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Greek System Is Standing In The Way Of Tackling Campus Sexual Assault

Greek System Is Standing In The Way Of Tackling Campus Sexual Assault

Fraternities and sororities have a choice. Either they can be part of the solution to campus sexual assaults or they can choose to be part of the problem.

Guess which direction the major Greek system associations are going?

They’ve hired a heavy-hitting lobbyist to advance a bill in Congress that would hamper colleges’ ability to investigate sexual assault allegations. The bill, misleadingly dubbed the Safe Campus Act, would bar university administrators from conducting inquiries into such cases until the victims reported the assaults to the police.

The attitude behind the bill seems to be: If the purported crime is so serious, let the police handle it. What’s wrong with that? Advocates for survivors of sexual attacks argue that such a law would discourage, not encourage, more victims from coming forward. Given the stigma still associated with this highly underreported crime, that extra onus will surely result in less cooperation from victims.

And never mind that a police investigation could take years. A predator could attack other students and earn their full degree before the courts finish.

Fortunately, there is a better bill, the Campus Accountability and Safety Act, that addresses the problem in the right way and has strong bipartisan support. The bill’s principal sponsors, Sens. Claire McCaskill (D-MO) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) happen to be proud sorority women (Kappa Alpha Theta and Kappa Kappa Gamma, respectively), and they held a press call on Thursday to vent their rage that the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC) and the National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) could support such counterproductive legislation.

McCaskill and Gillibrand have a long history of leadership addressing sexual assault. First, they teamed to get better standards and procedures accepted by the military for assaults that occur within the armed services. McCaskill surveyed colleges and universities, finding that 40 percent admitted that they hadn’t investigated a single sexual assault allegation in five years.

Changing that dynamic, they believe, is key to making campuses safer. It appears it’s also a threat to the college Greek systems.

“We see too many students — accusers and accused — subjected to a campus disciplinary system that is unfair and opaque,” the NIC and NPC lamented in a joint letter to Congress this summer in support of the Campus Safety Act. Both organizations have shied from commenting since, letting their lead lobbyist, former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, make their case.

Deeper in the letter, the organizations fessed up to another concern. Greek organizations, especially fraternities, feel under attack, with university sanctions occurring upon entire chapters, not just individual members involved in misdeeds.

So apparently this discomfort justifies a law that will insure that fewer victims come forward?

What the NIC, the NPC and the Republican sponsors of their favored bill (Reps. Matt Salmon of Arizona, Kay Granger of Texas and Pete Sessions of Texas) seem to be missing is that McCaskill and Gillibrand’s bill has protections for accused, requiring written notification to them of any decision to move forward with a campus disciplinary proceeding within 24 hours of the decision. It also requires universities to enter into memoranda of understanding with each local law enforcement agency that has jurisdiction.

Moreover, the senators’ bill would require that all educational institutions use a uniform process for disciplinary proceedings, and it would end the practice of allowing athletic departments or other subsidiary administrators from handling complaints, under threat of fines or losing federal funding.

The Greek system has a long history of bad behavior, from hazing rituals gone wrong to drunk pledges falling out of windows to, yes, rape. The question has been raised more than once whether fraternities and sororities should even exist anymore. Through it all, these organizations have become quite adept at avoiding liability.

I’m a Delta Zeta, and I happen to think that the Greek system does a great deal of good that should not be dismissed. But I believe the Interfraternity and Panhellenic conferences are on the wrong side of this. I know I’m not alone

Indeed, by calling out the terrible legislation the Greek conferences are pushing, McCaskill and Gillibrand are banking on the likelihood that fraternity and sorority members on campuses nationwide — not to mention the nearly 10 million Greek system alumni — probably don’t know about it.

But we all know this: Rapes and other sexual assaults are still among the most underreported crimes in America. Victims need more, not less, encouragement to come forward, supported by professionalized processes that are fair to all.

If that shines an unflattering light on some fraternities and sororities, that’s a small price to pay for making campuses safer for all.

(Mary Sanchez is an opinion-page columnist for The Kansas City Star. Readers may write to her at: Kansas City Star, 1729 Grand Blvd., Kansas City, Mo. 64108-1413, or via e-mail at msanchez@kcstar.com.) (c) 2015, THE KANSAS CITY STAR. DISTRIBUTED BY TRIBUNE CONTENT AGENCY, LLC

Photo: John W. Iwanski via Flickr

USC’s Black House Proposal Raises Questions About Racial Tensions

USC’s Black House Proposal Raises Questions About Racial Tensions

By Jerome Campbell and Jason Song, Los Angeles Times (TNS)

When some USC student government leaders voiced support for creating a cultural house for black students, Ama Amoafo-Yeboah thought she and other undergraduates were closer to having a space where they could hang out and hold events.

