President's Report Masthead
September 30, 2012

Greek life update

Last spring, after receiving several reports of hazing, Binghamton University halted all new-member activities to allow time to investigate the allegations and develop plans for student safety. Since that time, the Office of the Dean of Students has been working directly with the Greek organizations on campus to create new programs that emphasize values and, most importantly, student safety. You can find a summary of our efforts to this point here.

In September, the Office of Student Conduct concluded interviews with the six Greek organizations that remained under investigation and all have cooperated. We are now partnering with these organizations to improve their new-member programs and eliminate any activities that involve hazing. Each organization that violated University policy is now being offered an administrative agreement that includes required education and administrative oversight for them to be allowed to recruit new members. We’ve had excellent input from students on crafting the best agreements and we’re supporting any restrictions that have been imposed by the national organizations. We believe that these programs will be a positive step forward for the entire Greek community.

As a result of these signed agreements and the partnering we’ve been doing with Greek organization leadership, Greek new-member intake began for most organizations on Sunday, Sept. 23. The leadership of the seven Greek councils on campus is actively working to create a safe intake environment and we are working with students to establish new-member education periods and programs including day-long retreats and workshops on topics such as anti-hazing and fire safety. Students are taking the lead in reviewing their value statements, re-training all members, launching academic initiatives, building internal accountability systems, and working with local and national advisors to be sure the groups are putting real values into action.

Also in September, candidates for the University’s open director of Greek Life position began the campus interview process, which included open sessions with the campus. The position will be filled in the near future when interviews are complete.

Here are a few resources:
Binghamton University Fraternity/Sorority Recognition and Governance Document
Code of Student Conduct