Eliminating the Double Standard

As a staff we receive a variety of newsletters, articles, and e-mails with thought provoking articles regarding Greek Life. Here is one below from RISE Partnerships Inc. that I found incredibly relevant right now as many of our chapters are preparing to take on Associate Members. As always, would love to hear your thoughts on this!

Eliminating the Double Standard Building a High-Performing Chapter through New Member Education

Until now, most conversations about hazing have revolved around ethical, legal and safety concerns. We are now beginning to realize hazing's impact on an organization's basic ability to be successful. The methods we use to educate new members connect directly to the chapter's future performance. Thanks to this new perspective, we gain a number of new insights about how to overcome the problem of hazing. There are a few elements within most new member education programs that have a dramatic effect on chapter performance. If these elements are addressed, you can relieve any and all worry about potential hazing practices. The most significant element is the presence of double standards. Think about your program as you read the sections below, and look for ways to strengthen your chapter by bridging the gap between members and new members.

Break Down Barriers: There is often an invisible barrier between initiated members and a new member class. New members tend to have fewer privileges. They might be required to sit in the back of the meeting room and wear specifically prescribed attire. They may have limited access to the house and must walk everywhere as a group. The intent of these activities is to build "pledge class unity," but that separation actually wedges a barrier between members and new members, preventing a sense of unity from forming among the entire brotherhood or sisterhood. This is a natural phenomenon which attempts to preserve group identity, but successful chapters are able to overcome it by bridging the divide rather than exaggerating it.

Here's how they do it: Involve more initiated members in education and team building experiences. Modify activities to create mixed groups where initiated and uninitiated members are working side-by-side during team builders, songs, reciting the creed or coordinating other projects. Rather than leaving new members to lead a project on their own, teach leadership through a job-shadowing system where they work hand-in-hand with officers on a weekly rotation. Add new members to committees and involve them in the work as soon as the process begins. Offer small, optional activities at a regular time each week for both active members and pledges in order to strengthen connections and break down any barriers.

Aligning Expectations: Even if you break down those barriers, you still have to address the double standard. It happens when members heap impossible expectations on new members and then wait for them to make the slightest mistake. New members get confronted for missing class, forgetting their pin, skipping an event, not knowing the Greek alphabet or making an inappropriate comment. Meanwhile, some of the same initiated members are delinquent in dues, frequently absent, struggling academically and rarely held accountable for their behavior. The intent behind this double standard is that new members prove their worth and learn responsibility. In reality, they learn to work hard until initiation so they can slack off. In other words, we begin teaching "Apathy" during new member education! Healthy chapters reverse this dynamic. They keep a close watch over initiated members, insisting that they fulfill their commitments and lead by example. Meanwhile, new members are given the chance to practice, prepare and make mistakes before they take a knee, raise their right hand and take the oath of membership. Consider some of the following steps to equalize this expectation:Add an "Ideal Member" activity where members and new members spell out the do's, don'ts and other basic expectations.Write down every expectation that you have for members and the same for new members. Now switch the lists!Develop a these expectations into a Code of Conduct or a Membership Contract which covers attendance, dues payment, behavior and involvement.Use (or create) a standards board within your chapter when someone violates one of these expectations. Handle infractions by members and new members through the same process and with the same intensity.

Create New Traditions: Many members resist changes to new member education for fear that they are abandoning tradition, but this fear is irrational. Fraternities and sororities are constantly evolving as we discover new insights about how to educate members, build bonds and cultivate honor and respect. We are not abandoning tradition. Instead we are developing new ways to retain our tradition and remain relevant long into hate future.

If you are interested in learning more about how to build a stronger chapter and move From Hazing to Health, contact RISE about bringing this experience to your community.