Monday, February 29, 2016

Harassment and Gender Violence Training Update

Members of the Lehigh fraternity and sorority community participated in Harassment and Gender Violence training across the fall and spring semesters. This training was provided by the Office of the General Counsel alongside Gender Violence Education and Support in an effort to strengthen the Lehigh University community and foster an environment that is welcoming, inclusive, and safe for all.

With the training effort coming to a close, we’d like to provide you with an update.

  • Twenty training sessions were offered across the fall and spring semesters. Special thanks to the facilitators for leading this herculean effort.
  • In total, 1327 fraternity and sorority members across 32 organizations or 84.1% of affiliated students have completed the training. This exceeded our overall participation goal of 75% of affiliated students.
  • Nearly all chapters exceeded the goal and 75% or more of their members complete the training. Special shout out to these fraternities and sororities for their effort and awesomeness!!
    1. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. (100%)
    2. Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity, Inc. (100%)
    3. Lambda Sigma Upsilon Latino Fraternity, Inc. (100%)
    4. Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc. (100%)
    5. Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc. (100%)
    6. Alpha Epsilon Pi (100%)
    7. Alpha Chi Omega (95.1%)
    8. Psi Upsilon (94.6%)
    9. Alpha Gamma Delta (92.4%)
    10. Sigma Phi Epsilon (91.4%)
    11. Pi Beta Phi (90.9%)
    12. Chi Psi (90.6%)
    13. Kappa Alpha Theta (88.1%)
    14. Kappa Delta (87.2%)
    15. Chi Phi (86.3%)
    16. Lambda Theta Alpha Latin Sorority, Inc. (85.7%)
    17. Phi Kappa Theta (85%)
    18. Alpha Omicron Pi (84.3%)
    19. Delta Upsilon (84.1%)
    20. Zeta Tau Alpha (84%)
    21. Theta Chi (83.7%)
    22. Alpha Phi (83.3%)
    23. Theta Xi (81.8%)
    24. Phi Sigma Kappa (81.3%)
    25. Alpha Tau Omega (79.1%)
    26. Gamma Phi Beta (76.6%)
    27. Delta Chi (76.2%)
    28. Kappa Alpha (76.1%)
    29. Kappa Sigma (75.8%)
    30. Pi Kappa Alpha (75.4%)
  • Two organizations did not meet the 75% participation goal. They include the following:
    1. Phi Delta Theta (70.6%)
    2. Sigma Chi (73.1%)

How can I find out who from my chapter participated? 
Email us and we'll be happy to share with you a list of participants.  

If my chapter has fulfilled the requirement, what’s in store for us next?Harassment and Gender Violence training will now be offered to fraternities and sororities every two years and in a rotation with a number of other athletic teams, organizations, and clubs. We’ll be in touch again come Fall 2017. However, if your chapter would like to further explore this topic, please let us know and we’re happy to provide follow up trainings, workshops, discussions, etc. that meet your chapter’s needs.

Thursday, February 18, 2016

OFSA Staff Announcement: Ash Baudouin


Hello Everyone, 

I am excited to provide you with an update regarding the staffing in the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. Effective March 1st, Ashley Baudouin is being promoted to Assistant Dean of Students/Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. Since August, she has been serving in that role in an interim capacity. During that time she has done an excellent job of leading the department forward, building relationships with students, alumni and other key partners, and serving effectively on a variety of campus-wide committees including the Council on Equity and Community and most recently on the Social Policy Revisioning Committee.

Ashley has been at Lehigh for four years and over that time has had the opportunity to work with many different aspects of Fraternity and Sorority community as well as on projects more broadly across the Division of Student Affairs.

As you recall, a national search for this role was conducted in summer 2015 and at the end of that search we concluded that we had an internal staff member, Ashley, whose skills and attributes were best aligned with the current needs of OFSA. While initially we expected her role to be on an interim basis and planned to conduct another national search this spring, we have been thoroughly impressed with Ashley's work over the past six months and are thrilled to promote her into this position.

