[This is a guest essay from an anonymous writer, not affiliated with Beta Theta Pi or Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity]
The last few weeks have been interesting ones in the world of
fraternity and sorority life.
Sometimes history is made by opening new doors, and sometimes its made by closing old ones.
On March 7
Sigma Alpha Epsilon Fraternity announced publicly that they would be eliminating
their new member program and initiating members within 96 hours. This bold and courageous move echoed throughout
the social media world, pinning members and observers on both sides of the
fence. After being (ridiculously) deemed
the “deadliest” fraternity by Bloomberg, Sigma Alpha Epsilon made a move their board and
staff felt was right for them.
Buried deep in another fraternity newsletter, released last
week, a different approach was taken to address the organizational challenge of
hazing. The letter was written by David
E. Schmidt, Beta Theta Pi Fraternity General Secretary. Schmidt eloquently addressed the fraternity
membership about the recent closing of their Alpha chapter at Miami
University.
The letter described hazing allegations including coerced alcohol consumption, forced calisthenics, and line ups. The organization invested in the chapter several years ago and reorganized the membership. Still, the culture of the chapter persisted and as Mr. Schmidt writes, “the lack of honesty, transparency and forthrightness the last several years, as well as during the recent investigations, severely undercut the chapter’s credibility and standing with the university, house corporation and General Fraternity.”
The letter described hazing allegations including coerced alcohol consumption, forced calisthenics, and line ups. The organization invested in the chapter several years ago and reorganized the membership. Still, the culture of the chapter persisted and as Mr. Schmidt writes, “the lack of honesty, transparency and forthrightness the last several years, as well as during the recent investigations, severely undercut the chapter’s credibility and standing with the university, house corporation and General Fraternity.”
Both Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi deserve credit
for their decisions, and each will be better off for having made them. However, of the two, it’s the Beta decision
that may matter more. I see this as a
tipping point for our industry. Yet most
people missed it.
To close a chapter takes tremendous will and self-discipline. It also usually takes a death or media
nightmare. I have worked for or with
campuses and headquarters who gave problematic chapters only a sideways glance,
even when they knew hazing occurred or was occurring.
Whether this hands-off philosophy is due to
the size of the chapter (potential loss of revenue), prestige of the campus, or
backlash from members and alumni, too often we sit back
and do nothing. Throw in the fact that
tradition plays a huge role in our organizations and Alpha chapters are usually
deemed as “untouchable”. The move Beta
Theta Pi made was potentially transforming.
Most fraternal organizations have accountability and
discipline processes chapters go through after hazing violations are brought
forth. After several years of double
secret probation, membership reviews, life support, another round of probation,
change in advisory support, etc. the chapter is in the same place they were 20
years ago. Beta Theta Pi stopped the
cycle. Instead of investing more time
and money into a chapter culture that wasn’t able to change, they stopped.
What a stunningly simple concept.
I was recently having a conversation with a fraternity
executive about volunteer leadership in our organizations. He said if our boards led with ethics, we
would have a financial downfall because we know most organizations need to
close 50 percent of their chapters. A
well-known hazing expert recently claimed at least 75 percent of fraternities
haze.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon approached their firestorm by addressing
the undergraduate members and trying to compel them to stop a behavior that is
pervasive in most organizations. They opted for some structural changes to try and influence the culture. I don’t
know how many chapters they have closed in the last few years because of hazing incidents
that didn’t result in a death or lawsuit.
Like most of us, they likely cycled the chapters through the discipline
process or reorganizations hoping to make a difference.
Think for a minute…
What if more organizations took Beta Theta Pi’s example and
stopped the cycle?
What if we hesitated less to close chapters that, as Schmidt
states, “are unable or unwilling to take responsibility for their actions and
commit as a unified group to re-align the chapter’s culture?”
For the last 10 years, our industry has focused on teaching
the students to “live their ritual”, hold members accountable, bystander
intervention, etc. What if the answer
wasn’t educating the members, but rather educating the fraternity and sorority decision-makers in the boardrooms?
Thank you Mr. Schmidt and Beta Theta Pi for demonstrating
ethical leadership. Your quiet approach
to a relentless problem was not overlooked.
You looked in the mirror and asked from your position, “what can I do to combat hazing,"
versus what do the members need to do.