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Page 6 ·May 18, 2000 · <llnntll'Xhlensis . Campus News A Proposal for Residential and Social Life at Union Introduction The U2K Steering Committee was appointed in the Fa11 of 1998 and :1sked to anticipate how the College can best accommodate the ,transition to sophomore rush and, '\to propose a set of reforms that would preserve the traditions of Greek Life that are consistent with an academic community that val- ues open inquiry, seriousness of purpose, diversity of opinion, and a broad and equitable choice of residential and social options.\ Five subcommittees worked over three terms and in February 2000, the U2K Steering Committee re- leased its preliminary report to the campus that summarized the work of the subcommittees. In that re- port the Steering Committee high- lighted three key principles that would guide us in the final stages of our work. 1. The Greek system needs to dissociate itself trom groups that engage in regressive activities such as hazing and alcohol abuse. 2. The Coli ege must rectify a sys- 1em of unequal privilege in hous- ing and access to social space and do whatever is necessary to make room for the growth of social ini- tiatives. 3. Faculty need to participate more in the out-of-class intellectual life of the campus and the adminis- tration needs to support initiatives that help faculty meet this goal. We identified several controver- sial issues and invited the campus community to share thoughts and opinions. W c heard rrom the Stu- dent Forum, the Chair of the Fac- ulty Executive Committee, the In- tcrfraterni ty Co unci I, the Panhellentc Council, individual students, faculty, staff, a\ urnni and alumnae (see Appendix A). In the following proposal we ad- dress three primary topics: the fu- ture of Greek life at Union and the transition to sophomore rush, the establishment of an all-inclusive House System to begin in the Fall of 2004, and an array ofnew social tmtJattvcs. We recognize tl1at our proposal will draw criticism from those who feel we have gone too far and those who feel we have not gone far enough. We believe our proposal represents a careful bal- ancmg that preserves the I 7 5-year tradit10n of Greek letter societies while Simultaneously offcnng a new model for residential and so- cmll!tc. We present this proposal for re- view by the campus community. We recognize that it is late in the term and that people will want time to consider what we propose. We however feel that it is important to get our ideas out to the commu- nity before three members of our committee graduate and another goes on a well-earned leave. We do not offer these ideas slightly we have devoted the better part of two years to this discussion but we rec- ognize the importance of giving the campus an opportunity to contrib- ute to the discussion. Toward that end, we are recommending Presi- dent Hull not take any formal ac- tion on this proposal until October 2000. At that time we will provide him with copies of all the corre- spondence we receive as well as a summary of the reactions and an analysis of alternative proposals. Please address correspondence to: U2K 306 Reamer Campus Centet Union College Schenectady, NY 12308 or <u2k@union .edu> Proposal for the Future of Greek Life l'vtany faculty and administrators will view our recommendations on the Greek system with some dis- may, perhaps having hoped that all residential groups would be re- quired to go co-educational or that the Greek system would be moved off campus or <Jbolished. However, two years· of deliberation has left the U2K Steering Committee con- vinced that tin l<ering with the GFeek system beyo11d sophomore rush was not the best way to achieve an ideal residential and social pro- gram for Unio11. Our attempt to deal with the fundamental problems as- sociated with Greek life at Union - - the inequity in housing that it per- petuates, the dominance of social -l-ife at Union that it represents, the negative effect on recruiting some faculty and siudents that a domi- nant Greek image imposes - -sug- gested changes that would seri- ously weake11 the Greek system without provi<iing positive alterna- tives. Thus, what we are now propos- ing is the preservation of our tradi- tional Greek system within a new social construct at Union. The H()use System that is described at some length below will simulta- nemtsly move Greek life more to- ward the periphery Oiterally and figt1ratively) wnile making available to every Union student some of the most valued parts of Greek life. Most notable among these are: access to attractive residential and social space, a sense of belonging to a unit to wliich one will return as an alumna or alumnus, the oppor- tunity to work with others in oreat- ing social programs, and the re- sponsibility Qf taking part in the self-governance of a residence unit. Greek Meml>ership and Housing In our preliminary report, we placed on the table several ques- tions that we knew were of utmost importance to every Greek at Union: 1. Should Greek organizations continue to be selective? 2. Should Greek organizatiems continue to be single-sex? 3. Should Greek organizations C()ntinue to be residential? 4. Should Greek organizations cc.ntinue to nave pledging? Many Greeks - including those on the U2K Steering Committee -· feh that the !CJss of any one ofthese four would re~>ult in a failure to pre- serve a Greek tradition at Union. They argued that none of these is- sues were inherently inconsistent with \an academic community that valu~s· open inquiry, seriousness of purpose~ diversity of opinion, and a broad and equitable choice of residential and social options.\ It is the reconunendation ofthe U2K Steering Conunittee that all four of the characteristics cited above, which currently define most of our Greek organizations, remain as op- tions, as recommended by the Greek leadership and the Student Forum. The transition to sophomore rush will have implications for housing. Some groups will have difficulty maintaining current occupancy re- quirements. We recommend that Greek houses be granted twenty percent leeway as long as every eli- gible member of the grouP' is in resi- dence. Thi!3 policy should stay in place until the implementation of the new House System, at which time there will be more residences avail- able for smaller groups. There are currently twenty-two residential spaces for Greeks and The:me Houses and we propose to reserve at least that nllmber for these purposes in the future (see Appendix B). We expect that all current resident organizations would continue to have housing subject to the SAC housing review guidelines. Rush, Pled~ing, and Hazing In our preliminary report we rec- ommended that rush and pledging be condensed into one term and even more closely monitored by the Interfraternity and Panhellenic Councils to make sure that the pro- grams are not offensive and that they do not interfere with the aca• demic process. yv:e