How the world sees Greece
Seven Greek universities were included on the list of the 1,000 bets universities in the world that was released by the Center for World University Rankings. The National and Kapodistrian University of Athens ranked in 301st place, rising 30 positions compared to last year’s ranking. Moreover, the Center for World University Rankings list also included
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A team of passionate Greek students from the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, led by professor Leontios Hadjileontiadis, is considered to be one of the 12 best student innovation teams in the world. On the occasion of the international Microsoft “Imagine Cup” competition, the Aristotle University students, following their mentor’s directions,
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Student elections took place today, May 13, in all public universities and technical institutions across Greece. Thousands of students have voted, however, the small turnout shows once again that the student elections have decayed, since the parties are not able to unite behind a common cause. Violent incidents occurred at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki in northern Greece, while the election for the new student council was still underway. People wearing hoods entered the campus, holding batons and helmets, causing damage to the building and clashing with the students. According to students from the New Democracy youth DAP-NDFK, four of the party’s members were injured during the incident and had to be transferred to local hospitals. Meanwhile, Greek police officers have arrived at the University in order to help keep the peace. New Democracy leader Antonis Samaras commented on the incident, harshly attacking the Greek government. “Through the reinstatement of the asylum institution that helps illegality, the Greek government is letting the masked men enter Greek universities and destroy them,” he said. “There is violence and blood in a place where students should be free to express their ideas and feel secure. They are bothered by the fact that DAP-NDFK has been a leading force in Greek universities for the last 29 years,” he added. “The state is obliged to protect the lives and ensure the safety of the university community members,” Samaras concluded.
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Four Greek universities have made it onto a global list of the world’s top 200 institutions.
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Four Greek universities were featured on the list of the best universities in the world, according to QS’s new international university ranking table, depending on the field of expertise. The National Technical University of Athens (NTUA) ranked in 29th place in the field of Civil and Structural Engineering, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and the University of Patras ranked among the top 100 and top 150 universities in the world, in the same field. NTUA also ranked among the top 150 universities in the world in regards to Engineering subfields. Furthermore, the Athens University of Economics and Business was ranked among the top 200 universities in the world in the field of Economic Studies and Business Administration. Overall, the first University worldwide was the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), while QS ranked the Imperial College in London and the University of Cambridge in second place, with the same score. Next on the list was Harvard University, followed by London College and Oxford University.
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Gee recalled his own Greek experiences and expressed the hopes he has for the future of these organizations to improve the lives of WVU students ...
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Plans are in full swing to move all Greek housing onto the campus of the University of Central Florida. Some fraternities and sororities are located off ...
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After a roof collapse in early march and ongoing problems near the Cal Poly campus, the university says it's considering an on-campus housing ...
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Cal Poly is considering building a village on campus that would house students from the Greek system, university president Jeff Armstrong told about ...
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College fraternities and sororities will lobby Congress in April to make it more difficult to investigate rape allegations on college campuses, Bloomberg News' David Glovin reports. The Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee — known as "FratPAC" — "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 Glovin. "If people commit criminal acts, they should be prosecuted and they should go to jail," Sigma Chi national fraternity president Michael Greenberg told Bloomberg. But many activists believe colleges should have a role in adjudicating sexual misconduct cases. It's important to have both criminal investigations of alleged rapists and proceedings at schools, Wendy Murphy, a professor of sexual violence law at New England School of Law, told Business Insider earlier this year. "The key issue is, when crime happens on campus, it is both a criminal justice problem and a civil rights problem. It's 'this and' not 'either or,'" Murphy said. FratPAC brings students to Washington, DC every year to lobby on behalf of Greek houses, usually on matters such as tax