Update on Incident Involving Culturally Insensitive Costumes

At an off campus Halloween party Tuesday evening, October 28, 2014, five members of Kappa Delta sorority chose to dress in culturally insensitive costumes.  

Someone in attendance very quickly brought the incident to the attention of the leadership of Kappa Delta and the Panhellenic Council.  Both organizations took swift action to address the situation immediately with the women, which resulted in the five Kappa Delta members voluntarily removing the offensive costumes and subsequently leaving the event.  Kappa Delta leadership promptly reported the incident themselves to the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs and the Office of Student Conduct & Community Expectations. 

We are incredibly proud of the leadership of these groups in confronting the offensive behavior of their peers.  This was a great example to others of the positive impact of bystander intervention on minimizing harm to others in our community.  

Moving forward, the University's Office of Student Conduct and Community Expectations is investigating the matter.  In addition, the Kappa Delta Sorority and Panhellenic Council are each taking action and below are statements from both organizations: 

Statement from Kappa Delta 

The members of the Theta Zeta Chapter of Kappa Delta Sorority would like to express our sincere apology to the campus community and public for the offensive and inappropriate costumes a few of our members wore to an event this week that promoted cultural stereotypes. The choice was a poor one and does not align with our values.

Kappa Delta does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, disability, national origin or sexual orientation. As a chapter, we strive to uphold our national organization’s values and Lehigh’s Principles of Our Equitable Community.

We are taking this situation very seriously and immediately addressed the incident with our members. We will safeguard against any inappropriate incidents occurring in the future.

Statement from the Panhellenic Council 

The Panhellenic Council would first like to state that we wholeheartedly support and uphold the Principles of Our Equitable Community. We as Panhellenic women hold ourselves as individuals and members of our chapters to “confront and reject discrimination in all its forms,” as stated in the Principles of Our Equitable Community. As a Council we are working to foster an inclusive campus climate, and will not tolerate actions that may offend or exclude any members of our community. We recognize that the actions of the five members of Kappa Delta have potentially violated the shared principles of our Panhellenic community and we will be looking into this situation through our judicial process with guidance from the Office of Student Conduct and Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. We also want to share that we are very proud of the Kappa Delta leadership, who have worked quickly and honestly, and are working to hold their members accountable through their own internal standards process as well.

Last year our Greek Community developed a Chapter Events Policy to ensure that no Greek organization sponsored an event to discriminate anyone based on “color, disability, gender identification, genetic information, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economics, veteran status, or any differences that have been excuses for misunderstanding, dissension or hatred.” While the present incident occurred at a Halloween party, and not an inappropriately themed party, a group of five Kappa Delta women did allegedly violate the Chapter Event Policy by association.  This policy was designed to prohibit the unacceptable acts of chapters as well as their members. We as Greeks continue to live by these statements to ensure an inclusive community, and as such, we will look deeply into this situation and take action as appropriate. 

With Halloween upon us, please remember that if you are unsure about a specific costume idea or theme for an event, please review the Chapter Event Policy.  It is included below: 

The Lehigh University Fraternity and Sorority Community, comprised of chapters and governing councils, aspire to support and espouse The Principles of Our Equitable Community. As part of this aspiration, the Fraternity and Sorority Community commits to supporting the spirit and intent of these initiatives by prohibiting all events that, through the actions of organizations or individual members negatively affect the dignity of any student, or inhibit the promotion of mutual understanding among Lehigh community members.

Per The Principles: “We confront and reject discrimination in all its forms, including that based on age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economics, veteran status, or any differences that have been excuses for misunderstanding, dissension, or hatred.”

In the spirit of this statement, our belief is that any event sponsored or endorsed by a Fraternity or Sorority in Lehigh’s Greek Community, may not discriminate against any class listed above. Failure to adhere to this, either through the acts of organizations or individual chapter members representing their organization, would result in investigation and adjudication, as appropriate, in partnership with the Office of Student Conduct and Community Expectations. This includes on and off-campus events, activities and actions as well as actions taken on-line via use of social media.

