I

n the past month, I have 
observed friends and peers 
drop their fraternity and soror-
ity life memberships due to the his-
toric and current racism embedded 
in the institution. Every year, there 
are more videos of historically white 
fraternities and sororities (HWFS) 
chanting racist slurs or being 
exposed for racist practices in their 
rush strategies. As a new member, 
there have been many mandatory 
educational trainings on not being 
a bystander when it comes to sexual 
assault or alcohol abuse, but I was 
never educated on racism in Greek life. 
It was never prioritized in our discus-
sions on what needed to change. 
Greek life members must under-
stand the institution they are 
associating themselves with and 
supporting. When HWFS were first 
establishing themselves on college 
campuses across the country, there 
were few people of color permitted 
into higher education institutions. 
However, even as the population 
of students of color grew, rules and 
regulations were put in place to keep 
on-campus organizations, including 
Greek life, white. For example, codes of 
exclusion were added to many frater-
nity and sorority charters, mandating 
that members be white and Christian. 
Even before the 1964 Civil Rights 
Act, in the 1950s, many states 
enacted anti-discrimination laws 
that pushed fraternities and sorori-
ties to desegregate. While official 
practices of exclusion based on race 
were removed by the 70s, national 
chapters never pushed for diversity. 
Through favoring legacies in recruit-
ment, requiring hair to be done a 
certain way for events, rushing for 
girls that “fit into our group” and 
not prioritizing diversity, HWFS 
have remained — for the most part — 
white and from a higher social class. 
At the University of Alabama, 
there was only one Black woman 
offered a bid into a historically white 
sorority from its founding in 1904 
up until 2013. Moreover, in 2015, a 
video surfaced of Sigma Alpha Epsi-
lon at the University of Oklahoma 
singing a racist chant that uses 
racial slurs and supports lynching. 
Just recently, fraternity members at 
the University of Arkansas mocked 
the death of George Floyd.
Many organizations on campus 
are made up of people that have 
similar backgrounds, cultures and 
values. It is human nature for people 
to want to congregate with people 
they relate to. So what is wrong with 
Greek life being this way? The differ-

ence between Greek life and other 
organizations on college campuses 
is that Greek life events often make 
up the majority of members’ social 
and philanthropic activities. When 
members live with their chapter, 
party with their chapter and do com-
munity service through their chap-
ter, they aren’t simply surrounding 
themselves with people from the 
same background: They are only 
surrounding themselves with people 
from the same background. This envi-
ronment allows members to live in the 
glorious ignorance of white privilege 
and face little to no consequences for 
their racist and oppressive actions. 
When I joined Greek life, I made 
a promise to myself that I would not 
allow it to take over my entire life. 
I am involved in other clubs, have 
separate groups of friends and have 
made my chapter only a fragment of 
my university life. So, I had to ask 
myself, what harm am I causing by 
supporting my national chapter, both 
physically and financially? 
A social media post has circulated 
from a Duke University anti-Greek 
life Instagram account that discuss-
es the “FratPAC” — a political-action 
committee dedicated to increasing 
Greek life presence in Congress and 
to “enhance the fraternal experi-
ence.” The post claims that Greek life 
membership dues are going to this 
PAC. The FratPAC donates to both 
Democrats and Republicans and 
claims to be unbiased. However, the 
list of senators receiving donations 
in the 2020 cycle is predominantly 
white. Pushing for more Greek mem-
bers in government is pushing for 
more white people in government. 
Another issue with the FratPAC 
is the legislation it lobbies for. One 
example is the Safe Campus Act, 
which would prevent universities 
from being able to independently 
investigate sexual assault allega-
tions or punish the accused until the 
case is closed by the police. Not only 
does this violate Title IX, but crimi-
nal cases can take years and this 
would allow the accused to remain 
in their chapter with the opportu-
nity to continue to perpetuate harm 
within the campus community. 
Other legislation they have lobbied 
for includes a requirement of more 
proof for sexual assault cases, tax 
breaks for Greek houses and less 
punishment for hazing measures. 
What the social media post from 
Duke does not acknowledge, how-
ever, is that it is individual donors 
and chapters who donate to the PAC, 
not national Greek organizations. 

While your chapter may be donat-
ing to the FratPAC, being a member 
of Greek life does not automatically 
mean your money is supporting 
this committee. Linked is the list 
of donors for the 2020 cycle. Mem-
bers of Greek life have the power to 
demand that their chapter does not 
donate. 
I have not dropped Greek life 
because I believe members have 
the power to cause a change in the 
organization. While I cannot speak 
for other chapters, I am proud of 
the internal changes and efforts my 
chapter has made in recent months. 
These changes include forming a 
guide with petitions and educa-
tional resources, a new Diversity 
and Inclusion chair position, a list 
of classes that members feel have 
helped them gain new perspec-
tives, a fundraiser for The Bail 
Project and Detroit Justice Center 
and the formation of a book club to 
support artists from different cul-
tures/backgrounds. 
This is not to say that my soror-
ity is different from the “bad ones” 
or is not a part of the problem. This 
is to say that members of Greek life 
who choose to remain members 
should support change, inclusion 
efforts and diversity in their chap-
ters and condemn their chapters 
when change is being rejected. 
For Greek life to truly change, 
however, there must be efforts at 
both the local and the national 
organization level. The national 
headquarters of HWFS need to 
make inclusion and diversity a pri-
ority in their efforts moving for-
ward. Educational programming 
should include training on white 
privilege, supremacy and racism. 
Social media accounts should not 
just be a plethora of white faces in 
expensive clothing on vacations.
If Greek life wants to remain on 
college campuses, they need to not 
only accept change but be a part 
of the effort. Racism is a rampant 
issue in America, and while Greek 
life is not the root cause of it, it does 
currently perpetuate segregation, 
white privilege, ignorance and 
racism on college campuses. Mem-
bers of Greek life across the nation 
need to change the structure and 
culture of the entire institution by 
holding their chapter, organiza-
tion and peers accountable for con-
scious progress towards inclusion 
and against racism. 

