#HawksAgainstHazing Hazing Prevention Week 2017

 

This week is Lehigh's annual Hazing Prevention Week. During this week we celebrate the efforts that students, faculty and staff have put in place to prevent hazing on our campus. This week also serves as a re-commitment to the statement that each and every member signed when they joined our community:

"Hazing is strictly forbidden in Lehigh fraternities and sororities. Hazing is defined as any action taken or situation created, whether on or off campus, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule (see the Lehigh Student Handbook, Code of Conduct for the complete definition). I understand and agree to uphold the Lehigh policy against hazing as defined in the Lehigh Student Handbook."

We are committed to working with you to create and sustain the kind of environment where students feel safe and supported. These are base-line expectations of a campus community characterized by mutual respect. It is all of our responsibility as a community to create a culture of care. Let's take the time this week to do that more than ever! Please join us this week for the following:

Monday 2/27: Social media blast! Share the cover photo our Panhellenic friends created (attached) and use #HawksAgainstHazing17 on whatever you post.

Tuesday 2/28: Join our Panhellenic friends for a workshop about hazing on our campus. (6:30pm UC 308)

Wednesday 3/1: Rep your org on campus! Wear your best chapter swag.

Thursday 3/2: Brown bag discussion – Think Tank: What are our alternatives? (12-1pm UC B025)

Friday 3/3: Organize Random Acts of Kindness (RAK) across campus!

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, as part of the responsibility of being a member of our Lehigh community, we also ask you to stand up and speak out if a fellow student’s health and safety are at risk. Please do all that you can to help and protect each other. To report hazing, you can submit an anonymous hazing reporting form which can be found on the Lehigh Hazing Prevention website, contact the anonymous National Hazing Hotline at 888-NOT-Haze or call the Lehigh University Police Department at 610-758-4200.

#HawksAgainstHazing17

Feature Friday: Djenne Dickens, Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc.

Today we are featuring Djenne Dickens, member of Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Inc! 

Voices ring across the courtyard. Energy bounces and feeds off of the enthusiasm building in the air. The first years in upper cents might not appreciate the loud noise drifting up through their windows at 7am in the morning, yet the Orientation Leaders are pumped for the opportunities to guide the new students into collegiate life at Lehigh.

During my positions as an Orientation Leader and evoLUtion peer leader, I learned how to facilitate productive discussions, connect with people from various backgrounds, and discover new areas of growth I need to work on for my own personal development. This was an eye opening experience where I gained the confidence and tools to become a valuable resource for my peers. After becoming a leader on campus, I was able to use my connections to the Class of 2020 to educate them about various opportunities on campus. For example, I detailed how there are other Greek organizations on campus than the ones located on the hill such as honors fraternities or the organizations within the Cultural Greek Council. I also encouraged students to visit different communities on campus such as the Office of Multicultural Affairs, the Pride Center, and the Women’s Center. I think informing incoming students of opportunities they may not have heard about helps to promote an inclusive Lehigh community.

My experiences as an Orientation Leader can be applied to my sorority membership because now I have the tools to educate potential new members of various opportunities on campus that they may enjoy. This may even take shape in activities such as the Myers Briggs Evaluations that we completed during orientation training. Activities like these can help individuals within a chapter learn more about their own strengths and personal challenges, which can reflect what a chapter may need to work on as a whole. There are so many tools and great experiences that I am extremely thankful for that I gained from being an Orientation Leader. Today, I do my best to connect this knowledge to life in Mu Sigma Upsilon Sorority, Incorporated, a sisterhood that I value unconditionally.

Message from the Provost and Student Affairs

Dear Students,

We’re writing to clear up some inaccurate accounts of what have been described as excessive or punitive actions by the University toward Greek chapters through enforcement of underage drinking laws, anti-hazing policies and similar activities.

There have been several recent incidents reported, principally involving several Greek chapters. In addition to reports of hazing, there are concerns regarding social policy violations, irresponsible distribution and consumption of alcohol and failure to seek immediate help for others whose health or safety is at risk due to excessive alcohol consumption. The University’s medical amnesty policy is in place to ensure that students seek immediate help and medical attention for fellow students whose health or safety is at risk.

In accordance with long-standing university policy, we have required the fraternity chapters where these actions allegedly took place to suspend all new member activities until an investigation into these allegations can be completed. These investigations will be completed in a thorough and professional manner.

It is a baseline expectation to have students who attend Lehigh feel safe, and to not feel pressured to act in any way that puts their own health and safety at risk. Please remember that the University cares first and foremost about your health and safety. When we become aware of circumstances where health and safety are compromised, we have a moral obligation and a legal responsibility to examine these circumstances more closely. Hazing is a not only a violation of state law and university policy, it is also antithetical to our community’s most basic values.

Further, we cannot tolerate circumstances in which students end up requiring medical attention for dangerously high blood alcohol levels. In a recent case, one student was found unconscious and was so impaired that hospitalization for severe alcohol poisoning was required.

There has been a great deal of misinformation circulating through social media, some of which implies that there is a focused effort to undermine the Greek system at Lehigh. This is false. Reports that Greek chapters are being “raided,” or that students are being “lined up and forced to submit to breathalyzer tests” are also not true.