breaks. However, the lobbying group has also fought against anti-hazing and sexual assault legislation in the past. This year, Glovin reports, FratPAC will be joined by the North-American Interfraternity Conference — which represents 74 national fraternities — and the National Panhellenic Conference — which represents 26 sororities. In addition to pushing for legislation on campus rape, the three groups "will ask Congress to block colleges from suspending all fraternities on a campus because of a serious incident at a single house," according to Glovin. He also reports that the groups will lobby for "a rule against 'any mandate' for chapters to go co-ed." In the past year, for example, fraternity systems at Clemson University and West Virginia University have been suspended following student deaths. Additionally, Wesleyan University mandated that the school's fraternities must accept and house both male and female students.SEE ALSO: Imploding college's president fires back at critics, explains why school didn't do more to save itself Join the conversation about this story » NOW WATCH: 14 things you didn't know your iPhone headphones could do
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Disclosure: I was in a fraternity in college. Further disclosure: It was one of the best decisions I made in my four years on campus. My second semester at Cornell University — where about a quarter of the campus is Greek — I joined my fraternity, Phi Kappa Tau, living in the house or off-campus with brothers during the next three years. The fraternity became a core part of my social life in college, and I'm still very close friends with many of my brothers. The common reaction to my fraternity membership from people who weren't in a house is to dismiss Greek life as a childish indulgence or even destructive. Anti-Greek sentiment has only increased in the wake of various fraternity controversies this academic year. Greek systems have been suspended for at least four schools — Clemson University, West Virginia University, University of Virginia, and San Diego State University — and Wesleyan University made the bold move to co-educate its campus fraternities. There's no doubt that danger lurks in certain fraternities across the US. At least one hazing death every year for the past 43 years is a very scary statistic, as is the often cited study from 2007 showing that fraternity members are three times more likely to commit rape than other college students. These trends need to be addressed. However, Greek life also has some amazing benefits that go beyond just parties and easy access to booze. It is crucial to note, though, that this may not be the right social outlet for every student. That said, here are some reasons why I'm still proud I joined a frat. Fraternities are already starting to self-regulate Sigma Alpha Epsilon — branded in 2013 as America's deadliest fraternity — made headlines in March when the national organization announced it was abolishing pledging, and with it, hopefully, hazing. Recently, fraternities at the University of Virginia worked with the school's administration to develop new protocols to increase safety at Greek events, including mandating sober brothers at frat parties and restricting the type of alcohol served. Fraternities are also stepping up to fight other problems with frats, with eight national organizations banding together last year to announce a program designed to educate members about sexual assault, hazing, and binge drinking. The program — called the Fraternal Health and Safety Initiative — uses proven prevention techniques, such as bystander intervention training. Bystander intervention trains students to identify and intervene in potentially harmful situations. For example, bystander training teaches students to interject themselves if they see a clearly incapacitated friend being led off into a sexual situation they would likely have no control over. In my chapter, we went through "Wingman 101," a university-sponsored training program designed to help male students learn to prevent sexual assault. Many, if not all, of the fraternities on my campus went through this, learning techniques such as bystander intervention. While we may have heard some of the topics discussed before, I think the program was particularly effective because the conversations were led by other male students, rather than an administrator or authority figure. These changes arguably make a frat house the safest place on campus to drink, especially compared with other student parties where alcohol and security are not as strictly regulated. Greeks have higher GPAs at many schools and are more likely to graduate In a Bloomberg View editorial last year calling for banning fraternities, the authors wrote that frat brothers tend to have lower grades than their non-affiliated brothers. This isn't true at many schools, though. As this helpful guide from Total Frat Move shows, frat boys actually have higher GPAs than non-affiliated students at a majority of schools across the country. According to the North American Interfraternity Conference, where TFM originally got its data, male Greek students overall have a higher GPA nationally than the entire male student population. Greeks may have more of an incentive to keep their grades up. Most schools have minimum GPA requirements for students to participate in rush and join a house, as well as minimum average GPA for the chapter overall. At the University of Georgia, for example, a fraternity needs to maintain a 2.90 average GPA to keep social