If You Have a Fast Race Horse, Don't Slow Down

Updated from June 2011

Congratulations to American Pharaoh, the first triple crown winner in horse racing since 1978.  One of the most difficult feats in sports was achieved just a few days ago and hopefully you were able to witness history.

Despite American Pharaoh's success, the most well-known triple crown winner will likely always remain the 1978 winner, Secretariat. He has been the subject of books and movies, and is typically regarded as the best racehorse to have ever lived.  Part of his legend lies in how he finished the triple crown - that final race at the Belmont Stakes.

All the dramatic pieces were in place for the final race, the Belmont Stakes: the champ (Secretariat), the hyped-up challenger (a horse named Champ), and history on the line.  The typical formula (see Rocky or Remember the Titans) for these kinds of stories is that the hero fights the battle of his life, appears defeated, only to valiantly battle back to barely win, sending the crowd into a frenzy.  That wasn’t the case with Secretariat.  He blew the doors off the competition and won by thirty lengths.  It wasn’t close at all.  The outcome was decided almost immediately after the gates opened.

Leadership and the Loud (but small) Crowd

This post is for all the young leaders out there, because the old ones like me will know exactly what I’m talking about.

I hope you feel the internal struggle between taking bold action or staying the course, for that is the journey of a leader.  Should you be aggressive in your vision, or patient and methodical?  Should your leadership be defined by your ability to shake things up, or your ability to be a steward of something that’s already working?  All of these choices are fine, admirable, and acceptable.

However – let me speak to the side of you that wants to do something daring and compelling.  From my experience in organizational life, there is one barrier above all others to your efforts:

The loud vocal minority.

I have seen time and time again a leader or a group of leaders walk down an exciting path of new ideas and compelling new strategies only to be halted in their journey by someone who says “yeah, but [insert name here] won’t like it.”  And then it begins.  The retreat.  The belief that because a certain person or group of people won’t like an action or might even be angered by it, we should stop and reconsider.  And that thinking typically leads to the new ideas being revoked or tamped down so much they might as well have been.

I wonder, in the history of organizational life, what earth-shattering, life-changing, and gloriously-brilliant ideas have never seen the light of day out of fear that a small group won’t like them.

And in membership organizations especially, the threat that a segment of members will leave our ranks paralyzes us way too often.

Let me be clear – I believe the minority opinion is important to hear.  And I think the “squeaky wheels” deserve to be heard as well.  However, that’s why we have a democratic process and procedures like Roberts Rules of Order.  The minority opinion should have an opportunity to persuade others, and it should be made difficult to discount their feelings.

My problem is that those feelings often stop us from even putting forth an idea worth pursuing.  And that the next great idea dies in a committee meeting because we’re scared to make someone mad, or to deal with the slings and arrows of controversy.  The vocal minority tends to overrun the silent majority every time and holds leaders hostage in the process.

We all have these individuals in our organizations.  Those who have held on to even a shred of influence enough to make us overly-cautious.  The unfortunate reality is that we’re often waiting for those individuals to leave our organization (or die) before we try something we should have done years ago.

My advice in these situations is to remember that as a leader, your oversight is to the entire organization, its mission, vision, history, AND membership, NOT just those constantly noisy, angry, and change-averse.

We imagine a mob at the front door ready to attack us, but it never actually comes.  We believe that a string of posts on our Facebook page that opposes our ideas means the whole world is against them.  We imagine our legacy to be tarnished by a battle with an old guard, whereas I've seen it bolstered instead.  I believe, and have borne witness to, that the pain we imagine from going against the loud vocal minority is far greater than the pain we actually feel.   

The regret of giving up on something that could have changed the fortunes of your organization likely feels much worse.

There are some reasons not to act on your own ideas and vision.  Make sure that a few angry phone calls, or tweets, or Facebook posts are not one of them.  Trust your instincts and do what’s best for your organization.

