Hazing Prevention Week - What Would You Do Lehigh?

As you may be aware, the Office of Fraternity/Sorority Affairs and the Women's Center launched a bystander intervention initiative for the entire Lehigh community in the fall 2009 semester. The initiative has been received well and we are constantly re-inventing ways to expose the campus community to the concept of bystander behavior; instilling the message of individual responsibility to stand up and intervene.

This week is Hazing Prevention Week and the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs along with its governing student councils (IFC, Panhel and MGC) have partnered with Julie Sterret and Lehigh Athletics peer groups to bring awareness to hazing prevention and education. This week is a very important event sponsored by our office as we aim to bring awareness to an issue that not only affect college campuses, but society as a whole. While there have already been numerous well received and attended programs thus far, we wanted to bring your attention to one that will be used a social experiment for the campus.

If you have heard of the ABC Series, “What Would You Do” with John Quinones, you are familiar with the concept of the events that will occur. If you are not, please allow me to give you a brief synopsis. What would you do if you saw an act of injustice? How would you react to something so outrageous or tragic that it compels you to do something about it? “Primetime: What Would You Do?” sets up elaborate realistic scenarios with actors testing real controversial subjects to see what ordinary people would do when pushed to act, or if they act at all.

The purpose of this program: 69% of people on campuses nationwide say that they are aware of hazing occurring at their schools, yet hazing goes unreported each year. We want to gauge people’s reactions to the various acts of hazing carried out throughout the day and let them know what to do if they see something similar in the future.  These examples of hazing are the most obvious and most common forms (that don’t involve forced consumption of alcohol or sexual acts), so they would be the best ways to show the campus community what hazing looks like.

1. Abduction

Why: 9% of social fraternity and sorority members report being abducted as part of their hazing process.  It is also one of the most apparent forms of hazing (both due to the public aspect of it and the cultural glorification) and is something that can very easily be reported.

2. Forced Calisthenics

Who: Panhel

Why: Physical acts of hazing are common, especially for athletic groups and male fraternities. This form of hazing can sometimes be disguised as a “group workout”

If you have any questions or concerns about today’s programming, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. Our hope is that by bringing these issues to the public’s attention, we may educate on what hazing is and how to identify acts of hazing.

Recognizing the negative impact hazing has on all of Greek life, 20 international fraternities and sororities have joined together to establish a national Anti-Hazing Hotline. The toll-free number, 1-888-NOT-HAZE is available to those who think they, or students they know, have been or may be victims of hazing. Callers may remain anonymous or provide personal information so that they may be responded to directly.

The law firm of Manley Burke will forward copies of messages to the appropriate national organizations along with the relevant hazing laws for that jurisdiction. Lehigh University students, faculty and staff are encouraged to use this resource, along with the local and campus resources, if they suspect that hazing is occurring within the Greek system.

If you feel that you may have insight to an incident that may be considered hazing, please fill out the online form at https://www.lehigh.edu/~indost/greek/hazingeducation.shtml .  This form is anonymous and your identity will be kept confidential. It will not be disclosed to the individuals or group in question. If you would like our office to contact you about the status of the investigation, please provide your contact information below for a follow up. All information obtained will be used solely for this purpose. If you would prefer to speak with someone about this form and disclosing your identity, please feel free to call the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs at 610-758-4157.

Greek Week 2011

Greek Week 2011 Results

Teams-

Purple- 
Alpha Chi Omega
Sigma Phi Epsilon
Lambda Chi Alpha

 Orange-
Alpha Omicron Pi
Phi Sigma Kappa
Sigma chi

Black-
ALpha Phi
Theta Xi
Phi Kappa Theta

Yellow-
Delta Gamma
Delta Phi
Delta Chi

Blue-
Gamma Phi Beta
Kappa Alpha
Psi Upsilon

Red-
Kappa Alpha Theta
Delta Upsilon
Alpha Tau Omega

Green-
Pi Beta Phi
Phi Gamma Delta
Theta Chi

Brown-
Zeta Tau Alpha
Chi Psi
Pi Kappa Alpha
Multicultural Greek Council

White-
Alpha Gamma Delta
Chi Phi
Kappa Sigma

 Events -

Dodge Ball- Male

1. Yellow
2. Green
3. White

Dodge Ball- Female

1. Black
2. Green
3. Brown

Dodge Ball- Co-Ed

1. Blue
2. Red
3. Green

Chariot Races

1. Purple
2. Yellow
3. Orange

Greek Sing

1. Black
2. Orange
3. White

 Clips from Greek Sing

Kickball

1. Purple
2. White
3. Black

Volleyball 

1. White
2. Blue
3. Yellow

Can Castle

1. White
2. Orange
3. Brown/Yellow

Trivia

1. Black
2. Brown
3. Blue/Purple

Tug o' War

1. Black
2. Purple
3. Orange

3 Legged Race

1. Black
2. Orange
3. Green

Sack Race

1. Black
2. Orange
3. Green

Final Scores:
1st place:  Black team
2nd place: White team
3rd place: Orange team 

Congratulations and thank you to all participating teams!  