privileges. Perhaps not coincidentally, UGA fraternities members have had a higher GPA than the campus' non-affiliated male students for the past 20 years. Many fraternities — such as mine — also organize group study hours in the library and inform the brotherhood of interesting speakers on campus. Another academic advantage for Greeks is a higher retention rate. A study from a group of Harvard University and Syracuse University professors found that joining a Greek organization "had a dramatically positive effect on persistence to graduation." According to the study, 90% of fraternity and sorority members were still enrolled during their senior year, compared to only 70% of non-Greek students. Additionally, Greek students have a much higher graduation rates compared to their peers, according to USA Today. Greeks' graduation rates are 20% higher than non-Greek students'. A study released last year from professors at Middle Tennessee State University and Niagara University also affirmed that Greeks have a higher graduation rate than non-affiliated students. Not only are the numbers higher, according to the report, but Greeks are also more eager to complete their degrees. "The increased likelihoods of graduating on time may stem from Greek members having an added incentive to stay enrolled and keep a minimum GPA, so that they can continue to belong to the organization," the study found, according to Pacific Standard magazine. Greeks are more fulfilled in their professional life A study from Gallup last year found that fraternity and sorority members are significantly more engaged in their workplace and overall happier than students who were not part of a Greek organization. According to Gallup Education Director Brandon H. Busteed, "the overall results suggest that the Greek experience could be beneficial for the vast majority of those involved in it." The survey also found that fraternity and sorority members are more likely to be thriving in all of Gallup's five elements of well-being — purpose, social, financial, community, and physical. On my fraternity listserve, it was not unusual to get emails sent out to the house from alumni whose companies had openings. It's a mutually beneficial relationship. The current student hears about a potential job opportunity and the older graduate can recommend someone they know. Now an alumnus myself, I still get mass emails from my brothers informing us about jobs, or asking if anyone knows somebody at a company they're applying to. Greek life is becoming much more diverse A common argument against Greek life — one that appeared in the Bloomberg editorial — is that fraternities and sororities are homogeneous, a claim that may have been true in the past but is actively changing now. Probably the best example of this is the Greek community at the University of Alabama, whose racial segregation was uncovered by student newspaper the Crimson White last year. After a series of revealing reports from the paper and student protests, several black women were offered — and accepted — membership into previously all-white UA sororities. This year, close to 200 minority women accepted bids at UA's historically white sororities, including each of the 21 black women who registered for rush. For another perspective, check out this great guest post in BroBible from a self-styled "Gay Bro," who notes, "A lot has changed in the past 10 years." While there are no firm statistics on the diversity of Greek houses nationally, it appears fraternities are starting to value having a group of brothers who don't all look the same. Speaking from my own four years in a fraternity, the makeup of my house shifted during my tenure, with openly gay brothers in the house and seemingly increased racial diversity. Joining a Greek organization can help fight loneliness and depression For many students, the first year college can be difficult because you're separated from your family and close friends for the first time. To combat this, experts suggest socializing to avoid depression. Especially on a large college campus, where Greek life tends to be most popular, fraternities can offer a home away from home for students who might otherwise feel lost in the crowd. College can be a tricky time for anyone, myself included, and a fraternity is often a built-in support system for students who are struggling. I know it made my college years a lot easier knowing there was a place on campus where I would always be welcome — and a group of guys who would always have my back.SEE ALSO: Why Fraternities Will Never Disappear From American College Life SEE ALSO: People Who Were In Frats And Sororities Are Better At Their Jobs Join the conversation about this story »
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The University of Virginia's spring semester began this week, following a tumultous start to the academic year that culminated with a major feature in Rolling Stone magazine blasting the university culture surrounding sexual assault and Greek life. Now, as the university gears up for rush — where freshmen vie for membership in one of the campus' fraternity or sorority houses — students have to choose whether they want to "go Greek." Business Insider spoke with one male freshman student who said that he initially didn't plan on rushing or pledging when he started at UVA, assuming he could find friends through other campus activities. He has since changed his mind, though. "When I was looking into the school, I knew that fraternity life was a big deal at UVA and really held