And remember this quote from Deepak Chopra: Every time you are tempted to react in the same old way, ask if you want to be a prisoner of the past or a pioneer of the future. 

Fraternity Needs Even More Tradition

Tulane Sig Ep's after serenading the university president

I love tradition.  I love the spark it can provide an organization.  In my Kiwanis Club, we have lots of traditions, and I’d be upset to see them go.  We sing at the start of every meeting – terribly – but we sing.  It feels good.  I don’t want my Kiwanis meeting to feel like a business meeting at the office.  I want something that touches my emotions and lifts my heart. 

Fraternities and sororities certainly are guilty of being tradition-bound organizations.  Tradition imprints almost all aspects of our identity, from the Greek names and letters we wear to the creeds we state loudly and proudly.

But there is a compelling reason for us to embrace our nature as tradition-bound organizations.  The origin of the word tradition is from the Latin traditio, which refers to something being transmitted, carried forth, and passed from one person to the next for safekeeping.  Organizations that have a great deal of tradition tend to last, because they inherently care about the safe passage of their organization from one generation to the next.

On occasion, there are calls for fraternities and sororities to change or get rid of some of their traditions.  This isn’t unusual for any institution, and neither is the typical negative response and reaction.  Churches come to mind as another organization that deals constantly with the push and shove of keeping or discarding traditions.

Why do we bristle so much when we our traditions are challenged?  It’s because we believe that losing them would mean losing a part of our identity.  And in some cases, it would.

The origins of the word tradition and standard definitions for it may not be enough for us to work with.  I believe in a five-point test to determine if something is indeed a tradition worth celebrating and keeping:

1. Does it offer unique value to our organization and our members?
2. Is it a longstanding practice that bridges the past with the present?
3. Does it raise spirits and breathe life into our organization?
4. Does it honor our organization, its members, and our legacy?
5. Is it current with societal views on human relationships?

Thus, it is not the new theme party you started last year that you now believe you can’t live without.

It’s not a practice that includes hazing, harmful and destructive behavior, for that saps life from your organization and doesn’t honor your legacy.  Sorry – your alcohol-fueled big brother hunts or your pledge hell week is not a tradition. 

It can include the fact that your fraternity sings or chants (I love fraternities that sing), but not songs that disparage others or would be considered racist or homophobic.   

It can include awards you give each other, even some that are intentionally humorous or sarcastic.  Humor can certainly breathe life into your organization.  But there are ways to be humorous and honorable at the same time.

Sometimes a tradition to someone else can seem puny and dumb, but even those should not be casually dismissed.  My fraternity held a Senior Wills event each year, in which graduating seniors could pass down wisdom or items to younger members.  I saw men brought to tears over receiving an ugly, tattered, sweat-stained hat from an older member – because it was a piece of them. Other traditions can have no other purpose except to be fun or just produce fond memories.  Fine with me – as long as they can meet the test above.

Here is an exercise for you.  Besides Ritual – which is absolutely your most cherished tradition – what other traditions are sacred to your fraternity or sorority?  Use the test above as an evaluation tool.  Are there any that fall away?
 
Even our traditions that seem old-fashioned can be given new and remarkable life.  Consider lavaliering or pinning, which has been challenged as being hetero-centric and old-fashioned.  Forget the fact that it can be beautiful and symbolic.  Consider this story from Denison University in Ohio about a pinning ceremony that spoke volumes about the women involved and all those surrounding them.

As long as traditions meet the standards above, there’s plenty of room for more.  Let’s continue to find ways to take the best of what we are and who we are, and share that with others.  After all, that’s our finest tradition.


 

Be Careful What You Wish For

Guest Essay by Dan Wrona, CEO of RISE Partnerships

Following the parade of disturbing high-profile incidents involving fraternities and sororities in recent months, many fraternity/sorority leaders responded with outrage, surprise, exasperation, indignation, determination, and exhaustion.

