USC officials have proposed an end to pledging periods and activities for university chapters of fraternities and sororities.
Fraternity chapters' ability to conduct themselves without policy violations is called into question because the majority of them have been either suspended or placed on probation within the last three school years. In the 2015-16 school year, eight fraternities were sanctioned for misconduct, and in the year prior, a pledge died of alcohol poisoning, The State reports. Most violations are alcohol-, drug- or hazing-related.
The possible ban was initially brought up during a summit at USC with school officials as well as national fraternity and sorority officers. The summit was one that attempted to address issues surrounding Greek life on campus and open a dialogue on what action to take. After proposing the ban, university spokesman Wes Hickman says that student leaders are to be included in such dialogue when they return in the fall.
"Our objective would not be to force anybody into this situation, but to have an agreement that is mutually beneficial to all of the chapters and all of the students and to agree on that together," Hickman said.
As they currently stand, fraternity pledging periods can last for several weeks — up to three months. Fraternity members can dedicate the allotted time to having their pledges engage in various activities that are in violation of conduct codes or harmful to the pledges.
Jerry Brewer, associate vice president for Student Affairs and Academic Support, hopes to keep future pledges from having to risk their safety in the process of becoming a fraternity brother. He also believes that if USC implements the ban, it could be an act of leadership for at least the rest of the Southeastern Conference.
“If the SEC can set a tone, we can solve some things because the SEC has the same prominence with fraternities and sororities that it is with athletics ... We might lay a big egg,” Brewer said.
Tim Bryson, a 2016 graduate of USC, served as fraternity council president until he was impeached after he moved to halt fraternity recruitment. His decision to do so stemmed from his concern for the health and safety of current and prospective fraternity brothers.
Bryson detailed a response to the proposed pledging ban on his blog last week.
"While some call it an 'overreaction' and others deem it necessary for social change, I was shocked that university leadership broke silence on an issue that was highlighted nine months ago when I got impeached," Bryson wrote, "For 'doing the right thing, though not following the rules.'”
Bryson says that USC's response to violations and student safety concerns is one that is correct in its desire to change for the better, but is also one that does not necessarily admit any guilt in the situation. Considering the health risks and even the deaths of certain students pledging for Greek organizations, Bryson stresses that all involved in Greek life reap what is sown "from each other's shortcomings."
"A shared purpose to joining a fraternity is to become a part of an entity with shared values and commitment to service," Bryson says, "not to sacrifice your health for the Greek alphabet."
The recent graduate also believes that the proposal's sudden or "extreme" nature is due to a lack of communication from the top down and with other stakeholders, especially those who were not at the summit in the spring.
"There is an obvious disconnect between university leadership, student leadership, and third-party stakeholders when the pronouns 'we' and 'they' are thrown around as if this is not our problem to solve together," Bryson told the Chronicle of Higher Education. Bryson says he would have liked to attend the summit to voice his own ideas for improvements in Greek life.
Current Fraternity Council President Joe Stuhrenberg does not agree with the notion that a pledging ban is the best way to go about solving issues in Greek life.
Stuhrenberg says the proposal by the administration is "flawed on a number of levels" and expressed his opposition in a statement to both The State and The Daily Gamecock.
"First and foremost, it's administrative overreach," Stuhrenberg said of banning pledging. He also stated that such action, if it is to be considered, should be considered by fraternity chapters' national offices as they are the most familiar with issues within their organizations.
"The idea that a decree from USC’s administration will be a catalyst to the disappearance of deeply ingrained problems like hazing and personal servitude is nothing more than wishful thinking," Stuhrenberg said. "These risky behaviors—and others like them—will simply move underground, leaving all stakeholders with even bigger issues at hand."
Not every fraternity chapter on campus currently has pledging period. Second-year exercise science student and former fraternity member Akash Desai was a member of a fraternity with no pledging period.
"[A] few years back our entire chapter got shut down based on serious hazing issues and the guidelines our chapter had to follow in order to regain our charter was strictly against any pledge process whatsoever in order to prevent hazing issues in the future," Desai said.
Desai understands the call for a change in order to maintain the well-being of future fraternity members and students in general. However, he says that shortening the pledging process may not be as effective as one could hope.
"I think there's good in having a pledge process and (in) not having one," Desai said. "The upside of no pledge process means there's less risk of injury and bad things happening as well as less animosity between older brothers and new members, while the pledge process gives the new guys a feeling of belonging since [the] older guys went through the same things."
Desai says that hazing can be problematic, but shrinking the pledge process may not be effective because hazing could go under radar.
"I honestly don't see hazing as something that's productive, and it's caused lots of problems for fraternity men across the country," Desai said. He suggested that monetary fines could possibly be an effective way to crack down on hazing allegations.
University President Harris Pastides said on Friday that if fraternities can stay out of trouble until the end of the 2016-17 academic year, the university might not have to implement the pledging ban. Pastides hopes that fraternity chapters would see the possible ban not as a threat, but as a proposal that, if heard and understood by student leaders, should be effective in and of itself.
"I would love nothing more than if we got to a point where we had a pact with the organizations that said, 'Trust us. Let us continue. We heard you. We're going to have a clean bill of health this year.' And, maybe, we won't need to be that radical about pledging," Pastides told The Post and Courier Friday.
Bryson, in reflecting both on his own impeachment and the idea of a campus-wide ban, expressed the importance of civility and effective dialogue among those involved in controversy.
"Accountability does not mean you’re blaming others," Bryson said, "but encouraging them to do the right thing."