also encourage the two governing bodies to work to develop a common set of guide- ! ines for the rush process that en- sure that no rush activity takes place before the sophomore year. The one recommendation that we wal)t to state unequivocally is the need for a zero-tolerance policy for acts of hazing that are dangerous, coercive or which interfere with teaching and learning. We believe that theme or Greek groups that en,gage in these activities should be banned from the campus, and that athletes or club members who are fottnd guilty shou_ld be banned from their sport or activity. Proposal for a House System We recommend that the College introduce a new House System to which every Union student will be- long. We propose using the build- ings on campus that will best ac- commodate the new system, includ- ing some current fraternities, theme houses, one administrative build- ing, one academic building, and one administrative residence (see Ap- pendix. C). The House System will be com- prised of twelve houses and every Union student will be assigned ran- domly to membership in one of them prior .to arriving as a freshman. We believe membership in a House should be a source of connection to the College, as well as a source of friendship, learning, motivation to get involved in extracurricular life, and, perhaps above all, an enJoy- able and vibrant social life. Each house wil1 have faculty affiliates, a budget, aTid governance structure. The average house membership will be 1 65, but could range from 120 to 240 depending on the buildirtg they occupy (see Appendix. C). Each house will have sorne resident members, but all members will be eligible to participate in house governance and activities and Will be able to use co.mmiOn space, game tables, and kitchen facilities. All houses will be e:xpected to contribute intellectt,nll ,. cu.Ltural, and social events to tlte campus, participate in orienting new stu- dents, sponsor community ser- vice projects, and field~ teams for intramural co1npetitio11.. Houses wiH host parties and might have weekly meals together, host art .. cists-in-residence, plan fo,rmal dances,. ot publish a 11ewspaper or journal. Key Co11ege events should be · coordinated• with the House System. Preceptorial groups and advisors should he aligned with house assignments so that Preceptorial classes can meet in the house an-d students might even run into tlteir advisor at a house dinner. H()uses. could host receptions or dinners before lectures or convocati011 and then attend as a group. :Post-com- mencement receptions might take place at houses rather than, or in addition to, an academic division. Eventually, the hollse~ will be a gathering place for alumni as they return \for College events. Member~>bifl The process of assigning mem- bers randomly will create diver- sity of membership. Although every student at Unio:n will be a member of one house, he or she may simultaneously be a member of a Greek organization, theme house, or both. All fa.culty mem- bers will have a house affiliation. In addition, College staff and alumni will be invite<l to affiliate with a house. Leadership and Go-vernance Each house will have a fa~ulty advisor, a cohort of f~culty affili- ates, and an elected president who will serve on a Kouse Coun- cil that will coordinate the activi·· ties of the system !LS a whole. Each house will be fr.::e to define its own form of governance be- yond the faculty advisor and president, but will lutve to oper- ate within the larger policies of the College. lt is Ollr hope that faculty and students will work col- lectively on all faceits of house governance and that there will be ample opportunity for students to take on leadership ro 1es. We recommend $120 of a stu- dents room and board fees be dedicated to the House System. One hundred dollars would go di- rectly to the house and $20 would go to a House Council budget for events collectively o-rganized by the House Council. These funds would support social and cultural programs as determined by the house government. In addition to direct funding, houses would get S()me funding from the orientatio~t budget for events they run. Houses wotJ.Id also be able to participate in the meal plan equivalency program to help pay for meals anc:l re~eptions. Alumni We recommend that alumni and alumnae be invited to join the House System if they choose. Those who do .could be assigned ()on a. random basis or cot~ld have tbe option to join a .specific house. This would allow a,l~;~rnni 9fChi Psi, ~si Upsilon, Phi Delta Theta, and Sigma Phi to remain connected to their campus homes. As the House System takes Foot, it will become am important part of reunions and homecomings, and we think all alumni and alumnae should ha,ve the .chance to be affiliated with one cf ~he houses. Practical Considerations The transition to the House Sys- tem will require .some significant costs associated with renovation and furnishing and will call for a well-crafted implementation strat- egy. Perhaps the most significant change will be the allocation of housing. We are recommending that Alpha Delta Phi,. Chi Psi, Phi Delta Theta, Psi Upsilon, Thurston, Sigma Phi, Smith, and Wells move from their current locations. In ad- dition we recommend moving aca- demic programs out of Lamont, administrative offices from Sil1irrtan, and the Dean of Students family from 1248 Lenox Road. To create a fair process for dis- tributing housing at the time of the transition, we recommend that no (]reek or Th~me group retain its claim to any particular space. A committee including the Director of Residence Life. two faculty ap- pointed by the Faculty Executive Committee and four students :should develop a. plan for distrib- lltiilg. housing to these groups. The students should be appointed by the Student Forum and should in- c! ude two students nominated by the Theme House Consortium, one nominee from the Interfraternity Council, and one from the Panltelie11ic Council. This commit- tee might develQp a ranking sys- tem based on criteria used in the SAC housing review process, they might employ a lottery system, or they may devise entirely new crite- ria. Whether the process is one of merit or chance, we encourage them to include some element of choice, to enable some groups to remain in the current place if no one else wants it. To allow us to address pr6perly all the abo.:ve considerations, we recommend that the House System go into place no later th.an the fall term 2004, to allow for necessary fundraising, planning, and renova- tion to take place. Proposed Social Initiatives Alcohol Policy We believe that the only way to achieve equality\in hosting parties at which alcohol is served is to have a common alcohol policy and ample access to good spaces in which to hold events. We want Union to be a place where people have fun, as long as they act re- sponsibly. We recommend that a committee consisting of an Associate Dean of Students, the College attorney,