But before a vote was held, word spread that the house could be located on the Row, USC’s two-block stretch of fraternities and sororities near 28th and Figueroa streets. Social media lit up.

“Why would they open a prison on the Row?” one user asked on Yik Yak, a popular social media app that allows anonymous comments from users within a 1.5-mile radius.

Student leaders passed a resolution on the house in late October. But Amoafo-Yeboah said the onslaught reinforced her sense that black students aren’t always welcome at USC. That feeling of exclusion, she said, is especially obvious on the Row, the heart of the undergraduate social scene — which seems to be made of mostly white students, along with some Asians and a smattering of other minorities.

“The fact is, they don’t want people like us,” Amoafo-Yeboah said. “They just don’t.”

Rini Sampath, USC’s student body president-elect, said she was disheartened by the online comments, even if it wasn’t clear that a student wrote them. “It showed that there’s a mindset about this school that we have to eradicate,” she said. “It showed me that we need a space where students who feel like they’re marginalized feel comfortable.”

USC students said no Greek organization has been part of an incident as racially charged as one at the University of Oklahoma, where fraternity members recently were caught on video singing racist chants. But, they acknowledged, the Los Angeles campus is not immune to racial insensitivity. Some students said incidents on and off campus have led them to feel isolated and as though they are viewed with suspicion.

Two years ago, USC students held protests after police wearing protective gear broke up an off-campus party and arrested six people. Most of the partygoers were black, and some accused the police of racial profiling.

And in 2012, security was increased on campus after a Halloween party shooting, in which a black man fired into a crowd and injured four. Some black students said they felt less welcome at social events after the incident, even though the gunman was not a student.

“While USC is probably as inclusive as any predominantly white campus, beneath that surface is an ongoing tension and very real issues of race,” said Melina Abdullah, who graduated from the university in 2002, taught there in 2008 and is now the chair of Pan-African Studies at Cal State L.A.

Abdullah said most other schools’ cultural centers are in academic or more residential settings, and the USC project could be unique if it ends up in the midst of the Trojan party scene.

“Instead of retreating, it seems like those students are pressing forward and reminding the school that they have a right to be here in a very visible way,” she said.

Student supporters said the proposal, which became known as the Black House, was modeled after programs at schools such as Stanford, Georgetown, and Yale universities. It would not be residential, and no alcohol would be allowed inside. Instead, the building is supposed to be a space where students can relax, hold cultural events and display some of the history of African Americans at USC.

The house would not be affiliated with undergraduate black Greek organizations, which are not on the Row. Overall, about 4,200 USC students are fraternity or sorority members. It is unclear how many Greek members are minorities, school officials said.

Of USC’s nearly 19,000 undergraduates, about 720 — or four percent — are black, according to the school. Some black students report feeling isolated, saying they are often the only African American in their classrooms.

Abdullah, the USC alumna, said she and her friends “didn’t have a defined space, so we’d hang out on the bookstore steps, which was problematic.”

The Black House’s student organizers are trying to raise up to eight million dollars within the next several years. Although many see the Row as an ideal location, buying there may not be easy. Most of the properties on the Row are owned by national Greek organizations that may be reluctant to sell real estate in what they consider a prime location.

Amoafo-Yeboah said she was ambivalent about where the building should be, but that the Row would be a powerful statement. “Nobody will be able to ignore us,” she said. “We will be in the heart of the social scene, for better or for worse.”

Others are more wary, saying that putting the Black House there might only raise tensions. “It would be perpetually toxic,” said Levi Powell, a senior who is half black and half Filipino. He helped work on the student government resolution.

Jordyn Holman, a junior journalism major, said she was ambivalent about the Row as a possible destination because of her experiences there.

She tried to go to a fraternity party in the fall of 2013 with two friends who are also black. Before the trio could get into the party, a security guard asked to see their school and state identifications, she said.

Meanwhile, two white women entered the house without being stopped. When Holman and her friends couldn’t produce their state identifications, the security guard asked them to leave, she said.

“I felt extremely hurt, like I had done something wrong,” Holman said. “I wanted to cry.”

Business major Skylar Dunn, who is working to get funders for the Black House, said he transferred from historically black Tennessee State University because he felt he would have more opportunities at USC. However, he said, he sometimes misses being part of mainstream campus life.

“Every place has a problem,” Dunn said. “You have to ask yourself, what can you do to deal with that?”

Photo: Michael Robinson Chavez via Los Angeles Times/TNS

Cartoon: The Frats Fight Back

Cartoon: The Frats Fight Back

Fraternities Lobby Against Campus Rape Investigations

Fraternities Lobby Against Campus Rape Investigations

By David Glovin (Bloomberg News) (TNS)

College fraternities and sororities, concerned that students accused of sexual assault are treated unfairly, are pushing Congress to make it harder for universities to investigate rape allegations.