If you're looking for resources regarding appropriate Halloween costumes, please refer to our recent blog post entitled "Happy Halloween Reminders."
To report an incident, please refer to the Online Incident Communications Form at: http://studentaffairs.lehigh.edu/conduct

To learn more about the Principles of Our Equitable Community please refer to: http://www4.lehigh.edu/diversity/principles

Happy Halloween Reminder

As you all know, Halloween is coming up this weekend. As you all gear up for Halloween related festivities, I wanted to take a moment to remind you all to think about both the costumes that your chapter members are preparing to wear, as well as the themes that you may be considering for events that are occurring this weekend. I hope you all have fun, but in the spirit of looking out for the safety and well-being of all members of Lehigh and the South Bethlehem Community. Also, knowing that Halloween is on a weekend and there are no registered events on-campus, please expect the police presence in the surrounding community to be one that reflects the necessary desire for safety and security for both Lehigh students and South Bethlehem Residents. 

Please also make sure that you take some time out from the fun to visit with President Clayton at  "Clayton's Carnevil" on Thursday, October 30th, from 7 to 9 PM. Be one of the first 700 students to arrive and you'll get your very own official Clayton's Carnevil long-sleeve tee! Most importantly, this will be a great opportunity for you to help families of South Bethlehem by donating a non-perishable food item, hats and/or gloves. Your thoughtful donation will make a huge difference to many south-side families this winter.
Other resources to use this weekend if you are unsure about theme and activities include:

• If you are unsure about a specific costume, here is a quick web resource: http://www.theroot.com/photos/2012/10/racist_halloween_costumes_9_ways_youre_wrong_about_yours.html

• If you are unsure about a specific theme for an event, please review the Chapter Event Policy included below:

The Lehigh University Fraternity and Sorority Community, comprised of chapters and governing councils, aspire to support and espouse The Principles of Our Equitable Community. As part of this aspiration, the Fraternity and Sorority Community commits to supporting the spirit and intent of these initiatives by prohibiting all events that, through the actions of organizations or individual members negatively affect the dignity of any student, or inhibit the promotion of mutual understanding among Lehigh community members.

Per The Principles: “We confront and reject discrimination in all its forms, including that based on age, color, disability, gender identity, genetic information, marital status, national or ethnic origin, political beliefs, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, socio-economics, veteran status, or any differences that have been excuses for misunderstanding, dissension, or hatred.”

In the spirit of this statement, our belief is that any event sponsored or endorsed by a Fraternity or Sorority in Lehigh’s Greek Community, may not discriminate against any class listed above. Failure to adhere to this, either through the acts of organizations or individual chapter members representing their organization, would result in investigation and adjudication, as appropriate, in partnership with the Office of Student Conduct and Community Expectations. This includes on and off-campus events, activities and actions as well as actions taken on-line via use of social media.

To report an incident, please refer to the Online Incident Communications Form at: http://studentaffairs.lehigh.edu/conduct

To learn more about the Principles of Our Equitable Community please refer to: http://www4.lehigh.edu/diversity/principles

Monday Afternoon Announcements

Good Afternoon,

The Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs is beginning a new use of the LU Greeks Blog. Monday Afternoon Announcements will be our way of supplying you some of the the more pressing updates and reminders to share with your chapters over the course of the week. This is our way of trying to cut down on the amount of messages that you get from our office, and allows you to prioritize what needs to be shared with chapter members. OFSA will still send out messages of the Greek President's Listserve that are time-sensitive or deserve a certain level of significance, but we will do our best to reduce the e-mail traffic.

Accreditation Bootcamps 
Please send your Accreditation Chair or Chapter Rep. to the follow sessions:

Utilizing Chapter Development Questions on 10/29 at 6pm MG101
The Myths of Accreditation on 11/10 at 4:10pm in MG 112

Direct questions to Stefanie Burke at sdb212@lehigh.edu

Standards Board Training
OFSA and the Office of Student Conduct will be hosting a training program discussing chapter standards board and judicial processes on Tuesday, November 4th, and Thursday, November 13th, from 4-6pm.  Every chapter is expected to have their Standards/Judicial officer participate in one of the two sessions offered.  Direct questions to Elizabeth Shayler, els414@lehigh.edu

