Building a “Pro-Brotherhood” Partnership in New Member Education

Final Report of the Cornell University
Fraternity and Sorority Advisory Council Sub-Committee on
Hazing in the Fraternity System

April 28, 2002

Thomas Ws. Achiele ’02 (Phi Kappa Tau), Anthony B. Cashen ’57 (Delta Upsilon), Jason B. Conn ’03 (Sigma Phi Epsilon), Scott A. Conroe (Phi Kappa Tau), Jonathan D. Emanuele ’03 (Lambda Chi Alpha), Andrew P. Fitzpatrick ’97 (Alpha Gamma Rho), Frederick E. Harwood ’59 (Delta Upsilon), Michael A. Hayes (Pi Kappa Alpha), Kent L. Hubbell ’67 (Alpha Delta Phi), Matthew T. Hyland ’01 (Delta Kappa Epsilon), Philip E. Lewis ’64 (Sigma Phi Epsilon), Christopher J. Joseph ’03 (Zeta Beta Tau), Michael T. Nasatka ’03 (Acacia), Suzy M. Nelson (Kappa Alpha Theta), Douglas E. Onsi ’90 (Beta Theta Pi), Christopher J. Petelle ’02 (Beta Theta Pi), Elias C. Selinger ’03 (Psi Upsilon), Russell H. Shattan ’03 (Delta Phi), Scott Sirota ’03 (Phi Kappa Psi), Craig Snow, and Gabriel L. Thaisz ’04 (Sigma Chi)

Executive Summary

Over the past few years, new member education in the Cornell fraternity system has received an increasing amount of attention. There is an emerging consensus from IFC leaders, chapter members, University staff and faculty, and fraternity alumni that hazing is inconsistent with the educational mission of Cornell and with building strong fraternities.

Prohibitions on hazing can be found in New York State law, the Cornell Code of Conduct, the IFC Anti-Hazing Policy and the rules of every national fraternity organization. We recommend that the IFC Judicial Board determine whether a set of facts constitutes a hazing violation by using the Fraternal Educators Association definition of hazing:

“Any action taken or situation created, intentionally, whether on or off fraternity and sorority premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment, or ridicule. Such activities may include, but are not limited to the following: use of alcohol; paddling in any form; creation of excessive fatigue; physical and psychological shocks; quests, treasure hunts, scavenger hunts, road trips or any other such activities carried on outside or inside of the confines of the chapter house; wearing of public apparel which is conspicuous and not normally in good taste; engaging in public stunts and buffoonery; morally degrading or humiliating games and activities; and any other activities which are not consistent with academic achievement, fraternal law, ritual or policy or New York State law and Cornell University policies and regulations.”

It is our opinion that pledging, as it is conducted by a significant number of chapters at Cornell today, is the single greatest threat to the future of the fraternity system. Unlike alcohol use, there is no room for the mature management of hazing and no place in later life where hazing is socially accepted. Hazing is a cancer that needs to be treated and removed with new policies and new practices, or we risk losing all that has been built over 137 years at Cornell and all of the benefits that derive from fraternity membership.

The principles that will guide our efforts in promoting positive change in new member education are as follows:
· Hazing is a practice that is contrary to the goals of undergraduates, alumni, faculty and staff at Cornell University and will not be tolerated in our fraternities
· New member education programs should prepare new members for brotherhood and active participation in the chapter for life.
· We want to provide assistance for chapters that want to or need to design new programs
· Chapters must either run non-hazing new member programs or face eventual removal from campus

It is clear to us that no one stakeholder has the ability to create positive change by itself. We need to evaluate the manner in which we develop and provide incentives for positive new member education programs and the manner in which we monitor, sanction, and reform hazing pledge programs. We believe that it will take a partnership of all of the stakeholders to develop and implement a program for change. Our strategy for implementing “pro-brotherhood” new member programs involves four distinct parts:

1. Education for every chapter, every year.
2. Examples of positive programming.
3. Clear judicial standards and incentives to self-reporting.
4. The Compliance Program for Hazing Chapters.