to a high esteem," he said. "I just felt like there were other ways to find your group, and I've definitely found that though different organizations." The reason he now wants to join a fraternity, he said, is due to how the Greeks reacted to the now-notorious Rolling Stone feature. In the story, Rolling Stone included one female student's account of her alleged gang rape at a prominent campus fraternity. The story has since been called into question after major factual errors were revealed. More broadly, though, while Rolling Stone's article focused on one fraternity — Phi Kappa Psi — it also seemed to implicate the school's entire Greek system, as well as a student culture that was apathetic toward sexual assault. The student we spoke with said even though he had only been on campus for a few months, he didn't recognize the UVA depicted in Rolling Stone. "When this article came out, it seemed almost foreign to me. The whole time I've been at UVA, I've never seen any instance when any student had any malintent," he said. "It just didn't seem possible, everyone always seemed to have everyone's back. People were always going out in pairs and checking on each other." What did seem to widely resonate on campus, though, was how students viewed the university's dominant Greek scene. In the immediate days following the article's publication "there was definitely a sense of disgust, especially on the Phi Psi house itself," he said, adding that this sentiment quickly spread to people's feelings about fraternity life in general. However, the student said he became more inclined to go through rush after seeing how UVA's fraternities and sororities reacted in the fallout of the Rolling Stone article. "It wasn't something where they were trying to fight back against or throw fire into the flame. They tried to do it in a way where they were getting behind the cause and show that it's something they don't approve of," he said. Starting his second semester at UVA, the student said there's a different feeling around campus than when he left in December. "It's definitely different in the sense that people are expecting change," he said, "and I feel like that change is coming." This sentiment has remained visible in Greek life, the freshman said, as he realized from speaking to older friends of his already in houses. "The fraternities are all trying to do better for the students and community as a whole," he said. The freshman student said he believes that Greeks can continue to be part of the change on campus, which is one of the reasons he decided to participate in fraternity rush. "The people rushing, we have an opportunity to join something that is trying to get behind this cause and be a symbol for fairness and equal treatment," he said. Perhaps unexpectedly, this new sense of change in the air seems to stem from the Rolling Stone article, and how it depicted UVA's student culture. "It's opened the eyes of the student body as a whole, and everyone is really rallying behind the opportunity for the university to be the community we all know and love," he said. "The talk isn't about the content of the article, it's more just about how we can be better as a university community."SEE ALSO: There's More Bizarre Evidence That UVA Student Jackie's Alleged Rapist Doesn't Exist SEE ALSO: Here Are Some Big Things The Rolling Stone Story About Rape At UVA Got Right Join the conversation about this story »
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In a campus-wide announcement made Jan. 13, top Cal Poly administrators said that all Greek organizations on campus have been placed on ...
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There is a distinct irony in dozens of students in a class full of athletes cheating in a course on sports ethics. That's the situation at Dartmouth College, where 64 students were accused of cheating in a course called "Sports, Ethics, and Religion." Students allegedly used wireless handheld clickers that were registered to absent students to make it seem like their missing peers were answering questions in class. Attendance and participation make up 15% of a student's grade in the course, student newspaper The Dartmouth reported in November. The local Valley News newspaper reports that Dartmouth has suspended "most" of the accused students for a semester. Dartmouth religion professor Randall Balmer has said he initially designed the course to help student-athletes who may have trouble keeping up with the workload at the Ivy League college. Close to 70% of the 272 students enrolled in "Sports, Ethics, and Religion" last semester were Dartmouth varsity athletes, The Dartmouth reports, including more than half of the football, men's hockey, and men's basketball teams. Balmer — who also taught the course — lectured on topics such as fanatical fans, the origins of various sports, and "muscular Christianity." Students were responsible for mid-term and final exams, as well as writing a five- to seven-page book review for their final paper. Here's the course description included in the syllabus: A survey of the origins and development of the culture of athletic competition in America, with roots in the Greek athletic ideal and in the "Muscular Christianity" movement of nineteenth-century England. We'll examine the peculiar (religious?) passion that Americans invest in sports as well as the role that sports has played as an engine for social change. We look, finally, at some of the ethical issues surrounding organized sports. The class also included three debates that