This appointment leaves us with a vacancy in the Associate Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs role. We will be launching a national search for that position in the coming weeks. In the meantime, please join me in congratulating Ashley on this exciting new opportunity.

Thank you!!

Allison Gulati
Associate Dean of Students 

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Hazing Prevention Statement





Dear Members of the Lehigh Greek Community,

In light of New Member Education/Intake, we, the council presidents, find it important to remind our community of the hazing prevention statement that we all endorsed on October 7th, 2015. We are sending this statement out in order to remind everyone of the values for which our organizations were founded on, as well as the Principles of our Equitable Community as set forth by Lehigh University. It is important that we foster an inclusive and safe environment for all current and incoming members into our Greek Community throughout all New Member Intake/Education activities. Please remind yourself of the official statement, found here, and share with your members. We thank you all for your time and we look forward to welcoming all of our new members into the Greek Community later this Spring.

Sincerely,

Ellen, Gladys and Matt

Monday, February 15, 2016

Accreditation Workshops

Please see the schedule below for the accreditation workshop series. This is a great chance to get insight from faculty, staff, and alumni on ways to be successful during the accreditation process. 

Please note the first workshop "Strategic Guide to Writing an Effective Accreditation Report"will be NEXT WEDNESDAY at 4:10 pm! Mark your calendars! More information about location will come next week!

This is a great opportunity to encourage members of your chapter to who are integral in the accreditation report writing process to learn valuable tools from OFSA.

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask.



Saturday, February 13, 2016

Message from Hawks Against Hazing


Please see below for a message from Panhellenic Council's VP Judicial Carly Daitch regarding Hawks Against Hazing.

This week marks the beginning of Hawks Against Hazing! Tuesday, February 16th is the beginning of Phase 1 which is a social media campaign to raise awareness about the problem that our campus has with hazing. What I am asking is that chapters and individual members take to social media and post their favorite bonding activities using #HawksAgainstHazing. I will also be posting hazing statistics on Panhel’s Facebook and Instagram throughout the next two weeks! Please encourage your social media chairs and general members to get involved!

The second phase of Hawks Against Hazing is based on prevention. We are running the “I pledge…” campaign and want to get everyone involved. We are asking that you and your members write your pledges on a piece of paper and hold them up while you videotape yourselves wearing your letters. Then send us all the videos and we will make an awesome montage of everyone pledging to prevent hazing and to be better brothers and sisters as well as better members of the Lehigh community! This will be released on Tuesday, March 1st as the official beginning of Phase 2. Please get me these videos by February 25th at the latest! You can email me at ced216@lehigh.edu. More information to come about the rest of Phase 2 at a later date.

To summarize:
- Use #HawksAgainstHazing starting this Tuesday to post your favorite bonding activities
- Make “I pledge…” videos and send them to us by February 25th


If you have any further question feel free to contact me! I am excited to have everyone’s support to make Hawks Against Hazing the best it can be!

Thank you,
Carly Daitch

Panhellenic Council
VP Judicial Affairs

Thursday, February 11, 2016

2016 Accreditation Schedule



Hot off the press, please see below for a copy of the 2016 Accreditation Presentation Schedule.  The schedule lists dates and times of each presentation as well as report due dates.   

