Report and recommendations from the Greek Life Task Force (D.
Sperry, Chairperson). The Faculty Senate discussed the virtues
of eliminating pledging and the amount of transition time the
resolution proposes, and passed the following resolution:
RESOLUTION 1
- WHEREAS,
- that students seeking membership in Greek organizations will
benefit by terminating the pledging process, and
- WHEREAS,
- the faculty of the University of Delaware have the
responsibility for student welfare, therefore be it
- RESOLVED,
- that The Official Student Handbook of the University of
Delaware be modified by the 1994-1995 academic year to
limit the pledging period of all officially recognized
student organizations to not more than four weeks, and be
it further
- RESOLVED,
- that The Official Student Handbook of the University of
Delaware be modified by the 1997-1998 academic year to
state that organizations having a pledging process or
pledge status for prospective members will be denied
official recognition, and be it further
- RESOLVED,
- that the national Greek organizations with local chapters
at the University of Delaware and those seeking official
status for local chapters be informed of this impending
permanent change at the University of Delaware.
The second resolution set minimum grade point and other requirements for
membership in a Greek organization. The Faculty Senate passed the
following resolution:
RESOLUTION 2
WHEREAS, the first priority of students must be academic matters, and
WHEREAS, students also have an obligation for responsible social
conduct, and
WHEREAS, Greek organizations will benefit from more stringent
membership requirements, therefore be it
RESOLVED, that the University Faculty Senate requests the
Panhellenic, Interfraternity, and National Pan Hellenic
Councils adopt new minimum criteria for students seeking
to join local chapters of Greek organizations, and be it
further
RESOLVED, that students seeking to join local chapters of Greek
organizations must have completed successfully 12 credit
hours at the University of Delaware, and be it further
RESOLVED, that students seeking to join local chapters of Greek
organizations must also have a minimum cumulative index of
2.33 (C+), and be it further
RESOLVED, that students seeking to join local chapters of Greek
organizations must also be free of all current judicial
sanctions imposed by the University's student judicial
system, and be it further
RESOLVED, that these minimum criteria be in effect at the start of
the 1993-1994 academic year.
The third resolution proposed a monitoring system for Greek
organizations. The Faculty Senate discussed at length the mechanism of
this monitoring, what aspects of Greek life will be monitored, who is
responsible for it, and providing for a meaningful basis of comparison
between students in the Greek system and others. After three friendly
amendments changing language, adding a provision for a mechanism of
comparison and a proviso requiring the Committee to report its system
back to the Senate, and after passage of an amendment shifting the
responsibility for designing such a system from the Dean of Students to
an Ad Hoc Senate Committee named specifically for this purpose, the
Senate passed the following resolutions, (with changes):
RESOLUTION 3
- WHEREAS,
- the University of Delaware should have a comprehensive
system for monitoring the academic performance, disciplinary
problems, and conduct of all students, therefore be it
- RESOLVED,
- that the Committee on Committees and Nominations appoint
an Ad Hoc Task Force that will design a system of record
keeping that will allow, among other things, an accurate
and impartial measure of each Greek organization's
collective profile and the collective profile of the
general student composition for a statistically
significant basis of comparison, and that a draft
collective profile be reported back to the Faculty Senate
for approval and implementation, and be it further, and be
it further
- RESOLVED,
- that the Administration provide sufficient resources to
enable the Office of the Dean of Students to establish and
maintain such a record system once established and
approved by the Faculty Senate.
The Faculty Senate passed Resolution 4 which proposes a mechanism for
the periodic review of organizations in the Greek system:
RESOLUTION 4
- WHEREAS,
- all organizations benefit from long-range planning and
periodic assessment of strengths and weaknesses, therefore
be it
- RESOLVED,
- that a process of periodic review of all local chapters of
Greek organizations be established, the format and
schedule for such reviews to be determined by
representatives from the Office of the Dean of Students
and the Interfraternity, Panhellenic, and National Pan
Hellenic Councils, and be it further
- RESOLVED,
- that the first review of the local chapter of each Greek
organization shall be completed by the 1997-1998 academic
year, and be it further
- RESOLVED,
- that the Office of the Dean of Students establish a
procedure for collating and summarizing the information
regarding local chapters so it is available to governing
or decision-making bodies reviewing the status of Greek
life at the University of Delaware, and be it further
- RESOLVED,
- that the Administration provide sufficient resources to
enable the Office of the Dean of Students to undertake and
complete such reviews on an ongoing basis.