all enrolled students participated in — on college athlete compensation, politically correct mascots, and sports venues funded by taxpayers. A Dartmouth spokesperson sent Business Insider the following statement: The Academic Honor Principle is a foundational element of a Dartmouth education. The integrity and excellence of that experience require trust between our faculty and students. For this reason we treat all academic honor code violations as major misconduct. The actions of a group of students for possible violations of the honor principle relating to misrepresentation of class attendance and participation are under judicial review. Check out the full syllabus below, via The Dartmouth: Religion 65 Syllabus SEE ALSO: Police Investigation Clears Fraternity At The Center Of The Controversial Rolling Stone Article Join the conversation about this story »
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by Associated Press US school won't reinstate fraternity activities by LARRY O'DELL, Associated Press - 8 December 2014 20:11-05:00 RICHMOND, Virginia (AP) — The University of Virginia refused to reinstate activities at social organizations that were suspended after a Rolling Stone article alleged a woman was gang raped at a fraternity house, despite the magazine acknowledging mistakes in its reporting, and officials said Monday that the story and debate has led it to create a group to explore its policies and campus culture. Rolling Stone's article last month article rocked a campus still reeling from the disappearance and death of 18-year-old British-born Hannah Graham. It portrayed a culture of sexual violence at one of America's leading public universities, and an administration response that put protecting the school's image ahead of seeking justice for sex crimes. The story — about the dangerous mix of alcohol, date-rape drugs and forced sex at fraternity parties — sparked protests, classroom debates, formal investigations and a suspension of fraternity activities. The story mentioned that Virginia is just one of 90 schools facing sexual-violence investigations by the U.S. Education Department, as states and universities across the U.S. face pressure to change how they handle rape allegations. Some states are moving to require college campuses to define sexual consent in an effort to stem the tide of sexual assaults. An administrative task force at Virginia will implement recommendations by the university's new group, which will focus on: culture, including student behavior, the so-called Greek system of social houses, alcohol and other drug use and student self-governance; prevention, including bystander training, peer education and physical safety such as lighting, camera systems and policing; and response, including survivor support, training for students and faculty, and its policies for handling incidents. "I remain committed to a fearless examination of our culture and practices," university President Teresa A. Sullivan said in a statement. In a separate statement, the university declined a request by three national Greek organizations to lift its suspension of activities until Jan. 9. The university said the reinstatement of activities in January will be in conjunction with a new agreement that will enhance the safety of fraternity and sorority members and their guests. Rolling Stone has modified its earlier apology to emphasize that the mistakes were the fault of the magazine, not the woman who was the main source of the story. Friday's original note to readers said of Jackie, "Our trust in her was misplaced." The updated note removes that line, which some critics viewed as blaming the victim. The magazine said it shouldn't have agreed to Jackie's request not to contact the people she said attacked her to get their side of the story. The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity has denied the assault and said it didn't host an event on the night Jackie alleged she was raped. The magazine said in its updated note that Jackie is now unsure that the man who allegedly lured her into a room to be raped by seven men was a member of Phi Kappa Psi, and that other discrepancies in her account have emerged. Jackie told The Washington Post she stood by her story. Kate McCord, spokeswoman for the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, said the magazine's admission of errors "doesn't change the facts of the larger story — the prevalence of campus sexual violence itself." News Topics: General news, Higher education, College fraternities, Education, School discipline, College sororities, Sexual assault, School violence, Sex in society, Social affairs, Collegiate organizations, Social groups and organizations, Education issues, Social issues, Violent crime, Crime, Violence, School safety People, Places and Companies: Virginia, United States, North America Copyright 2014 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
