calling upon the university to better its education of students and faculty members on the topic of sexual assault by implementing a “mandatory” sexual assault awareness seminar for fraternity members, but a one-time education process is not enough to solve the issue.

UCLA Greek advisors Mande Adams and Troy Bartel, and Greek Interim Director Kevin Dougherty, did not return requests for comment on this column.

Another method of precaution would be looking into University of Oklahoma’s response to the racist chants by its Sigma Alpha Epsilon chapter.

Since this horrific event, OU required cultural sensitivity training for many members of SAE and implemented mandatory diversity training for all students. SAE will be the first Greek organization in North America to hire a director of diversity and inclusion for all its chapters.

While UCLA is in the process of hiring a Vice Chancellor for Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion, reaching out to Greek students should be a high priority. Having a group under the new chancellor focused directly on Greek life will help prevent a racist culture within the system

Instituting these reforms at UCLA would be beneficial, both for the Greek community, as well as the entire undergraduate body. It would create a safer environment at fraternity parties and a more welcoming environment in terms of racial and ethnic diversity. UCLA should be preemptive in constructing a community that will always be held accountable for its actions.

By using tactics that other universities have instituted as a result of a horrendous act within their respected Greek system, UCLA would be taking a unique approach. Rather than waiting for the fire to grow, UCLA administrators would be putting it out before it becomes uncontrollable.