The Greek system has been and remains a strong part of our institutional history. We fully support groups and organizations that encourage personal growth and well-being, development of leadership skills, philanthropic activities, institutional pride and social affinity. What we will not support is activity that threatens the health, safety or inclusiveness of our community.

Unfortunately, even a small minority of members can act in ways that put themselves or others at risk. We must hold those individuals – and those who support them – accountable.

Adherence to both our community standards of behavior and the law is part of a clear understanding between the university and the students who choose to participate in Greek life. All students are required to follow all applicable policies, including the Lehigh University Code of Conduct. The expectations for behavior are outlined, as are the consequences for disregarding those guidelines.

We affirm our pledge to work with you to create and sustain an environment we can all feel proud of, and we encourage you to seek support from the dedicated staff of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, or university administrators, offices or other resources.

To report hazing, you can submit an anonymous hazing reporting form, contact the anonymous National Hazing Hotline at 888-NOT-Haze or call the Lehigh University Police Department at 610-758-4200.

Finally, and perhaps most importantly, as part of the responsibility of being a member of our Lehigh community, we also ask you to stand up and speak out if your health or a fellow student’s health and safety are at risk. Please do all that you can to help and protect each other.

Sincerely,
Patrick V. Farrell
Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

Ian Birky
Interim Vice Provost for Student Affairs

Accreditation Schedule

The final Accreditation presentation schedule can be found here.

This week's Accreditation workshop: Unpacking the Myths of Accreditation - Wed Feb 22, 5-6:30pm - RB 271

Check out advice from your brothers and sisters across the Greek community on how to ace Accreditation!

Meet Ash Baudouin!

Ash Baudouin

Assistant Dean/Director, Office of Fraternity & Sorority Affairs

Hometown: New Orleans, Louisiana
Educational Background: Bachelor of Arts: Mass Communication from Louisiana State University (GEAUX TIGERS!!); Master of Arts: College Student Personnel 

Affiliation: Delta Gamma Fraternity 

Professional Highlights: Having the opportunity to work with students across their four-year journey at Lehigh.  There have been moments when I've gotten to know a first-year student during evoLUtion seminar or recruitment and, suddenly you fast forward 3-4 years, and that same student is serving in a leadership role, crushing a co-op, and moving on to bigger things.  Witnessing someone's journey and growth just fills your heart.  

Why did you decide to pursue a career in fraternity and sorority affairs? Good question. No idea.  In college a number of my mentors worked in Fraternity and Sorority Life at LSU and it clicked a some point that I could actually get paid to do much of what I loved. From there, the rest just fell into place.

High points/Favorite memories during your time at Lehigh University? Too many to name!! The late nights during sorority recruitment, dance parties at Base Camp, young alumni returning to say hello, tough love conversations with chapter/council leaders, seeing a long-term project or goal come to fruition, etc.  There are so many memories that boil down to good times with good people.

Hopes for the Lehigh Greek Community? There exists so much potential for our community to impact positive change, live up to our organizational values, and enjoy a meaningful fraternity and sorority experience.  I hope that we consciously and actively make good choices to for the betterment of ourselves, others, and our campus community.

If you weren't doing this, what would you be doing professionally? I'd most certainly be out west in Colorado working in the ski industry in the winter and for the National Park Service in the summer spreading good vibes brah!! 

Feature Friday: Bri Barker, Alpha Gamma Delta

Feature Friday is back!  First up, Bri Barker from Alpha Gamma Delta...

I began working as a Ropes Course Coordinator the fall semester of my sophomore year. I had participated in the ropes course as a first year during FYE weekend, and the positive experience I had during it made me want to share that with future participants.

Being a part of the Office of Student Leadership Development as well as being a sorority member has given me a new perspective on working with others that has helped me grow as a person and a leader. Being a member of Alpha Gamma Delta has shown me how important it is to communicate and understand one another to accomplish goals set together as a chapter. Seeing what is needed to help a chapter run smoothly has helped me as a facilitator when other fraternity and sorority groups participate in the ropes course. Knowing what is like to be a member of a sorority has helped me cater courses so that other member classes or executive boards can get the most out of the course and bring back what they have learned to their chapters.

As a Ropes Course Coordinator, I am in contact with a variety of clubs and organizations, both Greek and non-Greek, on campus as well as groups in the Bethlehem community. This position has allowed me to meet new people and make new connections on campus. It has taught me that anyone can have an impact on someone else’s day or even his or her Lehigh experience and that one should always try to make it positive.

I handle a lot of the ropes course logistics and paperwork as a coordinator and it has taught me a lot about being accountable and taking responsibility for my actions. I try to take these lessons and apply them to my actions in my sorority by following through if I say I am going to a philanthropy event or even just helping out a fellow sister. I believe being a member of Alpha Gamma Delta has made me a better Ropes Course Coordinator and vice versa.

I appreciate that I am lucky enough to be a part of two amazing organizations on campus, each shaping me in different ways. My hope for the future is to have my chapter participate in the course for a sisterhood event so I can share this fun experience with them.