Dive Brief:
- Colleges and national organizations of fraternities and sororities have little incentive to do more when it comes to regulating local chapters.
- The Chronicle of Higher Education reports that colleges have little legal responsibility for keeping Greek organizations in check when they live in private houses and little motivation when Greek alumni make significant donations to campus and serve in state and federal government.
- The national Greek organizations have strict rules in place, but if local chapters break risk-management policies, they’re not covered by the national organizations’ insurance and thus not financially liable for keeping chapters in check, The Chronicle reports.
Dive Insight:
The scandals created by fraternities on some campuses are appalling. Universities are responding with new strategies for improving diversity relations on campuses and revising policies for handling sexual assault cases. They are rarely, however, implementing new rules and regulations limiting the freedoms of fraternities. In response to Rolling Stone’s description of an alleged gang rape that later turned out to be fabricated, the University of Virginia banned kegs at frat parties, required at least three brothers to remain sober throughout the party, and demanded frats hire a guard to limit who gets in. There's no word, however, on how the university would take responsibility for enforcing its new rules.