12/17/2023 0 Comments Greek life at university of vermont![]() ![]() Erica Caloiero, Vermont’s interim vice provost for student affairs, said the reason the administration was able to agree to all the demands was that it had already begun work on the issues students raised. The university is making some changes in response to the protests. “Training is great, but it’s not policy change.” “Meaningful change - that’s more than just saying they’re going to give better training,” Partin said. Syd Partin, a rising junior who is not involved in Greek life, said she supports theabolition of fraternities and sororities, and she thinks the university’s agreement to the latest reforms was performative. Some students, meanwhile, think the reforms don’t go far enough. “I don’t think anyone would complain if it did, either, just because this is important to everyone.” The measure “doesn’t change what we were already doing as a chapter,” he said. ![]() Matthew Ennis, president of Delta Tau Delta at Vermont, said that while his chapter is supportive of the new measures, it already boasts a 90-percent attendance requirement for the trainings. She and other students in the social groups have created a task force to ensure that Greek organizations meet the 70-percent threshold. Jessica Becker, a rising junior at Vermont, is leading an effort within Greek life to educate fraternity and sorority members on sexual violence. “Students really realize the power that they have to really force change from within.” “Students are probably a bit more emboldened now, I think, after the Abolish Greek Life movement a year and a half ago,” he said. McCreary said he sees the current reform movement as an “outgrowth” of Abolish Greek Life. “I think students picked up on that and realized if they do want to promote meaningful change, the best way to do that is from within, and not trying to walk out en masse.” The Abolish Greek Life movement is not big enough for students to all walk out and close their own chapters, McCreary said. “Self-takedowns of a handful of chapters didn’t really change much,” McCreary said. But, he said, only the “most altruistic students” have left their chapters, and very few chapters actually closed. That campaign, which seeks to eradicate fraternities and sororities, has gained some support from within the social organizations themselves, said Gentry McCreary, a consultant who works with fraternities and sororities on risk management, and who has written about the issue for The Chronicle. ![]() This movement is distinct from another that has gained traction over the past year: Abolish Greek Life. As students return to campus in the fall, some are hoping the Greek system that greets them can make consent, safety, and inclusion higher priorities. That demand for training and attendance, and the university’s effort to satisfy it, is one of several examples of efforts by students within and outside of the Greek system to reform it - rather than waiting for administrators to respond to the next crisis.
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