24 Cal Poly Pomona, CSUSB and UCR fraternities and sororities disciplined in five years – Daily Bulletin
In the last five years, fraternities and associations in the three public universities of the Inner Empire have been disciplined or have received warnings from university officials 44 times, most of them for talismans.
In response to a California Public Registration Act At the request of this news organization, officials at Cal Poly Pomona, Cal State San Bernardino, and UC Riverside issued 216 pages of disciplinary letters sent to a dozen brothers, societies, and other Greek literary organizations on their campuses between 2016 and 2021. Cal Poly Pomona disciplined six organizations, CSUSB disciplined four and UCR disciplined 14.
Disciplinary letters ranged from warnings, to the partial or complete suspension of a group’s activities, to the total dissolution of local chapters.
Among the disciplined: On November 19, 2019, the UCR disbanded the local chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha, a historically black national social fraternity, following the death of Tyler Hilliard, who died on September 16, 2018, during an apparent Alpha Phi Alpha promise event on Mount Rubidoux. According to the letter, “many other hospitalizations” resulted from other hostage activities.
But most of the turbulent fraternities they were accused of may seem mild to older generations (either those who have seen “Animal House” or “Nerds Revenge”). Sigma Chi Promises at Cal Poly Pomona, for example, were asked to perform serenades at association meetings, accompany group members from their meetings in their cars, dress as other prom or in uniform, and create and performed formal greetings when talking to full members.
What is acceptable behavior by student organizations has changed over the years, due to changes in California law and university policies.
The behavior of the new members – the “commitment” – has changed as a result, according to Jonathan Grady, Cal Poly Pomona’s student dean.
“They really take a very educational, transformative approach to this process,” he said. “I have obviously seen a change and universities putting a deliberate focus on that educational component, that community component.”
But changes in behavior acceptable to fraternities and families are not being driven only by figures of increased authority.
“Students are part of change and I would argue that they are the driving force behind change,” Grady said.
Natalie Padilla, 20, is a third-year history degree at Cal Poly Pomona. Padilla’s parents were worried when she joined Alpha Xi Delta as a freshman, fearing she would be exposed to alcohol abuse or abuse.
“‘Why would you want to do that?’ “he remembered that his father asked him. “In his head, the hazing were still promises to pump their stomachs after the promise week.”
She has no interest in that kind of Greek experience.
“Why would it be something you want to seek and humiliate?” she said. Instead, becoming a new Alpha Xi Delta member is more about educating and connecting with existing members, according to Padilla.
But even when confusion can be considered harmless fun by some, it can create the scene for more dangerous things later.
“These things that may seem small or harmless can lead to more risky behaviors,” said Ellen Whitehead, director of student life at UCR. “Often, a group might think ‘It’s not a big deal, we’re just doing it, everyone agrees.’ “But it can create a dynamic of power that leads to other things.”
The test, she said, is whether the promises are being treated as new members, or something less than that.
And it’s not just traditional fraternities that get into trouble: Greek letter organizations for potential chiropractors and law students were among those disciplined, data from three universities show.
“Dangerous behavior happens all over the board, not just in fraternity and society,” Whitehead said.
And all three campuses have had dangerous behaviors, regardless of whether the Greek community is large or small.
Cal Poly Pomona
Cal Poly Pomona was released 21 pages of documents, a total of 10 disciplinary letters sent to the six fraternities. There are five social fraternities, seven Greek multicultural organizations, a historically black fraternity, in historically black society and five social societies officially recognized by Cal Poly Pomona.
Numerous organizations were cited for hazing, including the local chapter of Omega Psi Phi, a historically black national fraternity, Tau Kappa Epsilon, a national social fraternity, and Sigma Chi, a national social fraternity.
Cal State San Bernardino
CSUSB was released 10 pages documents, a total of four disciplinary letters sent to four different Greek organizations. There are five social fraternities, eight Greek multicultural organizations, two historically black fraternities, three historically black societies, four social societies, and two honorary societies of brotherhood and association. officially recognized by Cal State San Bernardino.
The four letters were sent to the national social fraternities Sigma Chi, Delta Sigma Phi and Delta Chi, and Delta Sigma Chi, a fraternal organization for prospective chiropractors (and not the same organization as Delta Sigma Phi). Every letter was about hazing. The organizations were accused of forcing pledges to do exercises as punishment, of intimidating pledges in a dark room in a fraternity home, and of other unspecified harassments. Delta Sigma Chi was also accused of including fake lists of university officers in an attempt to meet average grade requirements he could not otherwise have met.
UC Riverside
UCR was released 185 pages of documents, a total of 30 disciplinary letters sent to 14 organizations, comparing those issued by the other two universities of the Inner Empire. Today, there are six social fraternities, 20 Greek multicultural organizations, one historically black fraternity, three historical societies of color, seven social societies, and at least six Professional organizations or honorary societies with Greek letters officially recognized by UCR Riverside.
In addition to letters sent to Alpha Phi Alpha after Hilliard’s death, the UCR also had far more problems with alcohol and holidays than Cal Poly Pomona and Cal State San Bernardino, based on the discipline letters. Students, especially freshmen, were constantly sent to the hospital – and sometimes to the emergency room – after returning to their dormitory rooms after the fraternity holidays.
At UCR, fraternities are responsible for making sure only those 21 and older are drinking alcohol on their holidays. But this does not always happen.
“The seventeen-year-old said that she told a member of the fraternity that she was 17 years old and he responded by saying that she was 27”, it is said in part in a letter of June 5, 2019 addressed to the Delta Tau Delta fraternity. She said she was able to get alcoholic drinks from both parties, having a feeling ‘that the fraternity was avoiding asking me about age.’ She had been drinking vodka and a mixed drink, and she and her friend both reported that beer was also available. ”
The fraternity was placed on disciplinary trial until June 30, 2020, which they apparently successfully completed and are active today at UC Riverside.
The future of Greek life
But if Greek life is changing, it is still popular on many campuses.
It is becoming more popular in Cal Poly Pomona, for example. Or at least, it was.
“Before 2019, we started to see more students participating in Greek life – and then the pandemic hit,” Grady said.
Membership in the Greek chapter declined rapidly as students attended online tutoring most of the time. But Grady predicts seeing numbers return with students returning to the Pomona campus full-time.
“Students, not just at Cal Poly, but nationally, are telling campus leaders that they lack that connection, they miss that community,” he said.
Grady believes that although things are changing and definitely becoming more restrictive, modern fraternities and communities will continue to have a major appeal on the country’s college campuses.
“As we think about Greek life now and move forward, we really have an opportunity to move forward, but we must never forget why fraternities and associations were founded in the first place,” he said.
Whitehead thinks Greek groups add value to American universities.
“My granddaughter is joining a group at another institution,” she said. “These groups offer a sense of community to our students. . It is a good opportunity for involvement and leadership and they connect with a good group of students and community members. ”
There they are more than 26,000 university students at Cal Poly Pomona, many were not interested in making the university the center of their social life.
“People go to campus and then leave and that is their college experience,” Padilla said.
But joining a Greek organization meant finding a smaller, more engaged community within the larger student body for it.
“Social life for Greeks means you always have someone to sit in the cafe, or there are Greek tables in the library and parties where you can go,” Padilla said. “This is truly the center of our social life on campus.”
24 Cal Poly Pomona, CSUSB and UCR fraternities and sororities disciplined in five years – Daily Bulletin Source link 24 Cal Poly Pomona, CSUSB and UCR fraternities and sororities disciplined in five years – Daily Bulletin