Harassment and Gender Violence Training
Harassment & Gender Violence Training will be an expected experience for all Lehigh community members, and will be rolling out soon to the Greek community.  More details, including sign-ups for sessions, will be provided in next week's Community Update. Direct Questions to Carter Gilbert, cag414@lehigh.edu

Homework Club Dinners
The Community Service Office is hoping another handful of chapters could help feed the Homework Club kid.  Your chef would provide dinner for 20 kids at 4PM on a given Tuesday.  There are three sites with 60 kids total, so any involvement would be greatly appreciated.  Please contact inarc@lehigh.edu for more information. 

Greek Allies Gears Back Up

There's great momentum to re-launch Greek Allies at Lehigh!! For more information on the program and how you can get involved, please read on.

Greek Allies is a program that existed at Lehigh, but died out when the former members graduated. This year, we're bringing it back, but in a whole new way. Our overall goal is to help create a Greek community that is accepting of all types of people, both members and nonmembers. We want to start with a focus on LGBTQIA issues, but this also includes dealing with race, religion, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status.

In order to do that, we have a lot of ideas. We see four major areas that we want to work on.

1. Recruitment: These are important issues that affect everyone, so we want to get everyone involved. We plan to have two Chapter Allies from each Greek organization that will act as liaisons bringing information back and forth between their chapter and the Greek Allies. They'll be the ones helping us spread the word about events and engaging in discussions to help us best serve our community. In addition, we'll have an application process for Greek Allies. These members will be formally trained to serve as a support system and a resource for anyone who needs them.
2. Campus relations: There are a lot of great organizations on campus that are already doing a lot of amazing work in regards to gender and sexual identity.  We want to be able to spread the word about their events as well as our own, getting Greeks involved in what's going on around campus regarding these issues.
3. Internal education: Part of working to create a more inclusive Greek community  will rely on actually taking positive action to foster that. We want to be able to educate chapters by putting on programs at their request, working with each organization individually to help them in whatever areas they need.
4. External education: While it's important that we become more accepting of our members, we also want to work on showing the Lehigh community that we're inclusive of nonmembers as well. Our perception on campus is not a positive one, and we want to change that.

The members of Greek Allies are really amazing, passionate people. We have a great opportunity to make positive changes on Lehigh's campus, so we want as many Greek voices as possible. If you want to become a part of Greek Allies, email Elizabeth Campbell at elc215@lehigh.edu. We’re having elections at our next meeting so it’s not too late to get involved!

Leadership Consultants Launch Accreditation Bootcamp

To continue providing assistance and support as your Greek chapter undergoes the accreditation process, the Leadership Consultants (LCs) have developed a series of informative workshops known as the Accreditation Bootcamps. As trained staff of the Office of Student Leadership & Development (OSLD), the LCs will help guide you through the accreditation process. Below please find the schedule for Fall 2014:

Bootcamp #1: Utilizing Chapter Development Questions (NEW!!)

When: Wednesday, October 29^th at 5pm

Where: MG 101

The best way to assess your growth is through the application of the chapter development questions provided on your prior year’s accreditation report! Come to this bootcamp to explore the themes of chapter development questions given in the accreditation report, discuss the challenges in addressing these questions, and develop an action plan to effectively implement your organization’s particular chapter development question into action!

Bootcamp #2: The Myths of Accreditation

When: Monday, November 10^th at 4:10pm

Where: MG 112 (waiting on confirmation)

With accreditation as such an important and highly discussed topic, it is sometimes difficult to decipher what the process actually entails. In this bootcamp, we will dispel some of the myths about the process and tell you what is important in the implementation of accreditation.  We will share with you the inside scoop of what we share with panelists during their training. 

Bootcamps are not required, but we hope to see some of your chapter leaders! If you cannot attend bootcamps, you are always welcome to submit a workshop request and have the Leadership Consultants work directly with your chapter.

Sincerely,

OSLD’s Leadership Consultants

GEM Mentor Applications Available and Due 10/21

The Greek EMerging Leaders Program (GEM) is currently recruiting for mentors for the 2015 program. Anyone involved in the Greek community can apply to be a mentor.  We encourage students who are involved in the community and willing to share their knowledge and experience with future Greek leaders to please consider this opportunity!! 

