Forging Friendships Through the Kaplan Safe Campus Award

Jacqueline Caster interacts with members from the Mu Theta and Beta Gamma chapters at Chapter Leaders Day in Los Angeles in February 2024.

Written by Amy Buchheit & Jackie Hacket Gellinger

ΣAM Foundation Senior Director of Development / Assistant Executive Director

At the 2024 Chapter Leaders Day in Los Angeles, members of USC/Mu Theta and Arizona/Beta Gamma chapters sat by each other and started a conversation about what it’s like living in the SAM House. They continued talking through lunch, when a guest asked if she could sit with them and join their conversation.

Jacqueline Caster, granddaughter of Jacob Kaplan, a Founder of Sigma Alpha Mu, who recently started an award for Sigma Alpha Mu chapters in response to the increasing national press surrounding fraternities and sexual assaults on college campuses, was the guest who sat with the chapter leaders.

In this conversation, she learned about the changes Mu Theta was making to their social events to help make women feel safe at their house and heard Beta Gamma ask questions about how they could do something similar. After learning about the noticeable differences Mu Theta experienced with how women felt with their Sober Room, Beta Gamma knew they had to do the same. The Sober Room is a dedicated space in the Mu Theta house that has non-alcoholic drinks, snacks, a female-security officer, and serves as a quiet place for members and guests to step away from a crowded social event. It also serves as an area for designated risk team members to convene, settle any concerns, or meet with stakeholders.

Caster asked both groups of young men if they were going to apply for the Kaplan Safe Campus Award because she knew that was exactly what she had envisioned for the award - a simple change that could be easily replicated at a low cost across all Sigma Alpha Mu chapters, and eventually across the greater Fraternal Community.

As lunch continued on, the young men asked Caster what her grandfather was like, if she attended SAM events as she was growing up, and why she chose to start the Kaplan Safe Campus Award. Despite disappointed feelings that the conversation had to end with lunch concluding, Caster and the chapter leaders exchanged emails and found each other on LinkedIn, wanting to continue the new friendships that were made that afternoon.

When events are held at the Mu Theta chapter house, a dedicated room with water and light snacks is available for women and is monitored by a security officer to ensure that no one is bothering the women in the room.

After Caster’s encouragement after the event, both chapters applied for the Kaplan Safe Campus Award, and at the New Orleans Convention, Mu Theta and Beta Gamma were awarded first and second place, respectively, for the improvements they made to their chapter houses to keep women safe.

When Caster found out who the award winners were for 2024, she was thrilled that they had filled out the application and were making a difference on the Southern California and Arizona campuses!

For questions on the Kaplan Safe Campus Award, contact Amy Buchheit at amyb@sam-fdn.org