I agree. It’s frustrating to see so many public embarrassments to the fraternity/sorority name.

But keep it in perspective: this is what we wanted.

The goal was for fraternity/sorority to rebuild its identity. To embrace a higher purpose. To confront those who act to disgrace it and purge those who do not share it. To discard outdated traditions and eliminate influences that distract us from that mission. To build something relevant to today’s student.

Did you think that was going to be easy? Did you think old ways would ebb quietly away?

Changes like these cannot take place without significant internal turmoil, often in full view of the public.

This pattern is not a sign that fraternities and sororities are getting worse. No, something else is happening. Throughout society, disturbing situations that typically happen in side conversations, at private events, and behind closed doors are now, thankfully, being exposed to public view. Fraternity/Sorority leaders and their communities are paying more attention to these problems. And the threshold of what people are willing to tolerate is changing for the better. Issues that were previously ignored are being named. Problems once overlooked are being confronted.

Shouldn’t we call this progress? SOMETHING must be working.

And yes, many things still need to change. The education industry created to support fraternity/sorority life, as John put it, excels at convincing people of the need for change, but falls well short of delivering it. We need to do better work, and that requires some difficult choices. It means ignoring this week’s management/training fad and choosing programs based on measured impact regardless of their emotional appeal. It includes rethinking the role of fraternity/sorority professional as a community builder rather than a program planner.  It calls for shifting our attention away from trying to change individuals and chapters one-at-a-time and instead targeting the environment that constantly influences their choices. It would mean trusting what we know: that you can’t educate-away most problems. And it includes resisting the temptation to create a program when the real solution lies in critical analysis, organizational restructuring, or culture change.

Sure, it’s embarrassing to have these issues exposed for the world to see, but it is equally embarrassing to pretend they don’t exist. What we see is not a sign of downfall, but the necessary and important indicators of a community resetting its standards and dealing with its demons. If we truly want fraternity/sorority life to evolve, we should be prepared to embrace the uncomfortable and celebrate situations where these problems are addressed.

Dan Wrona is the CEO and Project Leader of RISE Partnerships, an organization that provides training, consulting, and curriculum to help fraternity/sorority leaders do their work better. For the past 16 years, he has served the fraternity/sorority community as a campus professional, volunteer advisor, headquarters staff, umbrella association staff, and volunteer leader for various organizations. He can be reached at @DanWrona or Dan@RISEPartnerships.com.

It's Not Working

I’m sick of it.

We’ve got fraternity men hazing each other. We’ve got fraternity men chanting racist things that would have made the KKK blush. We’ve got fraternity men taking photos of naked intoxicated women and posting them to Facebook. 

And we’ve got fraternity men dying. We’ve always got fraternity men dying.

What the hell is going on?

It’s times like these that make me want to quit. As I look at these instances, which follow the Atlantic article and other high-profile stories of disgusting behavior, I want to throw up my hands and give up. I enjoyed and benefited from my fraternity experience, but why the hell should I continue to spend my time trying to extol its virtues when it appears like my experience was an outlier.

Aargh!

Perhaps it’s time to let someone else take this on. Or not take it on at all. I don't care. I’m starting to question so much about this movement that I love, because I’ve arrived at two stark and damning realizations.

1. None of it is working. By “it” I mean the entire education industry created to support Greek life. Think about the size of the support industry we have built for fraternity. All of the conferences, associations, companies, and individuals whose livelihood is focused on helping make the fraternity experience better. Think about the hundreds of different leadership events, educational speakers, and books, articles, and yes – blogs that focus on fraternity and sorority life.

We seem to be in no different of a place than we were before this great educational infrastructure was built. There is an old joke that the very first topics on the very first NIC meeting agenda 100 years ago were alcohol and hazing. And what sits on the agenda today? The same crap. And in between the first meeting and the most recent, how many minutes, hours, and days have been spent talking about those issues? How many different speakers have discussed those topics at how many different educational meetings? How many well-dressed and attentive young leaders have sat in an audience to hear about how much that stuff is ruining this fraternity thing, only to turn around and keep doing it?

