Last week, the new administration announced a University Greek Life study group. Created by a recent resolution by the Board of Trustees, the Greek Life Study Group will investigate all aspects of Greek life on campus for the purpose of enhancing and strengthening OWU’s Greek experience. In a campuswide email Rock Jones announced that the role of the group will be "to enhance the following areas: "recruitment of new members; member education; character and leadership development; scholarship; risk management and accountability; fraternity and sorority facilities, including housing facilities; campus community relations; alumni relations and support; national fraternity and sorority relations and support; University staffing and support; the role of governing and coordinating bodies."

Puzzling to many at campus are three things:

First, why doesn't the study group focus on diversity issues and selectivity  of Greek organizations? Many are familiar with hate-related incidents in the past 2 years coming exactly from the Greek community on campus. Yet, no mention of that in the Board of Trustee resolutions. Not important? It is to trivial to state that Greek organizations are not open to all students, on the basis of competency or interest, which is inconsistent with the principles of openness to which the University is committed. Perhaps a quick look at the Greek Life committee can quickly speak to the fact of lack of diversity: the committee itself is not diverse! Here it is http://greek.owu.edu/study/greekLifeStudyGroup.html No minorities or international students and the only women in the committee are from the faculty and the administration. Great job! Note however, the demographic composition, age, etc of the ones coming from the Board of Trustees and the alumni representatives...

Second, fraternities have historic roots with alumni that are important to maintain, and I believe that the frats at Ohio Wesleyan can continue to play a very positive role at the university. But should the university look into strengthening or adding any new Greek societies? Aren't there many other ways for students to join together in residentially based groups? Did we forget about the SLUs? Theme houses? Ohio Wesleyan’s students have a rich choice of social organizations in which to participate, from the very traditional to the most avant-garde. Isn't the administration committed to keeping it that way?

Third, and perhaps the most important point deals with the school priorities. The announcement states that the "The Greek Life Study Group’s timeline is aggressive. The Study Group will begin its work early in the fall 2008 semester with a fact-finding, data-gathering phase. It will report its recommendations to me by the end of the fall semester, and I will share those recommendations with the Board of Trustees at the Winter 2009 meeting." Of course, focusing time and resources on one issue means you are not focusing on something else you could have done. Outrageously ironic is the fact that no school administrator ever set an agressive timeline to improve retention rate or do anything about student selectivity.

Greek Life has many virtues. But if you wanted a plan and focus to distract priorities from where your problems really lie, this would be your strategy. But the constructive act of doing something about academic selectivity and excellence is another matter. This is a university not a la Animal House college about a misfit group of fraternity boys that takes on the system at their college. If you truly subscribe to the four guiding principles of OWU Greek life: leadership; service; scholarship; and brother/sisterhood, you might want to do it via other forms of residental life that other leading liberal arts colleges have strengthened.

My question to the new president and the administration is: shouldn't you be focusing on bigger issues at Ohio Wesleyan? Retention has been, as everyone knows, a big problem at OWU! Student selectivity is another big area! Need one go through the long laundry list? Most students and constituents truly concerned with preserving excellence will focus on academic issues, not Greek Life!