In the previous introductory blog, the idea of student exploitation was explored under Young's philosophy. Students and the University have abused Greek Life's self-governance for their own needs: shifting-blame or liability. But the root cause of this exploitation is in the powerlessness of students rather than group-bias.
 |
| Liability under pretense of "Values" Undermines Student Safety |
As more scrutiny falls upon Greek Life and its councils despite their efforts to meet University standards, a growing obsession over liability has taken over student safety. Today, safety policies and regulations are more concerned with liability than real, effective student safety -and liability allows the University to do whatever deemed necessary to avoid legal issues. The growing scrutiny and scapegoating of Greek life is only a side effect of the University's failure to educate and offer real solutions towards safety. Luckily, one solution can be found by eliminating student powerlessness.
Liability's effect on Student Safety:
In the earlier interview with Sean Kageff, the IFC representative for Lambda Chi Alpha, he mentioned a frighting incident along with his views on the increasing number of alcohol-transports:
"It was the weekend after Martin Luther King weekend, a DPS officer was walking in one of the freshman dormitories and he saw a girl passed out on the floor in her hallway in a puddle of vomit, and she had no pulse. And if he hadn't arrived sooner and performed CPR, she would've died. She was believed to have been drinking in that dorm that night...So I think that number [of alcohol-transports] isn't necessarily accurate, whether they weren't at a fraternity or they were. But as a whole community, alcohol-transports are a bigger issue for all students."
While this stands as an extreme and tragic case, 28 of 30 alcohol-transports up to Saint Patrick's Weekend were from freshman dormitories (Previous Blog ). With constant enforcement and monitoring by Greeks under pressures from the University, serious incidents like this are considered less likely to happen at Greek houses and Greek party scenes. The number of alcohol-transports carrying students from dormitories that may or may not have been at Greek houses before, clearly indicates that safety failures happen either after students return or when students drink in the dorms.
But shouldn't students be safer in the dorms under University housing policies and regulations?
I sat down with an anonymous R.A. who agreed to speak on University Housing policies and its failures. When asked about why he wished to remain anonymous, it was explained that University Housing likes to keep things quiet and would likely 'come after' employees who spoke ill about the system. This fear of University policies peaked my interest in what creates this fear and how it fails to uphold student safety.
According to the R.A., University policies are rather lax on students caught drinking and partying by using the principle of "Restorative Justice" -but he adds that this is not understood by students and causes serious problems. He argues that fear is the driving motive behind students abiding and going around the rules: "a lot of people think that an MIP is going to send me to jail because that's what the University tries to do to scare you at orientation...So students come in[to the University] thinking that of, if I drink then [Slang "Stuff"] is going to go down" (03/29/2016). What is more troubling is the idea that "people would rather not call for an ambulance or tell their RA" because everyone "builds it up so much" (Ibid). But this fear, instead of preventing students from drinking, urges students to seek more dangerous ways of drinking and partying at off-campus venues.
 |
| "The Victors" isn't the only thing that gets the room roudy at Orientation: Don't Drink at Orientation and MIP's are repeated countless times to prevent students from drinking |
The University, just as it has been towards Greeks, is more concerned with liability than the safety of students. When asked whether or not the University, like its students, is more afraid about getting into trouble than concerned with safety, the R.A. responded with an immediate "Absolutely...I absolutely think that. I think you can see that in sexual assault, I think you can see that in...drinking...But at the forefront of the University's concern, especially when you go higher up in the food-chain, it becomes more about liability than...the lives of students" (Ibid). By this "style" of safety, the University has failed its students. Students, those in dorms especially, are powerless against the system that instead of keeping them safe rather promotes dangerous behaviors. The only option for these powerless students is to either blame someone else (i.e. Greek life) or take their chances.
What's the Solution?
During this interview and throughout this series, the idea of self-regulatory sober-monitoring emerges as the champion of student safety that would take exploitation, powerlessness, and hopefully marginalization out of the equation. It is clear that liability prevents the University from seeking policies that truly are for student safety -but can we apply how Greek Life regulates safety for all students? Shouldn't safety policies for the students by the students be the most effective form of regulation?
Members of Greek Life take pride in self-regulation (Just look at the last blog!). Self-regulated, working safety-procedures are all over Greek governments; so why should the regular student be barred from such power?
The R.A. responded happily when I suggested sober-monitor training and self-regulated safety procedures for the general student body -saying "that's a really valuable resource (sober-monitor training at the UHS which all Greeks have taken)...Honestly, I think I'm going to tell that (to residents) back at my dorm -that would be something interesting!"
 |
| New Greek Members participate in mandatory Sober-Monitor Training at the UHS |
"Vast majority of these transports are happening from dorms and I think that people like to say, 'Oh there's more drinking going on in Greek Life, that's bad, they're the problem, we need sober monitors there.' But I think the real problem...is the people who are drinking in an unsafe way, which...happens more in the dorms....There's very little say that students can have in the decision-making process of the University and Housing. I'd love to see a change in that" (03/29/2016).
And so do we! Stay tuned for the next blog that will explore Marginalization and how it prevents our solution.
I really enjoyed this post and think you’re spot on with the liability vs. safety analysis. Of course, I understand the University’s desire to want to minimize its own legal risk, but I fear that it’s coming at the expense of practicality and common sense at this point. While I was fortunate enough to live with two relatively lax and cool RAs at Markley during my freshman year, I have plenty of friends who got into (legal) after their RAs reported them to police after finding them inebriated after a night of drinking, alcohol in their rooms, etc.; most of the situations, as I can recall, were relatively benign and could have been handled with a simple warning. I know the University is trying to shed whatever “party school” image it has, but its crackdowns seem to have just incited paranoia, unsafe(r) drinking practices, and unnecessary legal troubles for undeserving students. I was intrigued by your sober monitoring proposal and I look forward to seeing that more spelled out in your next blog!
ReplyDelete