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Amherst Bans Fraternities, Sororities, and Similar Organizations On and Off Campus
Amherst College鈥檚 Board of Trustees Tuesday announcing that it was reaffirming its 1984 ban on the college鈥檚 recognition of fraternities and sororities鈥攁nd that it would be taking things a step further this summer in a move that will take a significant bite out of Amherst students鈥 ability to freely associate. The reads:
Student participation in off-campus fraternities and sororities, and fraternity-like and sorority-like organizations, is prohibited. Violations will be subject to appropriate penalties, including suspension or expulsion from the College.
The Trustees鈥 statement on the resolution reveals that its reconsideration of its 1984 policy was motivated by Amherst鈥檚 , a group of faculty, staff, students, administrators, and trustees tasked with tracking the campus climate, as well as college resources and policies. reports that some sexual assault victims鈥 advocates have praised the move as a belated and necessary step to address the problem of sexual assault on campus. Yet, according to , the committee stated: 鈥淸I]t is important to note that we are not saying [fraternities] are disproportionately guilty of sexual assault; we have no evidence that this is the case.鈥
Some students are the Trustees鈥 decision鈥攁s they should. While universities may decide not to support a Greek system, students should be extremely wary of limitations on the ways in which they can associate with their peers, even at private institutions like Amherst that are not legally bound by the First Amendment鈥檚 guarantee of freedom of association. This is especially true when a college enacts new provisions to be effective within months, leaving students the option of trying to quickly transfer to another university or abandoning plans they made based on the school鈥檚 for student groups.
Making things worse, Amherst鈥檚 ban on not just fraternities and sororities but also similar organizations is both broad and vague. Even looking to the language from 1984 does not make entirely clear what organizations will be prohibited. The Trustees鈥 resolution then the use of institutional resources on
any procedure relating to rushing, pledging, initiating or otherwise admitting to or maintaining membership by any student of the college in any fraternity, sorority or other social club, society or organization (however denominated).
With this ban applied to off-campus and underground groups beginning July 1, what will it take before a student group leaves the realm of prohibited 鈥渟ocial club鈥 and becomes a recognizable student organization? For instance, at what point does a group of 10 friends with a standing Sunday brunch date become a 鈥渟ocial club鈥? Interfering with freedom of association raises this thorny issue, but Amherst鈥檚 vague and broad ban contains no indication that such problems were even considered.
Amherst isn鈥檛 alone in attempting to ban participation in certain groups. In 2011, Wesleyan University revised a policy that would have punished students for 鈥減articipating in social activities鈥 on the property of any 鈥減rivate societies鈥 not under Wesleyan鈥檚 control, but only after FIREwrote to explain that the policy violated Wesleyan鈥檚 promise of freedom of assembly. As we pointed out, Wesleyan鈥檚 policy would have prohibited students from social interactions on a 鈥渧ast amount of off-campus property including houses of worship, the Middletown Elks Lodge, the Italian Society of Middletown, and a wide variety of private societies throughout Connecticut.鈥 (Now Wesleyan鈥檚 Board of Trustees is whether to require its fraternities to admit women, which would effectively abolish them since most national fraternities cannot admit women, per their charters.) In 2012, Trinity College鈥檚 Board of Trustees imposed regulations requiring student organizations to achieve 鈥渕inority gender鈥 parity in membership and leadership and forbidding association with unrecognized groups. These policies, like Amherst鈥檚, significantly limit students鈥 freedom of association precisely where and when students expect鈥攁nd are entitled to expect鈥攖hat freedom.
FIRE hopes Amherst will reconsider its decision.
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