The Bandana Project

The Bandana Project is a national campaign, launched in 2007, that adopted the bandana as a symbol of solidarity to end sexual violence against farm worker women because many use bandanas on the job to cover their faces and bodies in an attempt to ward off unwanted sexual attention that often leads to rape. On October 5th, Lambda Theta Alpha, alongside volunteers from the Hispanic Heritage Month Committee and the Women's Center will be tabling and educating people in the University Center from 10-4pm, we will be also handing out white bandanas (we will be asking for a donation of any amount for the bandanas). On these bandanas, people will be asked to write an inspirational message. On October 6th, those who have the white bandanas are asked to wear these bandanas for the entire day, whether it is tied on the book bags or around their wrists. As leaders of great communities on this campus I am asking for everyone's  involvement in this opportunity to raise awareness on a very serious issue. I have 300 bandanas available for this project and I would love to see these bandanas being worn by our Greek community. If you would like, I can set aside a specific number of bandanas for each chapter interested in being involved. Please let me know if you have any questions about being involved or about the campaign. -Sara Santos, President of Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc.

OFSA Intern Perspective: Jaclyn Halm

Hello Lehigh Greek Community,

               My name is Jaclyn Halm, and I am a senior studying History and Secondary Education at Rowan University. I am a proud member of Alpha Epsilon Phi, Phi Kappa chapter and currently hold the title of president. This summer I had the remarkable opportunity of fulfilling the position of an undergraduate intern at the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs at Lehigh. I was asked to write this blog in order to share with you not only what I experienced throughout the summer as an intern in OFSA, but to shed some light on all the interoffice happenings and improvements that took place.

Throughout the summer I worked closely with all of the OFSA staff on creating a presidents resource guide, as well as establishing Lehigh’s first Presidents’ Academy. The resource guide was a twenty-page document, which highlighted all the various opportunities and services that each office on campus could offer to a chapter. It also offered a listing in the appendix of all the programming provided by the university in order of which requirement they would fulfill for accreditation.

Through this experience I gained insight into what it was like to not only work on a daily basis within a campus community, but to work directly with an extremely successful staff that had amazing inter-office relations. Quite frankly, I was spoiled.  I learned what it was like to work with others as a team, as well as the importance of reliability within the workplace.

Hazing Prevention Week - by Steph Albano

Throughout the week of September 26th, Lehigh University will be honoring National Hazing Prevention Week with programs designed to spread awareness and educate the Lehigh community on how to prevent hazing. The highlight of the week will be the keynote speech by Rick Barnes from CAMPUSPEAK, who will talk about the prevalence of hazing in our communities and what we can do to stop it. Other programs include a Leadership & Hazing program that will focus campus leaders' roles in hazing prevention, a New Member Educator brown bag discussion and a Hazing Prevention Panel with experts from across the Lehigh community. The detailed schedule is as follows:

Monday 9/26

Leadership & Hazing - Mg 101

Tuesday 9/27

Rick Barnes of CAMPUSPEAK - Pa 101

Wednesday 9/28

New Member Educator Brown Bag Discussion - Mg 101

Thursday 9/29

Hazing Prevention Panel - STEPS 102

Please join us in participating in Hazing Prevention Week this year. Whether you’re a member of the Greek community, an athlete, a general member of the Lehigh community, or a concerned bystander, you can benefit from the programming and together we can stop hazing.

Greek Week 2011!

Schedule of Events:

Sunday, September 18

6-7pm: Opening Ceremony: Packard 101

Monday, September 19

4pm: Kickball: Sayre Lodge

7pm: Dodgeball: Grace Hall

Tuesday, September 20

4pm: Volleyball: Lower Cents

7pm: Chariot Races: Memorial Walkway

Wednesday, September 21

7pm: Fundraising Contest/Can Castle: Memorial Walkway

Thursday, September 22

4pm: Trivia: Lewis Lab 270

7pm: Lip Sync: Packard 101

Friday, September 23

4pm: Field Events: Sayre Lodge

6pm: Closing Ceremony: Tamerler Courtyard (Rauch)

Panhellenic Recruitment - by Taara Ness-Cochinwala

Interested in joining the 42% of Greeks on Lehigh’s Campus? Read on!

Greek Life is a great way to get involved on campus, open the door for leadership opportunities within your chapter, perform community service around and off campus, and join a family that will be with you for life, all across the nation! There are countless opportunities that come along with Greek Life both during your college experience and beyond it, as well as just having a great time with friends! If this sounds like something you’re interested in, a great first step is joining the Facebook group to stay updated on events. The group is called: Lehigh Sorority Recruitment 2012.

As far as specific recruitment events, the Panhellenic Council recently sponsored a Bagel Brunch on the UC Front Lawn. Upcoming is the Sorority Open Houses held October 13^th, 18^th and 19^th from 6-9pm. Attendees will be visiting three of the nine different chapters each day, and this will be your only opportunity to see the inside of the chapter houses first semester! (You can sign up in the Facebook group.) The next event is Recruitment Orientation on November 7^th. Finally, Formal Recruitment is January 10^th-15^th and you can register on the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs’ website.

Greek Life is a great opportunity to get involved and be part of a growing community here at Lehigh. For more information about Sorority Recruitment, please email Taara Ness-Cochinwala, VP Recruitment at tan212@lehigh.edu.