The faculty of the Schools of Arts & Sciences and Engineering (AS&E) on Feb. 27 voted to re-establish Committee on Student Life (CSL) jurisdiction over campus fraternity and sorority chapters, allowing the committee to hear cases involving the behavior of chapters and to carry out appropriate punishment.
The change is meant to allow Greek chapters and members to appeal penalties they see as unfair, according to CSL co-chair Rebecca Spiewak, a senior.
Now they can get a hearing with a board of faculty and peers, Spiewak said.
Cases involving chapter violations are handled by Judicial Affairs Officer Veronica Carter, Dean of Student Affairs Bruce Reitman and Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Su McGlone, who decide together on a punishment for involved parties.
The subsection of the AS&E bylaws changed by the vote had absolved the CSL of jurisdiction over matters involving fraternities and sororities, denying fraternities and sororities a neutral place to appeal penalties decided during the judicial process. The CSL, according to the schools bylaws, was always responsible for cases involving members of fraternities and sororities as individuals. Following Fridays vote, the committe will have the authority to hear chapters appeals regarding penalities decided against them.
CSL member Jacob Wessel said members of the Greek community brought a request for greater faculty involvement in Greek life to address concerns with this approach.
It seemed unfair, Wessel, a junior, said. [Greek groups] should have a right to appeal like any other student organization.
McGlone said she does not anticipate that the new rule will not dramatically change how fraternities and sororities are punished for offenses.
Ill still be involved and will be able to provide insight, she said. I dont think itll change too muchtheres already a precedent set. I think we handle judicial cases really well and I cant picture that changing.
The new rule now allows the Greek groups to appeal decisions made against them during this process, according to Wessel.
Greek [life] doesnt have much of a relationship with the school because of that vote, Spiewak said. Why should they, if they have nowhere to go and cant appeal [punishments]?
Spiewak explained that the Greek communitys reputation on campus has changed since the early 1990s, primarily because almost one-fifth of the student body is currently involved in fraternities or sororities on campus.
Theres no reason to treat them differently than the rest of the student body, she said.
Spiewak said that the new policy has been difficult to pass in the past couple of years.
We [as students] have a four-year snapshot of the school, she said. The [faculty members] who are at school now were there in the 80s and 90s and their perceptionhasnt changed.
The CSL on Feb. 6 introduced its proposal to eliminate the bylaw to the faculty at the Arts & Sciences faculty meeting, according to Spiewak. The faculty was given three weeks to discuss their decision before they reconvened on Feb. 27 to put the issue up to a vote.
According to McGlone, the decision reflects well on the Greek community at Tufts.
This is a really positive change and somewhat symbolic, she said. The fact that the faculty is willing to oversee fraternity and sororities again shows that [Greek communities] have come a long way and are doing positive things.