None of it seems to be working.

Sure, individual lives have been affected through this vast educational infrastructure. But does that really matter if the institution that is wrapped around these lives continues on a downward spiral?

All of us (me included) educators and advocates have to look into the mirror and question if we’re just making noise instead of impact. We have poured millions of dollars and hours into fraternity life, and what’s been the return on that vast investment? Which leads me to my second realization, which is more dark than the first:

2. Why do we need this educational infrastructure anyway? What’s inherently wrong with Greek life that it requires so much education and support for it to live? You could argue that there is no other type of organization that seemingly needs so much infrastructure just to make it functional. In my darkest doubts of fraternity and sorority life, I wonder why our organizations seem to need so much “extra” to just make the “basic” work. Shouldn’t we be able to hand the ritual books to a group of men, and just let it go? Instead, we need staff, consultants, live-in advisors, conferences, and more just to get our groups to a minimum standard.

Set the Ritual book next to the risk management policies, the bylaws and other rules, the minimum standards reports, and officer manuals, and you probably can’t see it anymore.

We have men (and women too) who, unless they receive some kind of educational intervention, will naturally use our organizations for selfish and damaging purposes. For some reason, we are a place for those individuals to thrive. Why is that? Especially after we’ve spent so much time and energy on recruitment education and have built such a structure for “new member education.”

We talk about the idiots among us as “cancers” in our chapters. Well, we seem to be a petri dish that lets cancer grow unabated.

I want to travel back in time and find the founders of my fraternity and ask them if this is what they intended? Sure, our founders would look at where we are and probably kick our asses, but why does our DNA – the one they forged - seem so corruptible?

All of his has got me so tired. I feel like I’m running a marathon and the finish line keeps getting moved farther and farther away. I just want to collapse on the side of the road, and let the vultures do what they may.

I know many of you are feeling like me right now. I’ve seen your exasperation. Why are we doing this my friends? Why do we purposely reside in a world that is constantly criticized and maligned, and constantly affected by clowns and fools ?

I hate it right now. There are a million words in this blog, and does a single one matter? Let’s just walk away!

Ugh!

Dammit!

Enough!






 

Okay, I feel better now. Back to work.

Our (Self) Segregated Greek Community

The situation at the University of Oklahoma regarding SAE and the racist chant caught on video is horrendous.  It’s disgusting, skin-crawling stuff.  I’ve read many perspectives on the situation from friends, pundits, and columnists and I’m not sure there is much I can add to this one incident.  Overall, I think the conversation has been productive.

I guess one thing that I want to see from this is a chance for these young men and women to learn from this experience.  The student development professional in me cannot hate them.  I cannot cheer the fact that at least two of the young men have been booted from school and are going to wear a scarlet letter for a very long time.  I think the severe ramifications of their actions will teach them valuable lessons – I just simply hope it doesn’t ruin their lives.  Who I was at 19 is not who I am at 38.  We all deserve an opportunity to let life kick our ass now and then so that we get moved closer to the truth.  So, I hope these young men have people in their lives to help them avoid being hardened by this.

But there is one aspect of this situation, remotely related, that I think needs some further discussion.  It’s something I’ve struggled with for years, and I’m ready for some of your thoughts.  I’m nervous – as a white American – to make comments about race.  But I think this situation presents an opportunity for us as a greater Greek community to look at ourselves closely, because I can't help but wonder if we've fostered and celebrate an environment in which little progress can or will be made on race.

Here is why: The fraternity and sorority community is the most self-segregated place on today’s college campus.

We know that race relations, and human relationships in general, improve when we are exposed to people of different backgrounds than our own.