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As 2014 has repeatedly demonstrated, there are serious issues with collegiate Greek life, specifically with traditional social fraternities. Don't expect them to be removed from college campuses anytime soon, though. The year opened with an editorial from Bloomberg View calling for the end of student Greek life, claiming that "the fraternities that dominate so much of collegiate social life are of dubious value." These arguments have only increased in the wake of various fraternity controversies this semester, leading to suspended Greek systems for at least four schools — Clemson University, West Virginia University, University of Virginia, and San Diego State University — and a high-profile move by Wesleyan University to co-educate their campus fraternities. However, the recent — and seemingly increasing — backlash against fraternities is actually nothing new. Business Insider spoke with University of Northern Colorado history professor Nicholas Syrett — author of "The Company He Keeps: A History of White College Fraternities" — who said that the current conversation about banning fraternities has happened many times before. "It does seem to me that the focus on campus sexual assault and rape is relatively new, but this discussion is hardly unprecedented," Syrett said. Earlier this year, Newsweek writer Zach Schoenfeld investigated a string of Greek system shutterings in the 1980s and 1990s, which stemmed from "most of the usual suspects: worrisome hazing rituals, out-of-control alcohol abuse, sexism." Notably, though, as Shoenfeld and Syrett both point out, these schools were all small liberal arts colleges in the Northeast. Perhaps more importantly, none of the colleges that got rid of their Greek systems were particularly dependent on fraternities and sororities, either for students' social lives or campus housing. "When there have been discussions of doing this before, it hasn't happened," Syrett said. "The places that have gotten rid of fraternities were less dependent on them. The notion of repercussions hasn't been as strong." The only school that dismantled a truly entrenched fraternity system was Princeton University, said Syrett, and it's arguable how successful that change ultimately was. The "eating clubs" that were established in the wake of Greek life's demise, Syrett said, are not dissimilar from the system they were supposed to replace. One of Princeton's eating clubs, Tiger Inn, has recently made headlines for a series of lewd and sexist emails sent out to the membership by two student officers, who have since been removed from their positions. Even this semester's system-wide suspensions, which made headlines when first announced, appear to have had a minimal impact on Greek life. At Clemson, Greek life at least partially resumed within weeks of the original suspension. WVU's, SDSU's, and UVA's fraternity systems remain suspended, although UVA is set to resume Greek activities on January 9 — the first day of fraternity and sorority recruitment. Perhaps ironically, these large, often public universities are the very schools that could benefit most from a strong Greek system — with thousands of people on campus, fraternities offer smaller communities to students who might otherwise feel overwhelmed or lost in the shuffle. It's clear that there are serious problems within many fraternity chapters. Syrett told Inside Higher Ed in 2009, after his book first came out, that "ample evidence" exists that "demonstrates that fraternity members are involved in more binge drinking, hazing mishaps (some of which lead to serious injury and death), and sexual assault than most of their peers." Atlantic contributor Caitlin Flanagan also detailed many terrible qualities attributed to fraternities — from hazing to alcohol abuse to how they treat women — in an investigative feature for the magazine earlier this year titled "The Dark Power of Fraternities." However, despite the many issues and repeated calls for the end of collegiate Greek life, it seems exceptionally unlikely that fraternities and sororities will disappear anytime soon — if ever. Here are a few reasons why: Campus Housing Perhaps the biggest reason that collegiate Greek life will stay on campuses is the practical benefit that the system grants colleges. Greek housing, for example, is so ingrained into many campuses that removing it would leave the schools with potentially thousands of students in need of a place to live and a logistical nightmare. When colleges began significantly growing during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, according to Flanagan, "the fraternities involved themselves very deeply in the business of student housing, which provided tremendous financial savings to their host institutions, and allowed them to expand the number of students they could admit." Flanagan also explains how this has become a potentially inescapable problem for colleges: Today, one in eight American students at four-year colleges lives in a Greek house, and a conservative estimate of the collective value of these houses across the country is $3 billion. Greek housing constitutes a troubling fact for college administrators (the majority of fraternity-related deaths occur in and around fraternity houses, over which the schools have limited and widely varying levels of operational oversight) and also a great boon to them (saving them untold millions of dollars in the construction and maintenance of campus-owned and -controlled dormitories). Outside Social Outlets Fraternities offer a social outlet to college campuses that operates outside of the school's budget and removes much of the potential liability that could threaten an administration. The Greek system's social benefit to colleges is highlighted in a Trinity College report from 2010 on the future of the school's fraternities and sororities. According to the report, "Between the College regulations and the law, [Trinity] had in fact allowed the popular, late-night social life to become the responsibility of the fraternities." The Trinity report cites "mutual benefits" for the school and its Greek system — "the