We believe that planning and effort during the fall semester is a crucial element to the development and implementation of successful new member programs. We hope that the fall semester of each year will provide a forum for an education process that will lead chapters to design new member programs that are consistent with the values of their organizations and the governing laws and regulations. To drive the fraternity system towards change well in advance of the beginning of the spring semester 2003 new member education program, we recommend that the FSAC, IFC, and OFSA invite all chapters, alumni organizations, and national fraternity organizations to participate in a fall semester Anti-Hazing summit meeting and evaluation of their new member education program.

The specific chapter programs for new member education are, and should continue to be, as varied as the houses on Cornell’s campus, but we believe that all chapters share a common vision for their new members and new member programs:

· to integrate the new members into the chapter,
· to enhance the personal growth and development of the new members,
· to foster brotherhood and friendship,
· to develop pride in and commitment to the fraternity, and
· to have a good time while doing it.

It is a significant aim of this Committee that examples of positive new member programming activities be widely communicated within the fraternity system. We believe that it will be important for this committee and the IFC to continue to work together to define non-hazing alternatives that will meet the accomplish the goals of new member education in a manner that is consistent with the values of the chapters at Cornell. We should consistently ask ourselves: “What would the reaction be if the activity were described in the Cornell Daily Sun or the New York Times?” We also recommend that funds be raised that any chapter can apply for in order to fund a new activity such as Cornell Outdoor Education.

We recognize that education, best practices, and positive incentives may not be sufficient to cause all chapters to change the hazing aspects of their new member programs. Some hazing chapters may require clearly articulated and tough judicial penalties and compliance monitoring to force them to change. We believe that the student-led judicial process is an important part of the fraternity system and of the credibility of the judicial process in the eyes of other students. We recommend that a clear judicial standard be announced and applied in order to determine whether the facts found constitute hazing or not, the Fraternal Educators Association definition of hazing.

Chapters who are found to have committed hazing violations during the spring 2002 new member education period or in the future are to be placed into the Compliance Program described below, in addition to any other penalties that are imposed by the IFC Judicial Board and the OFSA. If a violation is serious enough, the chapter could lose University recognition immediately or be required to conduct a chapter membership review and reorganization. We believe that self-monitoring and self-reporting of violations is preferable to judicial enforcement hearings. Fraternities, whether through their undergraduates, alumni or national organization, that self-report violations will have more flexibility with respect to sanctions and greater participation in the remedial process.

We recommend an ongoing Compliance Program that will provide an incentive to all stakeholders to be involved in the process of new member education. The Compliance Program will also include provisions for monitoring and identifying violations, providing both clear and significant punishments as well as an opportunity to change. Together with its alumni and national fraternity organizations, every chapter in the Compliance Program will be required to participate in the Chapter Intervention Program and then outline a up to 8 week maximum new member program as specified by the IFC Judicial and OFSA. Chapters that enter the Compliance Program as a result of a judicial sanction or that commit violations while in the Compliance Program will be publicly disclosed via a press release published on the OFSA website.

For violations of new member education policy while in the Compliance Program, the following minimum penalties will be mandatory so as to reflect our strong commitment that repeated hazing will not be tolerated:

§ Phase I – Chapter membership review and reorganization.
§ Phase II – Chapter loses University recognition.

If our recommendations are implemented, we believe that it will be important for a future committee to evaluate the effects of these programs. To assist our successors in their efforts, we suggest using the following criteria:

· Perception of undergraduates, alumni, faculty and community towards hazing and the amount of hazing that there is on campus
· Numbers of individuals who leave a fraternity during the new member period and their reasons
· Grades of new members during the new member period
· Number, type and disposition of hazing charges brought to IFC Judicial and OFSA
· The effectiveness of the Compliance Program in directing hazing chapters towards change

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