Before college, I didn't understand sexual orientation.  I was aware of it - but didn't understand it.  It all changed for me when I met gay and lesbian individuals in college.  The IFC office was right down the hall from the LGBT student organization, and it gave me a chance to get to know the leaders personally and to understand the greater cause.  I developed friendships which led to respect, understanding, and advocacy.  But none of it would have happened without those old-fashioned personal interactions I had.

In the Greek universe today, we seek to separate and not unify.  We have fraternities now for almost every race and ethnic group: African-Americans, Asian-Americans, Latinos, Persians, South Asians, Armenians, and Native Americans.  There are also fraternities and sororities for the LGBT community and for many different religions.

I understand why.  And I’m not saying these organizations shouldn’t exist.  Absolutely they should. 

These fraternities and sororities provide a welcoming and accepting environment for minority groups that they obviously haven’t found in the traditional Greek-letter groups.  College is a tough time for anyone, and so it’s natural to want to find a community of like-minded individuals who share similar backgrounds to link up with.  It could probably be said that had the traditionally white fraternities and sororities been wide open and accepting of minority groups from the outset, others wouldn’t have needed to form. 

By the way – I use the word “traditionally white” in absence of a better term.  I could say “white” Greeks, which is mostly true but maybe not sensitive.  Or “historically white”, which may be more sensitive but is not true unless historically means right now at this moment.  I hope you’ll give me some latitude here. 

So – these groups exist, are strong and growing stronger (and actually deserve a lot of credit for the overall growth of fraternity/sorority membership worldwide).  They aren’t going anywhere and shouldn’t. 

But what does this mean for our educational goals?

Our goals as Greek organizations are to make our members better individuals and our uniqueness lies in our efforts to impact members in almost every aspect of the human experience: physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. 

And we attempt to do this in a fairly segregated environment.  If your Greek community were standing on a football field, and divided up by chapter, what kind of visual would that be?

The educational environment we’re working with has this truth: Our members, during their undergraduate chapter experience, will likely only call someone of their own race their brother.  Or their sister. 

This is the environment in which we hope our members achieve higher levels of acceptance and understanding of others. 

We're hoping for a lot aren't we?

Sure there are exceptions.  But enough of them to change the hearts of individuals like those on that bus in Oklahoma?

Most of us are chastising those men in Oklahoma, bemoaning the racial insensitivity that is more rampant than we wish it were, and standing on high pedestal to shout louder than the other guy about how racially sensitive we happen to be.  And yet, we walk within and past an environment every single day that is greatly segregated, and don’t seem to care.

And so, as I sometimes do (and hopefully only rarely on this blog), I’m raising this observation without any idea for what to do with it.  Please add to the conversation and make these thoughts fraternal.  What is the answer?  And by the way, making sure the traditionally white Greek chapters attend the NPHC step show is not enough.

How do we succeed in building accepting and open-minded Greek members in an environment that structurally is designed to make interpersonal race relations uncommon?

By the way, in researching for this post, I found that others are discussing this trend.  This column argues fraternities to be a form of “American apartheid.”

The Very Social Media

This is a guest essay by John W. Bloom, a fellow Kiwanian and friend. John is a member of Lambda Chi Alpha, a 1967 graduate of Miami University, and a member of the housing corporation for the Zeta-Upsilon Zeta chapter. I enjoyed his reflection on using social media as a continutation of the fraternal experience.  For recent alums, imagine those days without social media to stay in touch with brothers and sisters, and consider how much we may all take for granted how easy it is to remain connected today -- JS

I’m about to get another year older as my 70^th birthday is less than a month away.  In recent years I’ve felt like I’m losing the battle to keep up with all the new technologies, but this morning as I reviewed my Facebook posts I had a new awareness.  Regardless of whether or not I use all the capabilities of Facebook, Facebook is one bit of technology that brings me incredible joy.  Here’s why!

I have 473 friends on Facebook, a modest number by some standards, but the majority of them are Lambda Chis.  The list includes current actives and associate members as well as alums from Zeta-Upsilon Zeta (Miami University) and beyond.  