Roles and Responsibilities

Being a GEM Mentor allows juniors and seniors to positively engage the newest leaders in the Greek community. Mentors are an integral part of the Greek Emerging Leaders program.  Being a mentor allows you to develop essential leadership skills, while being a role model to future Lehigh leaders. Mentors shape the program by building relationships with the mentees, revising content for the overall program, and facilitating that content by engaging mentees in small and large group conversations about important issues in leadership and the Greek community.

Specific responsibilities will include:

• Planning and facilitating the major components of the GEM Program
• Marketing and recruiting new members and mentors
• Providing guidance and advice to prepare students for leadership positions
• Assisting in the organization of service and unity initiatives

Benefits of Participation  

• Connect with other mentors and students in various chapters in the Greek community
• Offer your advice and knowledge while getting experience in mentoring others
• Develop and refine skills such as facilitation, mentoring, effective communication, and giving/receiving feedback
• Develop a community of leaders who will make a difference in the Lehigh Greek community
• Eligibility for scholarships to attend national leadership conferences (e.g. UIFI)
• Invited to attend and participate in various OSLD initiatives, including events like the OSLD Recognition Banquet in April, Student Leadership Kick-Off in August, etc.

Expectations & Important Dates

New mentors are required to attend Peer Educator Facilitator Training all day February 1, 2015.  All mentors will:

• Participate in a spring retreat (Date TBD)
• Assist in the recruitment of mentees, including marketing initiatives, reading applications, and conducting interviews
• Attend the Mentee Induction Event (Date TBD)
• Meet 6 times both fall and spring semester for check-ins and feedback (at the discretion of the advisor & GEM Intern)
• Prepare and develop curriculum for assigned session in the spring
• Attend the GEM Retreat in August and all GEM sessions throughout the fall semester
• Advise students in their council projects and attend/participate in this initiative
• Participate in the GEM service/unity initiative      
• Represent GEM in the Greek community acting as a positive role model
• Be an active leader in the Greek community (IE. attending and participating in community discussions/events)

Application Process

Interested applicants will complete an application by October 21, 2014.  Applicants will be interviewed by the GEM Intern, advisor, and current mentors.  Mentors will be selected and notified before the end of the fall semester.

Application can be accessed online: http://goo.gl/dwHFMZ

If you have questions please don't hesitate to contact Assistant Director of Leadership Development, Stefanie Burke, at sdb212@lehigh.eduor the GEM intern, Jessica Scott, at jas615@lehigh.edu.

Alpha Phi's Cardiac Care Week

See below from a message from Alpha Phi: 

This week, October 13^th-18^th, is Alpha Phi’s Cardiac Care Week. Our philanthropy is the Alpha Phi Foundation, which focuses its attention on raising money and awareness for women’s cardiac care. This is a cause near and dear to our hearts, and this week’s goal is to raise awareness and money on Lehigh’s campus with fun events throughout the week! We would very much appreciate your support in everything we do this week and hope to make it a huge success! We completely revamped this week for this school year and are really excited about it! Please spread the word to your organizations about the events we will be holding. We would also love if everyone could join us in wearing red tomorrow to show our support for women’s cardiac health.

Throughout the week we will be using our Alpha Phi Cardiac Care Week Facebook page to post updates and event information, so please like that page and encourage others to do so, so that you can stay updated on everything that will be happening!

This weeks' events:

Monday 13^th: Keeping the goose open late with the men’s lacrosse team!! Stop by with all your friends to enjoy some great food from the goose. We will be open from 4-7pm! Also wear your red!

Tuesday 14^th: Cardiac Arrest will be happening on the front lawn, all day from 10:30am-4:30pm! Come bail out your friends! Different members of the Greek community will be locked up awaiting bail, which is dependent on your donations!

Saturday 18^th: Yoga on the lawn! Join us from 12-1pm on the STEPS lawn for a $5 yoga class. Each participant will be entered into raffles with a chance to win!!