Greek system at risk as Mizzou office ‘bounces from one fire to the next,’ report says

Consultants reviewing the Office of Greek Life at the University of Missouri have issued a scathing report, calling the office devoid of focus, direction and leadership.

A report from Dyad Strategies Oct. 24 attributed dysfunction in the office in part to a previous director’s decision to “scale back” services to Greek chapters to the “bare minimum.”

The office cut back those services two years ago after it was unable to get a student fee for Greek students passed.

The result, reviewers said, is a Greek system exposed to great risk when it comes to issues of student drinking, hazing, and substance abuse. That has left students and alumni disillusioned and distrustful of the university’s role in Greek life.

“It appears the office bounces from one fire to the next, spending the bulk of its time advising council officers and responding to allegations of misconduct ...,” the report said.

The university commissioned the report for $22,000 in August, the Columbia Missourian reported.

According to the report, operating with minimal staff and little resources, the office is stretched thin. The report said students see the office as a “reactionary unit” that only gets “involved with us when” (a problem) “hits the fan.”

Groups both on and off campus struggle to get in touch with office staff, and students on Greek governing councils and in chapter leadership don’t feel comfortable sharing concerns, issues, or problems with the Office of Greek Life for fear of punishment or retribution.

One student told interviewers that “a fraternity would implode before they go to the University for help.”

The office’s lack of oversight and involvement with chapter programming already has had severe consequences.

The campus has seen a rise in unregistered Greek parties, where drugs and alcohol are more prevalent and women have greater concerns about sexual assault, sorority leaders told interviewers.

The environment is also conducive to hazing; alcohol consumption was the most common form of hazing, both sorority and fraternity members said.

Currently, the office only has one official tasked with investigating hazing allegations.

The Greek system’s audit of social activities is ineffective and easy to navigate around, students said. In addition, the Greek housing area is neither in the city police nor university police jurisdictions, so law enforcement presence in those areas are low.

The report also highlighted problems associated with letting freshmen fraternity recruits lives in Greek houses, where an environment with parties, alcohol, and drugs can be distracting.

Additionally, two fraternities that lost their recognition from the university still operate under national recognition and thus are not subject to the rules that other chapters are.

The report also acknowledged concerns by students in black fraternities and sororities, who said they did not receive the same funds or support that historically-white fraternities and sororities do.

“The University of Missouri has a fraternity/sorority community that could best be described as underachieving,” the report stated.

Recommendations in the report included:

▪ Developing clear, concise goals and missions for the Office of Greek Life;

▪ Defining the relationship between the Office of Greek Life, Greek chapters and governing councils;

▪ Creating a process that clearly outlines how misconduct is handled and outlining discipline;

▪ Creating a council for alumni to advise current chapters on various issues;

▪ Banning hard alcohol in fraternity houses;

▪ Having mandated inspections and spot checks on nights where no social events are scheduled;

▪ Creating a hazing investigation team;

▪ Removing freshmen from fraternity houses.

This story was originally published November 1, 2017 at 8:22 PM with the headline "Greek system at risk as Mizzou office ‘bounces from one fire to the next,’ report says."