On any given day I can go to my Facebook page and get uplifted, touched, awed, tickled, teased – you name it.  Most of all I get moved by the goodness and kindness of the brothers in the bond.

Here a just a few of the specifics:

Tributes to the passing of the beloved

The home makeovers

The proud parents whether for the first time or the nth time

The appreciative and loving sons and daughters

The achievements – yours and theirs

The laughter and the tears

The travels near and far

The thoughtful, reflective, spiritual moments

The heartfelt prayers for self and others

The sensitivity to those in need and the willingness to address those needs

The talent, the artistry, the athletic prowess

The politics – even if I don’t agree

The Browns, Bengals, Reds, Indians, Cavs, and the….

The Packers, The Patriots (but not the Yankees or the Steelers)

Oxford and Campus Scenes – and behind the scenes

The military service rendered then and now

Intramurals and (Miami) RedHawk hockey

Community service selflessly rendered via Kiwanis, church, Red Cross, Feeding America….

The weddings, births, baptisms, funerals

The eateries and the watering holes

The time parents spend with their children and the love each has for the other

While I’ve observed the above through my Lambda Chi eyes, I’m positive that others, whether Greek or not and whether almost 70 or not, share daily the joy social media can and does bring.


 

Stop Pretending That Service Matters To Your Fraternity

This is call for fraternity and sorority organizations to stop making service a core principle. 

Or, start doing it well.

Because the half-assed way by which we do it today is really serving no one, so to speak.  It isn’t serving our communities and it isn’t serving the development of our members and organizations.

It might be serving us as great photo ops, fillers for award applications, and likable Facebook posts.

Service is often the first value spoken about by Greek organizations and the last one on the actual priority list. 

For the Melvas in Our Lives

Within the first few weeks of arriving at Miami University as an undergraduate 20 years ago, I went searching for a job.  I needed a work-study position to help pay for room and board.  There was a job fair for such positions at the student union, and after perusing some of the options, I was drawn to a kind older lady seated behind a simple table.  Her name was Melva Brown.  She was the secretary for the Student Activities Office and they needed someone to serve as receptionist and do various clerical tasks.  I figured it was a good option, since I liked clubs and organizations.  Plus, she was really sweet and I kind of felt like someone I should get to know.  I was hired pretty quickly and learned later it was because she liked that I was a clean-cut guy.

Not long after, Melva became more than just my supervisor.  She fashioned herself as my second mom – my Miami mom – someone who would look after me, and she fit the part.  While I was in the office, she would ask about my life and keep tabs on both the academic and social side.  If I was late to work because of some exploits the previous night, she would act disappointed just like a caregiver should.  But, the ice would eventually thaw and I would go home that day still feeling loved and supported.  She got it.  She had high expectations, but she knew I was just figuring it out. 

Melva would invite me to her house, and sometimes I would watch it while she and her husband Jim traveled.  And Jim – Jim was tremendous too.  A prince of a guy and so easy to get to know.  I would even dress as Santa for Melva’s family Christmas gathering – which was a sacred honor because Melva was Santa’s biggest fan.  Christmas was her thing.  She and Jim even placed a Santa mailbox in their front lawn each December, and kids would drop their wishes inside (and even receive a reply).

Melva was as important to me as anyone during those four years, and then even in the years that followed.   

And she passed away suddenly a few days ago.

As I reflected on my time with her, I realized that her decision to hire me on that day in 1994 could have been the single biggest moment in my career path, because it started my career path.  I went to Miami to be a TV broadcaster, but emerged wanting to be a higher education professional.  Working in that Student Activities Office introduced me to professional heroes like Steve Ransom, Gary Manka, and Bobbe Burke.  The office was also shared with the Greek Life staff and there I met Brian Breittholz, Amy Vojta, Tim Maugherman, and eventually others like Sue Kraft-Fussell, Lupita Temiquel, and Heather Hammer-Shuchter.  Can you imagine what a fun and dynamic office this was?  And it was anchored by Melva and her counterpart on the Greek side, Carolyn.  I wanted to be like all those people, and I don’t know if I would have ever been moved to chart a new career path if not for the opportunity to sit at that front desk in the office.