The Faculty Senate considered Resolution 5 which requires the Dean of
Students and the Vice President of Student Affairs to review and modify
existing University criteria used to identify and officially recognize
Greek organizations. After discussing issues of potential University
liability for more liberal recognition policies and the fairness of the
current procedures, the Faculty Senate passed the following resolution:
RESOLUTION 5
- WHEREAS,
- the existing procedures for expanding the local Greek system
encourage groups of students to exist and operate outside of
reasonable rules and regulations guiding student behavior
and protecting student welfare, and
- WHEREAS,
- groups of students have a right to promote their common
interest by being registered student organizations subject
to reasonable, equitable, and defined limits, and
- WHEREAS,
- the existing Greek councils representing local registered
chapters must be accountable to explain their expansion
decisions, therefore be it
- RESOLVED,
- that the Offices of the Dean of Students and of the Vice
President for Student Affairs cooperate to review and
modify existing University criteria, procedures and
policies used to identify registered student organizations
in order to incorporate Greek-interest groups, and be it
further
- RESOLVED,
- that the Offices of the Dean of Students and of the Vice
President for Student Affairs, with the cooperation of the
Panhellenic, Interfraternity, and National Pan Hellenic
Councils, establish reasonable and fair procedures that
direct the development of Greek- interest groups towards
full University recognition.
Resolution 6 proposed to terminate the house monitor experiment. After
the Faculty Senate discussed the reasons for terminating, the
experiment's flaws, and whether another mechanism should be instituted,
the resolution was amended to provide for the creation of another Ad Hoc
Senate committee to report to the Senate with a more viable house
monitor proposal. After passing the amendment, the Senate approved the
following resolution (with changes):
RESOLUTION 6
- WHEREAS,
- the house monitor "experiment" instituted by the University
Faculty Senate in the spring of 1991 is inadequate to the
tasks for which it was intended, therefore be it
- RESOLVED,
- that the University Faculty Senate terminate the house
monitor "experiment" immediately and that the Committee on
Committees and Nominations be instructed to create an Ad
Hoc Task Force to report to the Senate next year with a
new proposal on the house monitor concept.
After discussion of the appropriateness of specifically mentioning the
Office of Women's Affairs as part of a periodic review mechanism, the
Faculty Senate passed the following resolution:
RESOLUTION 7
- WHEREAS,
- periodic and equitable reviews of Greek organizations will
be conducted, and
- WHEREAS,
- reviews of these organizations will allow for determining
that these organizations operate in accordance with the
University's goals for student development, and
- WHEREAS,
- establishing that an organization is not willing to operate
or capable of operating in accordance with the University's
goals for student development could be used to deny
recognition to or withdraw recognition from student
organizations, and
- WHEREAS,
- the Faculty have the responsibility to set the course of
student development and to protect student welfare,
therefore be it
- RESOLVED,
- that the University Faculty Senate asks the President of
the University of Delaware to institute a policy of
granting renewable charters to Greek organizations, and be
it further
- RESOLVED,
- that official recognition of Greek organizations be based
on their performance determined by periodic review, and be
it further
- RESOLVED,
- that the University Faculty Senate Committee on Student
Life and representatives from the Offices of the Dean of
Students, of Women's Affairs, and of the Vice President
for Student Affairs establish procedures for making
recommendations to the President of the University of
Delaware regarding the initial application of, or the re-
application of, Greek organizations seeking charters at
the University of Delaware, and be it further
- RESOLVED,
- that this policy take effect in the 1997-1998 academic
year.
The Faculty Senate approved Resolution 8:
RESOLUTION 8
- WHEREAS,
- the changes proposed by the Greek Life Task Force are
diverse and far reaching, therefore be it
- RESOLVED,
- that the University Faculty Senate establish a new task
force in the academic year 1997-1998 to re-evaluate the
status of Greek life at the University of Delaware and to
determine the effectiveness of all of the recommendations
of the 1991-1992 Greek Life Task Force and to propose
their continuation, modification, or elimination.
