希腊专题小组简介
Presented to the Alfred University Board of Trustees Alfred University, May 17, 2002
At its February 2002 meeting the Alfred University Board of Trustees was informed of a confluence of extremely disturbing events: yet again several Greek houses were charged with violating University policies on hazing and/or alcohol, a fraternity man had allegedly been the victim of assault by his own fraternity brothers, and worst of all he had subsequently died of causes yet unknown.1 In response to this news about a Greek system suffering from persistent and increasing problems, 尽管会员数量不断下降, the Board established a Trustee Task Force on Greek Life "to evaluate whether the fraternities and sororities have a future role at our University" and to report to the Board at its May 2002 meeting.
Over the last decade the Board has received periodic reports about Greek life suggesting that, however noble and honorable its roots and however much it had contributed to the success of the University in the past, it was becoming less and less consistent with the institution's mission:
Alfred University's commitment is to foster a spirit of inquiry, search for knowledge through fundamental and applied research, and transmit that knowledge to our 学生 in a highly-personalized environment. 重视多样性, 宽容, 跨学科工作, 主动学习, the University strives to develop our 学生' ability to think critically, 沟通清楚, 理解日益复杂的, 技术相关, 国际社会，创造性地应对变化, 为他们的成就和领导生涯做准备.
A more systematic review and report of Greek life seemed in order.
Chaired by a former Board chairperson, the Task Force (附录A)由四名受托人组成, all of whom are Greek themselves (two at Alfred); two faculty members; a representative of both the 校友 Association and the Parent's Association (who is also a Greek); and the Associate Provost/Vice President for Enrollment Management. Though the original intention was to include one or two 学生, reports of potential intimidation and harassment of those 学生 led us reluctantly to elect not to include 学生 on the Task Force. 然而, 所有在读学生, 还有校友, were emailed invitations to communicate with the Task Force through a confidential web site.
特别工作组的目标是进行一次公平的, objective and balanced inquiry into the past and present role of Greek life at Alfred University and to determine whether that role is consistent with the mission of the University. 要做到这一点, 工作队研究了绝对数据和相对数据, 以及历史和当代, terms about Greek 学生 versus non-Greek 学生 at AU. We reviewed a number of reports comparing academic performance, 饮酒习惯, and community service among Greeks and non-Greeks at Alfred. We also examined general student interest in joining Greek organizations, 以及性别和种族的兴趣. 我们将阿尔弗雷德与国家数据和趋势进行了比较, and we reviewed the work of similar task forces at 20 other colleges and universities (summarized in 附录B).
The Task Force met every two weeks on campus between February 28th and May 2nd, 或者6倍, 总共30个小时. We met with approximately three dozen people from a cross section of the campus community, 包括管理员, 工作人员, 学生, 校友, 咨询和住宿生活工作人员, 当地警察和一个商人. A special meeting was also held with Greek presidents; 8 of 12 attended. (For a complete list of information reviewed and interviews conducted, see 附录C).
In addition to the information gathered at these meetings, 专责小组收到248封电子邮件和信件, 主要来自学生(135人)和校友(62人)。, 以及父母(23), 教师(20), 及其他利害关系人(八). It also looked at documents like the Harvard School of Public 健康's longitudinal study of drinking at colleges and universities, as well as a number of editorial responses to that study, and reviewed reports from the Vice President for University Advancement and the Vice President for Student Affairs/Dean of Students.
虽然这个决定很困难, we have agreed unanimously that the Greek system should be eliminated as quickly as possible. 尽管它为其成员提供了宝贵的经验, as a whole the Greek system has deteriorated significantly over time even though the administration has made numerous attempts to support and strengthen it. The system requires a disproportionate amount of time and resources for the benefits it affords a small group of 学生, hurts relations between the University and the community, and sometimes works to the detriment of its voluntary participants.
These considerations are not the sole reasons for our recommendation. Equally compelling is the prospect that eliminating Greek life will create the opportunity for the most dramatic positive change in campus life in decades and is replete with possibilities for advancing the University's mission.
To explain how we reached this conclusion, we have structured our report into sections as follows:
1地方检察官在四月底发表了一份声明, which asserted that while the student was the victim of an assault, "his death cannot be directly attributed to the assault."