O

n July 31, details from the 
independent investigation of 
former University of Michigan 
Provost Martin Philbert confirmed 
years of unchecked sexual harassment, 
a pervasive fear of retaliation and 
inaction by the University. In an open 
letter following the report, University 
President Mark Schlissel said the 
University administration “should make 
any changes necessary to prevent this 
from happening ever again.” And yet, 
on Aug. 14, new Title IX regulations 
from U.S. Secretary of Education 
Betsy DeVos will erode institutional 
responsibility 
and 
strip 
away 
protections for those brave enough to 
report sexual violence on campus. 
As a member of Student Sexual 
Assault and Harassment Legal Advocacy 
Service, an independent project by 
law students to advocate for survivors 
reporting sexual misconduct through 
the University’s Title IX process, it is 
clear to me what needs to change — and 
it is clear to me that I need to speak up 
now to advocate for that change.
Our institution stands at the crossroads 
of an opportunity to reimagine and 
recreate its Title IX processes and an 
impending mandate to strip away many 
of the measures that protect survivors. 
The University has not announced its 
plans for changing policies to comply 
with the new federal requirements, and 
it will have little choice but to follow 
these new rules, no matter how 
misguided they may be. 
But federal regulations establish a 
floor, not a ceiling for reform, and there 
are more insidious problems with the 
Title IX policies: problems for which 
the University itself is responsible. 
These problems are not often visible 
to those who haven’t gone through the 
reporting process themselves. But they 
are problems the University has full 
power to change. In light of Philbert’s 
harmful behavior and the institutional 
indifference that enabled it to continue 
for over a decade, the University should 
use this moment to change.
Oversight of OIE: In his message 
regarding the Philbert investigation, 
Schlissel 
includes 
among 
the 
recommendations proposed that when 
sexual misconduct involving the Office 
of the Provost is reported, the Office of 
the Provost should not oversee the Office 
of Institutional Equity (which conducts 
Title IX investigations) as usual.
This is an excellent start. I challenge 
the University to go further. There 
should be independent oversight of 
OIE in all instances — not just those 
in which its supervising office is 
implicated. The Office of the Provost 
is charged with oversight of a wide 

swath of departments at the University, 
including Academic Human Resources, 
Office of Financial Aid, Office of 
Undergraduate Admissions and the 
deans of every college and school on the 
Ann Arbor campus. Conflicts of interest 
thus do not only occur when a sexual 
misconduct report is made involving 
an Office of the Provost employee or 
faculty member; they are present when 
a report is made involving any of the 
other units reporting to the provost. 
It is not enough to merely have 
different administrators responsible 
for different divisions. Intimidation 
and fear of institutional retaliation are 
possible in many different ways from 
many different places. It matters little 
whether the University considers such 
intimidation or retaliation likely — what 
matters is that such fears are keenly felt 
by survivors. I should know. I felt 
those fears myself when I reported a 
sexual assault as an undergraduate at 
another university.
It’s vital that survivors feel secure 
in reporting assault or harassment 
when it occurs. If they don’t feel sure 
that those overseeing their reports will 
react and behave independently and 
appropriately, or if it seems that there 
are far too many people who could 
influence or become involved in their 
reports, horrendous acts by students 
and faculty alike will continue to 
be kept secret by those who suffer 
them. Part of supporting survivors is 
trusting their accounts of flaws and 
risks in this process.
What comes to mind in terms of 
oversight 
is 
the structure 
many 
universities have in place for their 
ombuds offices: In order to assure 
true independence, the ombudsperson 
must report directly to the highest 
position 
in 
their 
independent 
institution. If the University wants 
sexual misconduct investigations to be 
truly, securely independent, it should 
consider the same for OIE.
Broad Discretion of Hearing Officers: 
The University’s sexual misconduct 
policy provides that, when an incident 
of assault or harassment is investigated 
and goes to a hearing, the lone hearing 
officer “has absolute discretion to 
decide upon a format for the hearing.” 
Giving one individual responsibility 
over the hearing and its outcome, and 
then giving that individual “absolute 
discretion” over how the hearing is to 
be conducted, is a recipe for disaster. 

Reimagine Title IX processes

SARAH GARDNER | CONTRIBUTOR
ELIZABETH PEPPERCORN | COLUMNIST

Want to drop your chapter? Change it

Elizabeth Peppercorn can be reached 

at epepper@umich.edu.

Sarah Gardner is a 2L in the University 

of Michigan Law School and can be 

reached at segard@umich.edu. 

Read more at MichiganDaily.com

6

Thursday, August 13, 2020
The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
OPINION