The groups’ political arm plans to bring scores of students to Capitol Hill on April 29 to lobby for a requirement that the criminal justice system resolve cases before universities look into them or hand down punishments, according to an agenda reviewed by Bloomberg News.

“If people commit criminal acts, they should be prosecuted and they should go to jail,” said Michael Greenberg, leader of 241-chapter Sigma Chi, one of many fraternities participating in the legislative push.

The Fraternity & Sorority Political Action Committee, or “FratPAC,” and two other groups will ask Congress to block colleges from suspending all fraternities on a campus because of a serious incident at a single house. In addition, the Greek representatives want a rule against “any mandate” for chapters to go co-ed.

These Washington efforts come as colleges have shut fraternity chapters or required them to admit women after sex- assault allegations. Activists representing rape victims say that universities don’t take complaints seriously. A new documentary, The Hunting Ground, singles out fraternities for creating an environment that enables assaults.

Yet there’s a growing backlash from critics — including some Harvard and University of Pennsylvania law professors — who say university sexual-assault proceedings are stacked against the accused.

The U.S. Education Department requires colleges to investigate complaints and discipline students found responsible for sexual assault. University disciplinary boards can take action, including suspensions or expulsions, far more quickly than courts and, unlike criminal proceedings, don’t require a finding “beyond a reasonable doubt.” To sanction a student, allegations must be found more likely than not to be true.

“Campus judicial proceedings” should be deferred “until completion of criminal adjudication (investigation and trial),” according to an e-mail sent to students selected to lobby for fraternities.

Joelle Stangler, the University of Minnesota student body president, said the fraternity groups’ efforts are “extremely problematic.”

“Adjudication on campuses is incredibly important for victims and survivors, to make sure they receive some sort of justice,” said Stangler, who has worked with a Minnesota advocacy group for sexual-assault victims.

Ten-year-old FratPAC, which has raised about $2.1 million in donations for congressional candidates, invites students every year to Capitol Hill to lobby for tax breaks for fraternity houses. In 2012, it fought against federal anti-hazing legislation.

Two other groups — the North-American Interfraternity Conference, which represents 74 national fraternities, and the National Panhellenic Conference, which represents 26 sororities — will join FratPAC’s lobbying effort.

Fraternities and sororities are concerned about assailants going unpunished and victims lacking support services, as well as the rights of students facing a disciplinary process “that is not fair and transparent,” said Washington lobbyist Kevin O’Neill, who is FratPAC’s executive director, in a statement on behalf of the fraternity and sorority groups.

“Fraternities and sororities intend to be a leader in offering ideas for how Congress can provide a safe campus for all students,” O’Neill said.

Along with activists, Greek groups will be taking on many college administrators, who say they need campus proceedings to keep potentially dangerous students off their campuses before criminal cases are resolved.

“Imagine a situation where a young women is sexually assaulted, and it has to go through the state judicial process,” saidMark Koepsell, who heads the Association of Fraternity/Sorority Advisors, which represents faculty and administrators. “Meanwhile, the alleged perpetrator is walking around campus.”

The Washington-based Student Affairs Administrators in Higher Education, a trade group, will oppose the Greek group’s agenda.
“The criminal justice system has been a virtual failure in its ability to address sexual assault,” said Kevin Kruger, president of the group. “It’s a really, really, really bad idea.”

Jennifer Waller, executive director of the Association for Student Conduct Administration, which represents the staff of sexual-assault hearings, said the goal of campus proceedings is to weigh whether a student violated university rules, not the law. The accused has a right to present a defense, she said.

Dozens of men have filed lawsuits claiming they have been unfairly treated in campus hearings. Fraternity groups also point to cases of what they call a rush to judgment against Greek houses. University of Virginia suspended activity at all houses after Rolling Stone magazine published a since-discredited article in November claiming fraternity members had gang-raped a student. On Monday, police in Charlottesville, UVA’s home, said they found no evidence supporting the Rolling Stone account and were suspending their investigation.

Beginning April 27 in Washington, the fraternity groups will provide two days of training to the student lobbyists, who will then split into small groups for visits with lawmakers and their aides. Members of congress, including recipients of FratPAC donations, will speak at its April 29 dinner.

In her summary of the Greeks’ positions, Jennifer Kilian, director of member services for the interfraternity conference, said the student lobbyists will also call for more data and education about sexual assault and new prevention programs.

“Students and alumni participating in the Greek Hill visits will be lobbying on the unified position fraternities and sororities have adapted (sic) on Title IX issues,” Kilian said, referring to the federal law that bans discrimination on the basis of gender, inan e-mail to those selected to lobby.

(c) 2015 Bloomberg News, Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

Image: from The Hunting Ground via YouTube