On Tuesday, the College of Charleston announced that all alcohol-related activities at its fraternities and sororities were suspended until further notice. It would seem that no one particular even prompted the ban, with saying CofC President Glenn McConnell, “This is not a knee-jerk reaction to an isolated incident.”
Here is the full announcement from McConnell:
Dear Campus Community:
Earlier today, the College, after consulting with student leaders within the Greek life community, suspended all alcohol-related social activities for its fraternities and sororities effective immediately. The suspension of individual chapters will be lifted once the Division of Student Affairs has conducted a review of the organization and each chapter’s members have successfully completed additional education and training regarding alcohol and substance abuse, associated high-risk behavior and bystander intervention.
This is not a knee-jerk reaction to an isolated incident, but rather a serious response to a series of dangerous behaviors connected to some members of our fraternities and sororities, ranging from disruptive parties out in the community this month to recent medical transports related to extreme intoxication.
Enough is enough. This type of reckless and dangerous behavior will not be tolerated. While we have a robust and comprehensive education and disciplinary conduct process for drug and alcohol abuse, clearly the message is not getting through to all students. At the College, the well-being and safety of our students are the highest priorities. We want our students to have an enriched, well-rounded experience, both academically and socially, but not at the expense of putting themselves and their peers in jeopardy.
As many of you know, I am a product of and advocate for the fraternity and sorority life system. I have consistently told our chapter members that I’ll be their champion, but that I’ll also hold them to a higher standard of civility, integrity and respect. Unfortunately, what I have learned about some of our Greek members recently greatly disappoints me. As we have seen, the behavior of a few can soil the reputation of all.
Let me be clear: It’s not just our Greek students who have work to do. Our entire College community shares in the responsibility for cultivating the type of university we want to be. The College is a family. Together, we – the entire campus – are resolved to make our community better, and we are determined to address this problem here and now.
Sincerely,
Glenn
Interesting, right? If “It’s not just our Greek students who have work to do” and “our entire College community shares in the responsibility for cultivating the type of university we want to be,” then I have a question for Mr. McConnell: why is it only the Greek students who are banned from having events with alcohol? Why are they the only ones that need to complete “additional education and training regarding alcohol and substance abuse”? I mean, I highly doubt that Greeks were the only ones holding “disruptive parties” or that all of the people who were transported for “extreme intoxication” were fraternity and sorority members. If it’s a campus-wide issue, as Mr. McConnell indicates at the close of his letter, why are these groups the only ones paying the price?.
[via Post and Courier]
Image via Shutterstock
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Jenna Crowley
Jenna used to be known as 2NOTBrokeGirls, but then one of the girls actually went broke, so she's struck out on her own. Jenna spends her free time saving the world, one sorority girl at a time (usually while wearing yoga pants), questioning why she decided to get a doctorate, and documenting her love of all things cheese related. You can ask her anything you want about football, using your boobs to get what you want, and pizza at @JennaLCrowley on Twitter or via email at JennaLCrowley@gmail.com.
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