College got a social outlet that did not come from the College budget and which existed at a small remove; and the fraternities got the attention and mystique accorded by peers." Flanagan also notes the social appeal of having fraternities for colleges, writing that "fraternities provide colleges with unlimited social programming of a kind that is highly attractive to legions of potential students, most of whom are not applying to ivy-covered rejection factories, but rather to vast public institutions and obscure private colleges that are desperate for students." Alumni Donations Schools may also be hesitant to get rid of fraternities because they fear a financial blow — Greeks tend to be more professionally succesful than unaffiliated students and will likely donate more to their alma mater. "At least one study has affirmed what had long been assumed: that fraternity men tend to be generous to their alma maters," according to Flanagan. This kind of pressure probably prevents colleges from removing Greek life, even if they want to. "Schools are beholden to donating alumni," Syrett said. "When they try and do something counter to the fraternities' interests, they have to worry about money." Students' Rights There is also another, more intangible, reason that fraternities won't disappear from college campuses anytime soon — it may be against the United States Constitution. When a school administration threatens their campus' fraternity system, students often respond that any ban would infringe on their right to freedom of association, protected by the Constitution. According to Flanagan, this argument may be "legally delicate," but it has "withstood through the years." She writes, "The powerful and well-funded political-action committee that represents fraternities in Washington has fought successfully to ensure that freedom-of-association language is included in all higher-education reauthorization legislation, thus 'disallowing public Universities the ability to ban fraternities.'" National fraternity leadership recognizes that individual houses need to be punished if they break school policy, or the law — but that shouldn't impact a college's entire system. In a statement to Business Insider, Pete Smithhisler, the head of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, said: When there are unsafe situations that arise for any student, colleges and universities must act according to their own policies and procedures to ensure the safety of the entire campus. However, the NIC is opposed to unilaterally punishing all fraternities and fraternity members based on allegations limited to a handful of bad actors – especially when they are behaving within the school’s rules, regulations and codes of conduct. Punishing an entire community for isolated or individual actions undermines the spirit of collaboration and education that is supposed to occur on campus. The NIC encourages colleges and universities to work collaboratively with students and fraternal partners to address the root causes or issues leading to the high-risk behaviors.SEE ALSO: People Who Were In Frats And Sororities Are Better At Their Jobs Join the conversation about this story »
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Washington (AFP) - Last spring, emails written by members of American University's Epsilon Iota fraternity were leaked, revealing to a horrified public the strategies -- from manipulation to outright drugging -- the brothers used to get sex.The messages from the members of the unofficial group at the campus in the US capital gave tips on targeting first-year female students -- perceived to be more naive -- and the best places to have sex without being seen.One email suggested inviting girls over for drinks before a party, so they "would feel more relaxed and safe."That "would be such a good idea to get the bitches in the right state of intoxication," it said.The problem at American University is one that colleges across the nation are confronting -- how to stem the rising tide of campus sexual assaults.The issue again made headlines earlier this month when Rolling Stone magazine detailed graphic allegations of assault and gang rape at fraternity parties -- and the administration's troubling lack of action -- at the prestigious University of Virginia.After the article was published, the school announced it was suspending fraternity and sorority activity -- so-called "Greek life" -- until January, when the new semester begins, and would hold meetings with students, faculty, alumni and others concerned to discuss steps to prevent sexual violence on campus.At American University, students are taking action.Amanda Gould, who is in her second year of studies, created a group -- "No more silence" -- and gathered 1,700 signatures to urge the university to expel the authors of the emails. "Everyone considers them as 'rape fraternities,'" said Gould. "But the university consistently said we can't do anything, because they are not affiliated with us," she noted, referring to Epsilon Iota's unofficial status.Gould nevertheless organized a demonstration on campus that she called a "turning point", explaining: "The university can't just sweep it under the rug anymore."She never managed to get a meeting with the university president, but she indirectly got support at a much higher level. - 'It's on us' - As outrage over the prevalence of sexual assaults on college campuses -- and what many critics blast as an inadequate response from authorities -- spread, the White House launched a national