2016 ACCREDITATION SCHEDULE
       
Presentation Date Time Chapter Name Room Report Due Date
Thursday, April 14th 1:30pm Lambda Sigma Upsilon UC308 Thursday, March 31
3:30pm Phi Kappa Theta UC308 Thursday, March 31
Friday, April 15th 8:30am Alpha Phi Alpha UC308 Friday, April 1
10:30am Chi Psi UC308 Friday, April 1
1:30pm Mu Sigma Upsilon UC308 Friday, April 1
3:30pm Kappa Delta  UC308 Friday, April 1
Saturday, April 16th 8:30am Theta Xi UC303 Friday, April 1
10:30am Delta Chi UC303 Friday, April 1
1pm Alpha Chi Omega UC303 Friday, April 1
3pm Delta Upsilon UC303 Friday, April 1
Sunday, April 17th 8:30am Sigma Chi UC303 Friday, April 1
8:30am Kappa Sigma UC308 Friday, April 1
10:30am Phi Sigma Kappa UC303 Friday, April 1
10:30am Gamma Phi Beta UC308 Friday, April 1
1pm Lambda Theta Alpha UC303 Friday, April 1
1pm Alpha Omicron Pi UC308 Friday, April 1
3pm Pi Beta Phi UC303 Friday, April 1
3pm Pi Kappa Alpha UC308 Friday, April 1
Thursday, April 21st  8:30am Kappa Alpha UC308 Thursday, April 7
10:30am Theta Chi UC308 Thursday, April 7
1:30pm Alpha Epsilon Pi UC308 Thursday, April 7
3:30pm Sigma Phi Epsilon  UC308 Thursday, April 7
Friday, April 22nd  8:30am Chi Phi UC303 Friday, April 8
10:30am Sigma Gamma Rho UC303 Friday, April 8
1:30pm Kappa Alpha Theta UC303 Friday, April 8
3:30pm Alpha Tau Omega UC303 Friday, April 8
Saturday, April 23rd 8:30am Psi Upsilon UC303 Friday, April 8
10:30am Alpha Gamma Delta UC303 Friday, April 8
1pm Kappa Alpha Psi UC303 Friday, April 8
3pm Phi Delta Theta UC303 Friday, April 8
Sunday, April 24th 1pm Alpha Phi UC303 Friday, April 8
3pm Zeta Tau Alpha UC303 Friday, April 8

Monday, February 8, 2016

Message from the Interfraternity Council Judicial Committee Re: Sigma Phi Epsilon

UPDATE 02.10.16Sigma Phi Epsilon was involved in an incident on February 2, 2016, and the chapter was charged with the following violations:

Respect for Self A1 (Unauthorized Consumption, Distribution, or Possession)
Respect for Community I1B (Social policy - 1.D.11.a - Irresponsible Distribution of Alcohol)
Respect for Community I1 (Posted Rules and Regulations)

INCIDENT SUMMARY:A student was transported to St. Luke's after being provided alcohol at an off campus party hosted by Sigma Phi Epsilon.

Sigma Phi Epsilon took responsibility for the following charges, any other listed charges were dropped:  Respect for Community I1B (Social policy - 1.D.11.a - Irresponsible Distribution of Alcohol)

SANCTIONS
As a result of this behavior the following sanction(s) will be imposed:

Sigma Phi Epsilon Fraternity is placed on disciplinary probation effective February 11, 2016 through May 31, 2016. Disciplinary probation is the conditional continuation of a group or organization for a specified period of time not to exceed four semesters. This status implies that any further violation of this Code of Conduct may result in dissolution, termination, or other authorized sanctions. Other sanctions may be imposed, including limitations on social activities, and additional requirements may be imposed as conditions for reinstatement of recognition in good standing.

The following educational sanction is being imposed: Affirmation of all sanctions assigned by IJC.

The following educational sanction is being imposed: TIPS training for all new members. It is to be completed by May 31, 2016.

The following educational sanction is being imposed. Submission of all standards boards decisions/outcomes for the individuals involved in these incidents. It is to be completed by March 18, 2016.

Please see below for a message from the Interfraternity Council's Judicial Committee. 
The IFC Judicial Committee was made aware of alleged violations regarding recruitment practices and the hospital transport of a first-year student following a recruitment party hosted by Sigma Phi Epsilon.  After meeting with Sigma Phi Epsilon's president and recruitment chairmen, the IFC's Judicial Committee found the chapter responsible and has imposed the following sanctions:

The organization is placed on a 5-day Suspension from Recruitment through 2pm on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 and will be assessed a $500 fine payable to the Interfraternity Council. The IJC Chairman and Hearing Officers agree that Sigma Phi Epsilon’s current interim suspension by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs which commenced on Friday at 5pm would factor into this sanction counting as the 3 initial days. It is our belief that recruitment is essential to the success of our Greek community, and we believe that these sanctions should not hinder Sigma Phi Epsilon’s recruitment efforts any further than necessary.

