NEWS 1
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH CAROLINA
VOL. 106, NO. 10 ● SINCE 1908
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
Fraternity Council halts
RUSH Kamila Melko / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
SG debates Safe Zone training Ben Crawford @BENLCRAWFORD
Jeremy Marshall Harkness / THE DAILY GAMECOCK
The University Fraternity Council halted the recruitment process for 13 of the 19 chapters on Monday night.
Patrick Ingraham @PATTYMILLS11
Follow ing Monday n ight’s formal fraternity recruitment event, which for the first time was held at t he Colu mbia Met ropol it a n Convent ion Center instead of t he Greek V il lage, t he Un iversit y Fraternity Council stopped the recruitment process for 13 of the 19 chapters at South Carolina. Fraternity Council President Tim Bryson said in a letter on Tuesday that this situation is meant to bring about a positive impact for the council and each of its affi liated chapters. “This decision is not punitive; rather one that is developmental and w ill ensu re t hat all I FC chapter s a re fol low i ng t hei r org a n izat ions r u les, t he I FC rec r u it ment r u le s, and reg ulat ions as explicit ly outlined,” Bryson said. I n a let ter issued Monday night to chapter presidents and advisors, Interfraternity Council V ic e P re s ident of C onduc t Jonathan Withrow announced t he reason ing beh ind t he council’s actions. Withrow stated in the letter t hat t he orga n izat ions i n question disregarded an Aug. 27 emergenc y meet i ng w it h Associate Director of Greek Life,
Jarod Holt, regarding alcohol and risk-management protocol at fraternity recruitment events. According to Withrow’s letter, Holt stressed the university and Greek life policy of fraternities hosting alcohol-free rush events at the meeting. “We have evidence that 13 organizations held such events over t he past severa l week s and since many organizations clearly did not take the meeting seriously, more drastic measures must be taken,” Withrow said. The 13 chapters affected by this suspension are: Alpha Epsilon Pi Alpha Tau Omega Chi Psi Delta Kappa Epsilon Kappa Alpha Order Lambda Chi Alpha Phi Gamma Delt Phi Kappa Sigma Phi Sigma Kappa Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Chi Theta Chi Tau Kappa Epsilon Many of t he over 900 rushees that were in attendance Monday night will have to wait for the council to review each chapter and address allegations individually. The six fraternities that are not under suspension
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will be allowed to continue their recruitment process as normal. Fraternit y Council repre sent at ive s a nd Br y son have said no official violations have been handed out and that each chapter will get their due process over the course of the review period. “ No sa nc t ion s h ave b een handed out. Sanctions will only be given after each fraternity is given due process in a timely manner. However, preliminary conduct meetings to discuss the alleged v iolat ions will begin soon,” Bryson said. Bryson also mentioned in his letter that the actions taken by IFC should promote progress in the Greek community. “Fraternity Council believes t h a t t h i s p r a c t i c e o f s e l fgovernance and accountability will promote the best conduct amongst all IFC chapters in the Fraternit y and Sororit y Life community,” Bryson said. The last t ime t he cou ncil ca nceled t he recr u it ment process for any fraternity was in 2011 when rush was halted for seven chapters after they were charged with alcohol violations by the council. Bid d a y i s s c he d u le d f o r M o n d a y, S e p t . 7 f o r t h e fraternities not currently under recruitment suspension.
Student Senate will debate a bill Wednesday evening which would, if passed, require Student Government members to complete Safe Zone ally training — a program offered by the Office of Multicultural Student Affairs (OMSA) designed to inform students about issues affecting LGBTQ individuals. Sen. Kaitlin McClamrock, the author of the bill and third-year political science and German student, said that the purpose of the act was, in part, to catch up with other SEC schools. “One of the things we’re lagging behind in is issues of LGBTQ students on campus,” she said. “Something specifically that we noticed is that the University of Alabama, as well as the University of Mississippi, have a training that’s mandatory for all their student government officials.” McClamrock is adamant, however, that the current state of LGBTQ awareness isn’t nearly as widespread as it should be. “People have trouble remembering the LGBT acronym,” she said, referring to a previous Senate meeting where some members seemed to have a difficult time pronouncing the acronym. “If there’s a lack of understanding there, then imagine just how far the lack of understanding extends.” The stated purpose of the act is “to ensure that [SG officials] are aware of the resources available to LGBTQ students on campus, and are able to respectfully understand some of the issues facing LGBTQ individuals.” Each Safe Zone session is approximately three hours long and is “valid” for three years after completion, at which point it must be renewed. Therefore, any SGinvolved student graduating within three years would only have to take one Safe Zone training session should the bill pass. Sen. By ron Thomas of t he College of Mass Communications will be voting against the bill. He believes that all of the necessary sensitivity towards marginalized groups is best learned outside of Safe Zone training, by interacting naturally with people from different backgrounds. “I’m happy we have senators that believe its a good thing for us, as leaders, to make sure we think about others,“ he said, “but I just don’t believe we should be required to do something like this.” Thomas believes that his Christian faith more than meets any requirements that Safe Zone training could set, citing a moral commandment to treat others how they want to be treated. He also questioned the inherent efficacy of the bill to perform its intended purpose. “Let’s be real here: If I don’t believe in something, and you force me to do something, do you actually believe I’m going to pay attention or take it seriously?” he said. “No. I’ll just sit in the class, do what I have to do to meet the requirements and get out.” McClamrock defended the bill, insisting that mandatory Safe Zone training was not an attempt to change the belief systems of SG members. “This is not intended to challenge your morals. You don’t have to be an ally if you don’t want to be one. Obviously, I personally feel that we should strive to be allies.” she said. “But that’s not necessarily everybody’s belief, and if that’s not what people feel, they have the right not to feel that.” The Safe Zone Participant Workbook includes an “Ally Commitment Pledge,” asking students to sign a series of measures designed to protect LGBTQ students. Much of it reads as a contract towards positive action: “I am . . . committed to educating myself and others about violence, oppression, heterosexism and homophobia and to combating them all on a personal level.” Proponents of the bill say that SG members will not be forced to sign the pledge or any other long-term commitment if they feel uncomfortable with it. The bill, if passed, will be put into effect next fall.
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