College and university administrations all over the U.S. are cracking down on misconduct committed by some of the most influential groups on their campuses: fraternities.
According to the Huffington Post, 30 individual fraternity chapters have been shuttered for a variety of reasons. In some cases, the fraternity's national organization will close down a local chapter, but it is a clear sign that these Greek groups are being held accountable.
Most commonly among infractions worthy of shutting down a local chapter has been hazing, which violates state laws in many cases in addition to codes of conduct put in place by the school or the fraternity's national office.
"Greek chapters are going to expect campuses are going to have a zero tolerance for [members' misbehavior]," Kevin Kruger, president of National Association of Student Personnel Administrators, a student affairs group, told the HP. "Schools will be acting quickly because they have a liability and repetitional risk, and they'll be acting fairly severely."
In the recent instance of a voyeur video showing Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) members at the University of Oklahoma (OU) students signing a racist chant, the fraternity's national organization dismissed the local chapter first. OU followed suit in what was praised as a swift, decisive punishment.
Fraternities like SAE have a huge national membership and therefore a heightened possibility of misconduct from individual chapters. Thanks to long histories and an extensive network of alumni, such Greek groups can be quite influential on campus for the money they generate and the reputation they earn.
As the OU incident proved, that reputation can turn just as sour as it was sterling. This recent crackdown also proves colleges are significantly shortening the leash on their Greek groups.
In many instances schools have seemingly adopted a one-strike policy, Kruger told the HP, exhibiting a rapidly "decreasing level of tolerance for the abhorrent behavior of students on campus."