In the same spirit, the organization is required to host an informational meeting to its recruits on Tuesday evening to inform them of this situation and to stress the importance of caring for the health of safety of the individuals that affiliate with the organization. It is our hope that 
Sigma Phi Epsilon informs their Potential New Members how they have addressed this situation and intend to move forward with safer practices in the future. We encourage the chapter leadership to work with their Assistant Director to frame the message they want to get across to first-year students. This meeting will not be considered a violation to the chapter’s suspension and will be monitored by IFC Executive Board members.

In addition, the 
Sigma Phi Epsilon’s executive board is required to meet with the IFC leadership to discuss how the organization plans to move on from this situation and outline the steps the organization plans on taking to learn and grow from their mistakes. We ask that the organization reach out to the IFC in a timely manner in order to schedule this meeting.Sigma Phi Epsilon is also required to provide alcohol education to their Spring of 2016 New Member class. It is our strong recommendation that the chapter work with their Assistant Director to put together a meaningful plan for their new member class. If the chapter is not already required to do so, we recommend that their new members be required to get TIPS certified. In the event that the OFSA does require that certification from all the new members we require that Sigma Phi Epsilon provide a supplemental programming to their new members to reinforce this message.

The IJC would like to stress that failure to comply with all of the aforementioned sanctions will be in direct violation of the Committee’s decision and will warrant the opening of a new conduct case.

It is our hope the the IJC continues to grow and improves peer accountability in our Greek community. The events of February 2nd are regrettable. However, we believe we are taking positive steps to penalize unacceptable behavior in our community and to foster growth and learning for the chapters involved.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to the IFC leadership.

--The Interfraternity Council Chairman and Hearing Officers 


Please see a message below from the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs. 
Effective immediately all activities related to men’s recruitment for Sigma Phi Epsilon at Lehigh University have been temporarily suspended.  This action is being taken because of alleged University policy violations by the chapter and its members across one incident.  Allegations include endangering the health and safety of students, providing alcohol to minors, and failure to adhere to medical amnesty.

This interim suspension mandates that the collective membership and/or individual members cannot engage in any kind of recruitment effort or activity on behalf of Sigma Phi Epsilon both on and off campus. 

The Office of Student Conduct & Community Expectations will begin an investigation and this interim suspension will remain in effect until the formal resolution of these allegations is concluded.   Failure to comply with the terms of interim suspension and/or any effort to retaliate against those individuals involved will result in additional charges. 

Additionally, the Lehigh University Code of Conduct requires that students and student organizations not only know and adhere to the Code of Conduct but cooperate with the University when investigating violations.

The alumni leadership and national officers will be contacted and are copied on this memo as well.  If you have further questions, please contact the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs at (610) 758-4157.

Message from the Interfraternity Council Judicial Committee Re: Kappa Alpha

UPDATE 02.10.16

Kappa Alpha was involved in an incident on January 31, 2016 (INCIDENT A) and an incident on February 3, 2016 (INCIDENT B), and the chapter was charged with the following violations:

INCIDENT A CHARGES:
Respect for Property A1A (Vandalism)
Respect for Property A1 (Theft)
Respect for Community (General)

INCIDENT B CHARGES:
Respect for Self A1 (Unauthorized Consumption, Distribution, or Possession)
Respect for Community I1B (Social policy - 1.D.11.a - Irresponsible Distribution of Alcohol) Respect for Community I1 (Posted Rules and Regulations)

INCIDENT A SUMMARY: A local bowling alley reported stolen balls and damage to property after a group of Lehigh students held an event there.

