Ole Miss concludes sexual harassment frat investigation
The fraternity at the center of a Title IX investigation at the University of Mississippi plans to appeal sanctions that were handed down by the university's judicial council following allegations of sexual misconduct at Derby Days, an annual philanthropic initiative hosted by the Sigma Chi fraternity.
Max López, vice president of the fraternity, told The Clarion-Ledger that the organization has been placed on a full year of social probation and will not be allowed to have a fall 2016 rush class. In addition, fraternity members will take educational workshops on sexual assault and harassment, as well as on drug and alcohol abuse.
Ole Miss officials have not disclosed the result of the hearing, citing policy.
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In a statement, the university said, "once all appellate opportunities have been exhausted, the university may report the final outcome of the case."
Although López said he thought the outcome was more punitive than expected, he indicated that the fraternity has grown from the incident.
“The university has been very willing to work with us, and we’ve come out of this learning a lot,” said López.
Sigma Chi is not alone in its efforts.
In the wake of the episode, members of the school’s Greek community are saying it’s time for change.
The newfound consciousness started with a viral Facebook post that alleged sexual harassment at Derby Days. Ole Miss student Abby Bruce wrote the status after she said she witnessed fraternity members ask sorority members sexually suggestive questions in front of an audience of hundreds of students.
“Why do we pay money to participate in these events to be humiliated,” Bruce, a sorority member, wrote in the post. “Why have we allowed ourselves to be objectified?”
Instead of backlash, Bruce said she received support, and, as a result, she now considers herself a “feminist.”
“My main purpose in the initial post was just to get women to stand up for themselves, and to have a backbone, and be confident and ask questions,” Bruce told The Clarion-Ledger. “It’s been really amazing to me to see how that snowballs into so many issues that go beyond women’s empowerment.”
Some of those issues, Bruce said, include opportunities to discuss how the Greek system can change itself to where it’s more conscious of and perceptive to sexual assault incidents.
Clay Wooley, the president of Sigma Chi fraternity, said that conversations surrounding the Derby Days incident has increased his personal awareness of sexual assault and harassment in the Greek system and on campus as a whole, and, as a result, he’s looking to change the way his fraternity hosts events in the future.
“I never thought we would get to have this conversation,” said Wooley. “I never thought this problem and this mistake would be exposed campuswide, and that’s something I’m deeply humbled by and grateful to see because this is the way change happens.”
Austin Powell, president of the student body government and a member of Sigma Chi fraternity, made it a priority in his inaugural campus address to condemn the Derby Days event and to push change on campus.
“I look forward to partnering with other campus leaders to engage in dialogue about not only blatantly disrespecting members of our community,” said Powell, “but also how to promote bystander intervention in the proper way.”
Prior to the conclusion of the university's Title IX investigation, Brandi Hephner LaBanc, who leads the dean of students office at Ole Miss, which oversees the university's fraternity and sorority life, has tasked members of the Interfraternity Council with delivering a set of proposed policies that will curb risky behaviors, including underage and excessive drinking, illegal drug use, sexual misconduct and other forms of physical or emotional violence.
This week she extended the call to action to the university's National Pan-Hellenic and Panhellenic councils. While Hephner LeBanc said the issues for each group are different, she has asked each organization's governing body to evaluate what improvements can be made.
Of particular concern were reports that several Panhellenic sororities had restricted members from speaking about the Derby Days controversy in some fashion. News Watch 99, the campus television station, reported that at least five sororities on campus had instructed members through email not to speak to the media.
While Hephner LaBanc acknowledged that organizations have the right to utilize a spokesperson, she's adamant that they "don't have the right to take away one's voice."
As someone who works in higher education, the vice chancellor for student affairs is aware of the litany headlines about Greeks behaving badly and the strong measures some universities have taken to eliminate such antics. In 2015, Dartmouth banned hard liquor from campus as part of a long-term effort to reform the university's party culture, which gained notoriety in large part due to the Greek scene.
Fraternities on campus at Wesleyan University have been to ordered become coeducational by this fall. Others have opted to ban Greek life completely.
"There's a lot of schools saying, 'we're going to shut it down,'" said Hephner LaBanc.
While IFC fraternities do face a moratorium on all events if they do not meet an Aug. 1 deadline of submitting accountability measures, she identified the process "as an educational moment and not strictly punitive."
With the different approach comes risk.
"I could have egg on my face in the fall," Hephner LaBanc said of allowing members of the Greek community to lead reform as opposed to university administrators. But early signs show Greek leaders are taking the assignment seriously. Members of the IFC council have constructed a "war room" where they've sketched out ideas and Bruce, who originally brought attention to the incident, and Wooley, the Sigma Chi president, have met several times to discuss needed changes.
Because of the Greek system's visibility — at least a third of the Ole Miss student body belongs to a Greek organization and all six of the officers of the campus's student government are affiliated with a IFC fraternity — Hephner LaBanc hopes the response will lead to a greater cultural change at the university.
Perhaps the biggest catalyst for promoting dialogue about sexual assault and the Greek system has been Rebels Against Sexual Assault, a student organization formed last year to increase awareness of sexual assault on campus. RASA held a series of events last month, including the town hall on Derby Days, to expand the conversation on campus.
Sydney Green, a former sorority member and a founder and current president of RASA, noted that while the Derby Days incident has opened the conversation on campus and brought attention to problems in the Greek system, she said that the issue is much broader.
“Focusing on that negative event that occurred is not going to produce change,” said Green. “It’s more important that we use that event as a catalyst to influence a larger movement that has needed to happen for a long time, so the Greek system does perpetuate and sometimes exaggerate these issues, but these issues are in no way limited to the Greek system.”
Contact Royce Swayze at rswayze23@gmail.com. Follow @royce_swayze on Twitter.
Staff writer Bracey Harris contributed to this report. Contact Bracey at bharris2@gannett.com or 601-961-7248. Follow @braceyharris on Twitter.