Melva was my rock.  College is a wild and crazy time, and all of us need adults to bring us back to what matters.  Melva was that for me.

On any given college or university, you have a wide range of employees.  You have the “academics,” the professors, provosts, and deans.  And then you have the student affairs staff, whose ranks are populated by those with advanced degrees and those striving for them.  But all throughout the institution, there are support staff:  secretaries, administrative assistants, groundskeepers, food service workers, bookstore employees, and more. 

It’s common to think that you will go to college and forge your mentoring relationships with those who stand at the front of the classroom, or who have the corner office, or who have a Dr. at the start of their name.  I wager to guess that we all can think of someone who didn’t fit these particular characteristics, but who meant as much or more to us.  And that’s because they had an even more important quality than any other: they cared.  This was Melva.

Do you have a Melva from your college days?  Someone who reminded you in the midst of your 20-page reports and 5000-page textbooks that it’s still the simple things that count?  Someone who would take you when you were at your best or at your worst and love you either way?  Someone who was always there, no matter the turbulence you were experiencing?  Someone who connected you to the community?  Someone who was such a real person in an environment that can often seem so unreal?

My parents don’t know many of the professors or student affairs administrators who helped to mold me, but they knew Melva.  And since my graduation, they exchanged Christmas cards with her and Jim.   They became friends, and I know were relieved to know someone was watching over me during that time.

If you have a Melva from your college days, call that person right now.  Tell them how much they mean to you.  I wish I could have done that one more time.

My condolences to Jim and to the entire Brown family.  And my condolences to Miami and Oxford, for they each lost one of their best.  Melva, you will be missed, but your spirit lives on in so many – including this clean-cut guy you took a chance on long ago. 

Farewell to my Miami mom.

It’s Time to Suspend All-Greek Suspensions. Permanently.

On January 9, the system-wide fraternity and sorority suspension at the University of Virginia will be lifted.  Let’s wait and hope that the university administrators who took this step (and refused to retract it even after the Rolling Stone article was debunked) will have a press conference to share with the public how the Greek community there is forever changed now that the suspension worked its magic.  How is the system different?  What new behaviors will we see?  When the curtain is lifted, what will be revealed? 

Well, nothing of course.  Because the all-Greek suspension was done for P.R. purposes only.  It provided the illusion that the university wields tight-fisted control over the Greek community.  It had no productive outcome – and really couldn’t.  

All-Greek suspensions, and especially in the UVA case, take a problem that can be isolated to certain groups or members and make it appear to be everyone’s problem.  And so every member – even those living true to their values - are caught in the net and may never escape the negative impression that comes along. 

There is no courage in such an act, either.

I am reminded of the time I was on a plane, and we had just taken off.  I needed to use the bathroom, but the seat-belt sign was illuminated, which means you need to stay put.  After a few minutes, I thought I heard a ding and that we had reached an elevation where I could get up and go.  So, I unbuckled the seat belt, walked to the back of the plane and right past the rear jump seat where the one flight attendant was seated (still buckled in).  While in the bathroom, I heard over the loudspeakers: “Ladies and gentlemen, the fasten seat-belt sign is still illuminated and you need to remain in your seats.”  Now, half the plane had seen me walk down the aisle.  So, it was obvious who she was talking about.  And, since I walked right past her, she could have stopped me and calmly told me to return to my seat, which I would have done without hesitation.  That would have been a more effective act than using the loudspeaker to admonish everyone for my error.