INCIDENT B SUMMARY:
A Lehigh student was found to be highly intoxicated and required transport to St. Luke's. He indicated that he had been drinking at an off campus Kappa Alpha party. He confirmed this went me met with the Office of Student Conduct. The student was dropped off at his residence hall when he clearly needed medical attention.

Kappa Alpha took responsibility for the following charges, any other listed charges were dropped INCIDENT A--Respect for Property A1 (Theft) and Respect for Community (General); INCIDENT B--Respect for Community I1B (Social policy - 1.D.11.a - Irresponsible Distribution of Alcohol)

SANCTIONS
As a result of this behavior the following sanction(s) will be imposed:

Kappa Alpha Fraternity is placed on disciplinary probation effective February 10, 2016 through May 31, 2016. Disciplinary probation is the conditional continuation of a group or organization for a specified period of time not to exceed four semesters. This status implies that any further violation of this Code of Conduct may result in dissolution, termination, or other authorized sanctions. Other sanctions may be imposed, including limitations on social activities, and additional requirements may be imposed as conditions for reinstatement of recognition in good standing.

The following educational sanction is being imposed: Affirmation of all sanctions assigned by IJC.

The following educational sanction is being imposed: TIPS training for all new members. It is to be completed by May 31, 2016.

The following educational sanction is being imposed: Submission of all standards boards decisions/outcomes for the individuals involved in these incidents (already completed).

The following educational sanction is being imposed: Restitution of $400 to Haja Rose Bowl (already completed).

Please see below for a message from the Interfraternity Council's Judicial Committee. 
The IFC Judicial Committee was made aware of alleged violations regarding recruitment practices and the hospital transport of a first-year student following a recruitment party hosted by Kappa Alpha Society.  After meeting with KA's president and recruitment chairmen, the IFC's Judicial Committee found the chapter responsible and has imposed the following sanctions:

The organization is placed on a 5-day Suspension from Recruitment through 2pm on Wednesday, February 10, 2016 and will be assessed a $500 fine payable to the Interfraternity Council. The IJC Chairman and Hearing Officers agree that KA’s current interim suspension by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs which commenced on Friday at 2pm would factor into this sanction counting as the 3 initial days. It is our belief that recruitment is essential to the success of our Greek community, and we believe that these sanctions should not hinder KA’s recruitment efforts any further than necessary.

In the same spirit, the organization is required to host an informational meeting to its recruits on Tuesday evening to inform them of this situation and to stress the importance of caring for the health of safety of the individuals that affiliate with the organization. It is our hope that KA informs their Potential New Members how they have addressed this situation and intend to move forward with safer practices in the future. We encourage the chapter leadership to work with their Assistant Director to frame the message they want to get across to first-year students. This meeting will not be considered a violation to the chapter’s suspension and will be monitored by IFC Executive Board members.

In addition, the KA’s executive board is required to meet with the IFC leadership to discuss how the organization plans to move on from this situation and outline the steps the organization plans on taking to learn and grow from their mistakes. We ask that the organization reach out to the IFC in a timely manner in order to schedule this meeting.

KA is also required to provide alcohol education to their Spring of 2016 New Member class. It is our strong recommendation that the chapter work with their Assistant Director to put together a meaningful plan for their new member class. If the chapter is not already required to do so, we recommend that their new members be required to get TIPS certified. In the event that the OFSA does require that certification from all the new members we require that KA provide a supplemental programming to their new members to reinforce this message.

The IJC would like to stress that failure to comply with all of the aforementioned sanctions will be in direct violation of the Committee’s decision and will warrant the opening of a new conduct case.

It is our hope the the IJC continues to grow and improves peer accountability in our Greek community. The events of February 2nd are regrettable. However, we believe we are taking positive steps to penalize unacceptable behavior in our community and to foster growth and learning for the chapters involved.

If you have any questions, do not hesitate to reach out to the IFC leadership.