campaign. "It's on Us" -- promoted by President Barack Obama -- calls on each student to "be part of the solution.""Don't be a bystander. Stopping sexual assault is about being the guy who stops it," the campaign urges in videos using footage shot at parties, showing drunk women targeted by unscrupulous students.Across the United States, an estimated one college student in five is raped, and only 12 percent of these attacks are reported, Obama said when he launched the campaign in September.At American University, sophomore Faith Ferber is part of a student group that runs workshops on sexual violence prevention, which have grown in popularity on campus since the email scandal.The group has gotten the university administration to require all members of the dozen officially recognized fraternities to attend a workshop.For other students, workshop attendance is voluntary -- despite troubling statistics from a 2013 poll showing that 18 percent of American University students had been subjected to undesired sexual relations within the previous six months. - 'Yes means yes' - The hour-long presentation -- with free pizza as an extra enticement -- focuses on what constitutes true consent in a sexual encounter. In a slightly stilted atmosphere and using a prepared script, two presenters explain that both parties need to be sober and must consciously agree to any sexual act. "Consent is sexy. It is awesome to desire and to be desired," emphasizes one of the presenters.Very little is said, however, on ways to stay out of danger -- for instance, about drinking, or accepting either a drink in an open cup or a ride from a stranger. "Risk reduction is one very small, even not essential piece to sexual prevention," said Daniel Rappaport, the university official tasked with preventing sexual violence.The program takes inspiration from "Yes Means Yes," a law just passed in California. Under the new law, any sexual encounter without clear agreement could be considered rape if a complaint is filed with the university.In other words, at issue in investigations would not be whether there was a rape, but whether there was consent -- with public funding for institutions tied to compliance.But AU's Rappaport says the problem goes deeper than laws."The core problem is the way we train boys to become men who are taught to be aggressive and dominate and to see women as objects of conquest," Rappaport said.Perpetrators don't stand out as easily identifiable monsters, he said."They have the same social skills, same class schedules, same whatever as everyone else," Rappaport explained. "But they have been taught and reinforced by our culture over and over again that doing what they do is acceptable." Join the conversation about this story »
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There was another day of tension at Greek universities on Tuesday, with a senior academic resigning in Thessaloniki and students disrupting a senate meeting in the northern city. The vice rector at the Aristotle University in Thessaloniki, Yiannis Tzifopo... ...
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A new wave of occupations of university buildings has started as students protest against the rectorate’s proposal that student issues should be decided by electronic voting. So far, four university buildings have been occupied by students, Specifically, the Athens Law School, the Rectorate of the National Technical University of Athens, the Rectorate of Health Sciences, and the School of Economics. With this action, university students want to oppose the proposal of the National Kapodistrian University of Athens rector, Theodoros Fortsakis, for students to vote electronically by department on their issues. Several student factions claim that electronic voting aims at shutting down student unions. They also say that the rectorate should not interfere on issues that only concern the students and their decisions. On Thursday morning, a student union that belongs to the Greek Communist Party (KKE) occupied the Rectorate of the University of Athens. Several student unions hold meetings to decide on further actions. So far, they have decided that there will be no classes on Thursday and Friday. The rector and vice-rectors issued the following statement, “In a democracy, the violent occupation of university premises (and the standing risk of damage as has repeatedly occurred in the past) cannot be tolerated, nor can the tampering with democracy in various ways, but precisely in the spirit of the Polytechnic uprising of 1973, there is an urgent demand to reinstate simple reason.” The announcement adds that electronic voting by department would finally give the student majority an opportunity for everyone to directly decide whether to suspend classes, as some propose and then impose. The rectorate claim that combative student factions that are the minority of the student body impose their decisions by force. Yesterday student unions clashed at the Athens Law School. Students who belong to the New Democracy student union announced that they were attacked by a leftist student union who didn’t allow them to enter the school using violence. Leftist student unions accuse rector Theodoros Fortsakis of trying to impose a fascist rule in universities and ask for his resignation.
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It is beyond the scope of a young college student such as myself to comprehend just how painful it must be to anyone who knew the fellow Greek ...
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