And so we have Greek communities where some chapters are making loud and boisterous errors, and when a dramatic incident is the result, the university administrators grab the loudspeaker and shut down everyone.  Is that courage?  If there is a continuum, I think it’s closer to cowardice.  It’s the easy way out.

Whereas a patient and targeted approach is better, it’s easier for a university president to look tough and in control by being heavy-handed and using words like “suspended” and “banned” at their pressers.  I also helps with P.R. because our society is increasingly letting our emotions control logic in demanding swift and immediate action.  Fire him!  Shut them down!  Boycott that place!  OUTRAGE!

But all-Greek suspensions are wrong on many levels.

There is certainly a fairness issue here.  When there is an alleged sexual assault by a member of the football team, for example, the entire sports program is not suspended.  In fact, rarely is the football program.  Residence hall activities are not halted when a handful of residents make poor choices.  But with fraternities, it’s becoming a common tool.

Actually, is there any other system that is treated this way?  We don't close all community restaurants when one fails to meet code.  We don't close all schools in the district when one or more fail to meet state standards.  Somehow in every other place in society we are able to conduct investigations and make improvements and yet keep business moving.  Except in Greek life it appears.

There is also a constitutional argument regarding freedom of association.  While it doesn’t keep me up at night, I understand some peoples’ passion around that argument.  And I agree with the spirit of the statement released by the NIC and NPC recently.

On a side note – in regards to that statement – can we have the political action committee release a separate statement next time?  Lumping the associations in with the political lobby feels a little overly...well...political.

To me, the biggest reason to suspend all-Greek suspensions is effectiveness.  Or lack thereof.

Can anyone point to an instance when an all-Greek suspension made a meaningful culture change for a Greek community?  I can’t find one.

The joint statement by several higher ed groups – including the Association of Fraternity Advisors - made the following assertion about suspensions.  Since it was in reaction to the UVA case, I assume they are defending the right of the university to suspend all groups at once, although it's not clear.  The emphasis is mine:

Finally, we support both students’ rights to freely associate and in rare cases, temporary, well-defined and purposeful suspensions of fraternity/sorority activities in response to widespread allegations of misbehavior, especially misbehavior that harms other students. Temporary suspension of the activities of student groups does not violate student association rights however, pausing the activities of student groups for a reasonable, defined period of time can be a useful mechanism in helping a reeling group evaluate and assess in a time of crisis, especially when that crisis may be related to the group’s activities, as may be the case with sexual violence, hazing, and binge drinking.

This statement deserves more explanation.  Specifically:

• What is temporary?  What amount of time is too light or too severe?  What amount of time creates a more effective result?  If I believe temporary is 4 weeks and the guy down the street believes it’s 4 years, is that okay?
• Can AFA or NASPA provide some examples of a well-defined suspension?  It’s not clear what that even means (in other words, it’s not well-defined).
• Finally, what is considered a purposeful reason for a suspension?  And what isn’t?  If these higher ed groups believe there is a purpose for suspensions, can some examples be provided?  Using UVA as an example, I can’t find any real purpose stated for the suspension (there are some goals described but it isn’t clear how a suspension is necessary to achieve them).

This Rolling Stone article, what it created, and its aftermath may have opened a wider rift between campuses and fraternal organizations.  There is a higher ed/AFA camp and a NIC/NPC camp, as evidenced by their conflicting statements.  I believe that both sides understand the painful issues – such as sexual assault – that need to be addressed. Believing that all-Greek suspensions are ridiculous does not mean a lack of appreciation for the severity of these  issues.  And both sides love the fraternity experience, although one favors the ability for that experience to be altered or taken away from an upstanding member in an instant because of association.

IFCs and Panhellenics - you don't need to accept this as a solution.  All-Greek suspensions are simply unfair and ineffective.  I agree with the following quote: “in any crisis it can be far too easy to paint with a broad brush, and to blindly attack entire groups of individuals. This is not a responsible reaction.”  

Who said that?  UVA President Teresa Sullivan.