--The Interfraternity Council Chairman and Hearing Officers 

Please see a message below from the Office of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs. 
Effective immediately all activities related to men’s recruitment for Kappa Alpha at Lehigh University have been temporarily suspended.  This action is being taken because of alleged University policy violations by the chapter and its members across two separate incidents.  Allegations include endangering the health and safety of students, providing alcohol to minors, failure to adhere to medical amnesty, property damage, and theft.

This interim suspension mandates that the collective membership and/or individual members cannot engage in any kind of recruitment effort or activity on behalf of Kappa Alpha Society both on and off campus. 

The Office of Student Conduct & Community Expectations will begin an investigation and this interim suspension will remain in effect until the formal resolution of these allegations is concluded.   Failure to comply with the terms of interim suspension and/or any effort to retaliate against those individuals involved will result in additional charges. 

Additionally, the Lehigh University Code of Conduct requires that students and student organizations not only know and adhere to the Code of Conduct but cooperate with the University when investigating violations.

The alumni leadership and national officers will be contacted and are copied on this memo as well.  If you have further questions, please contact the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs at (610) 758-4157.

Tuesday, February 2, 2016

Conduct Update: Kappa Sigma


Members of the University Committee on Discipline met in December 2015 to adjudicate the following charges using the process outlined in Article V of the Lehigh University Code of Conduct.

1. Respect for Others B1 (Harassment) -- Responsible 

2. Respect for Others (General) -- Responsible 

The panel provided the following rationale for this finding: 
Kappa Sigma Fraternity admitted to hosting an event at Asian Bistro on the night of October 22, 2015 where there was an interaction of some kind that required a member's intervention. The complainant indicated that harassing remarks were made to him by the members of the fraternity. A fraternity member confirmed that members of Kappa Sigma Fraternity confronted the complainant that evening at Asian Bistro. 

The panel is concerned that members clearly could have identified some of the members involved in the situation.  The standards board, while choosing to ask members to admit to the allegation, when finding no one, did nothing. They could have chosen to do some type of educational sanction for the entire group in attendance at Asian Bistro that evening. Choosing to do nothing, is making a choice to do something. 

As a result of this behavior the following sanction(s) will be imposed:
The organization is placed on Disciplinary Deferred Dissolution from December 16, 2015 through May 31, 2016. During this period of time, the organization is on notice that any further violations of the Code of Conduct will result in the dissolution of the organization immediately without further review. Disciplinary Deferred Dissolution may not be imposed for longer than two regular semesters. If this sanction is imposed during a semester, it may be imposed for the remainder of that semester and two additional semesters.

Kappa Sigma Fraternity is placed on Disciplinary Probation effective June 1, 2016 through May 31, 2017. Disciplinary probation is the conditional continuation of a group or organization for a specified period of time not to exceed four semesters. This status implies that any further violation of this Code of Conduct may result in dissolution, termination, or other authorized sanctions. Other sanctions may be imposed, including limitations on social activities, and additional requirements may be imposed as conditions for reinstatement of recognition in good standing.

The following educational sanction is being imposed. As a part of new member education, the entire new member class for spring 2016 and the entire active chapter must participate in a restorative meeting to repair community harm. This meeting will include representatives from faculty & staff, chosen by the Conduct Office.  

The following educational sanction is being imposed. Meet with OFSA staff in January 2016 to come up with an action plan on how to fix & implement the standards board and include ethical leadership training. 

Appeal
On February 8, 2016, the Disciplinary Appeals Committee met to hear the appeal that the chapter submitted. Kappa Sigma Fraternity appealed on the grounds (3) the sanction was unduly harsh. The Disciplinary Appeals Committee denied the appeal with the following rationale: 

The committee denied the appeal on the basis of the sanctions being unduly harsh. The sanctions fall within the appropriate range for cases involving harassment and are actually less severe than the sanction recommended in the Code of Conduct. 

This decision by the Disciplinary Appeals Committee is final and with it the disciplinary process is completed for this incident. All sanctions imposed go into effect immediately.