Greek Life Handbook 2019-2020
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Greek Life Handbook 2019-2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS Welcome ............................................................................................................................................................2 America’s Unique Greek System .......................................................................................................................3 GREEKS AT UVA-WISE Greek Governing Councils .................................................................................................................................4 Greek Life at UVa-Wise ......................................................................................................................................6 Greek Organizations ..........................................................................................................................................7-15 POLICIES & PROCEDURES Academic Expectations ......................................................................................................................................17 Advisor’s Role ....................................................................................................................................................17 New Member Education ....................................................................................................................................19 Leadership Development ...................................................................................................................................21 Organization Conduct ........................................................................................................................................21 Recruitment Rules & Regulations ......................................................................................................................22 Risk Management ..............................................................................................................................................23 Starting a Greek Organization ...........................................................................................................................23 Advertising & Publicity.......................................................................................................................................24 Event Planning ...................................................................................................................................................26 Facility Reservations ..........................................................................................................................................27 Greek Dictionary ................................................................................................................................................27 Other Resources ................................................................................................................................................30 Clery Act Student Code of Conduct...................................................................................................................................31 Title IX , Sexual Misconduct & Interpersonal Violence ......................................................................................32 CAMPUS SECURITY-CLERY ACT: UVa-Wise is committed to helping the campus community provide for their own safety and security. The Annual Security Report and Fire Safety Report containing information on campus security and personal safety, including alerts, fire safety, crime prevention tips, and crime statistics is available at www.uvawise.edu/ASR. A copy is available upon request by calling 276-328-0190 or 276-376-3451. The University of Virginia’s College at Wise is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges to award the baccalaureate degree. Contact the Commission on Colleges at 1866 Southern Lane, Decatur, Georgia 30033-4097 or call 404-679- 4500 for questions about the accreditation of The University of Virginia’s College at Wise. Greek Life Handbook 2019-2020 WELCOME Being a member of the Greek community at UVa-Wise means more than just wearing letters. It means you are dedicated to sisterhood/brotherhood, academic excellence, community service, leadership, and campus service. It means you belong to an organization of friends who are there to support, encourage, and travel this journey through UVa-Wise and beyond with you. It means you have a place to voice ideas and initiatives and rely on the help of fellow members to turn your words into action. It means belonging to a group with common goals and having the people power to see those goals come to fruition. It means joining an organization with a national network that connects you to brothers and sisters all over the world. It means learning to lead committees and organize worthwhile events and programs. It means becoming a member of a dedicated organization and community with a desire to affect change within and outside the UVa-Wise community. Members of the Greek community impact the campus in many different ways. Greek leaders are members of UVa-Wise clubs and organizations, including the Student Government Association, Honor Court, Student Activities Board, cheerleaders, bands, and honor societies. They are freshmen mentors, Resident Advisors, Student Ambassadors, as well as student-athletes. They facilitate discussions about important campus and social issues and sponsor social and philanthropic activities. Whether you are the president of your organization or the recruitment chair, the following information will help you as you grow as a leader within your Greek organization. Understanding the policies and procedures for Greek Life on campus helps you make informed and thoughtful decisions and helps your organization be successful. The attached information provides you with policies and procedures for recruitment, socials, academic requirements and much more. While the information provided is subject to change, this handbook serves as the best reference for frequently asked questions. If at any time you have any questions about the information or policies or procedure contained herein, please do not hesitate to contact the Office of Student Activities and Greek Life or stop by the 3rd floor of the C. Bascom Slemp Student Center. In advance, thank you for your contributions to both campus life and for your leadership. NATHAN RASNAKE, ASSISTANT DIRECTOR OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES & GREEK LIFE OFFICE OF STUDENT ACTIVITIES & GREEK LIFE OFFICE: 276.376.4651 EMAIL: [email protected] Greek Life Handbook 2019-2020 AMERICA’S UNIQUE GREEK SYSTEM1 HISTORY The first general fraternity for which records exist was the Flat Hat Club, organized in 1750 at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. The members met periodically in an upper room of the Raleigh Tavern, and over a bowl of punch, their laughter reportedly shook the house. Thomas Jefferson, author of the U.S. Declaration of Independence and third President of the United States, was a student member of this club. The first Greek-letter society came into being because a student had been refused admission into a William and Mary organization known as PDA. The PDA club was supposedly a literary society but had long lost those purposes. The rejected man was a superior Greek scholar. With four friends, he organized a society of his own, using Greek letters to name it: Phi Beta Kappa. The first meeting of Phi Beta Kappa took place on December 5, 1776. It was a secret meeting, for the faculty of William and Mary at the time did not approve of its students discussing the pressing issues of the day and possibly straying too far from accepted beliefs. So Phi Beta Kappa developed appropriate signals of challenge and recognition. They met weekly at the site of American patriot Patrick Henry’s “give me liberty or give me death” speech in the Apollo room of the Raleigh Tavern in Williamsburg. After two years, Phi Beta Kappa felt that other campuses should share in its experiment, that the higher education experience should provide consideration in preparing the student for his future responsibilities by also preparing his social skills. Thus, chapters were founded at several American colleges. As time went on, Phi Beta Kappa became purely intellectual in its aims; its original cardinal principles were “literature, morality and friendship.” During anti-secret movements of the 1830s, Phi Beta Kappa, the society, voluntarily revealed its once secret Greek name, Filosofia Bion Kuberneqes (Philosophia Bios Kybernethes), or “Philosophy (is the) guide to life.” Today, Phi Beta Kappa is a scholastic honorary society that recognizes undergraduate men and women who show superior achievement in academics in more than 184 college campuses across the nation. The secret grip and ritual, the distinctive badge, and the use of Greek letters — all were used by Phi Beta Kappa and were adopted by subsequent Greek letter fraternities and sororities. However, the most important legacies of Phi Beta Kappa are these: high moral ideals, scholastic advancement, and the friendship of brothers or sisters with each other. TODAY Fraternities and sororities are student organizations whose primary purpose is the personal development of their members, as distinguished from honorary, professional, departmental, and service fraternities. Unlike most other student organizations, membership in a social fraternity or sorority is a lifetime affiliation, and students are not permitted to be initiated