Hamilton College has formed a Blue Ribbon Committee to strengthen fraternity and sorority life on campus. The committee was convened by Vice President and Dean of Students Terry Martinez following an external review of Greek life that took place during the spring 2018 semester.
“The external review that was conducted in the spring identified areas for improvement and made a series of recommendations that will focus the work of two subcommittees,” Martinez said. “One subcommittee will look at implementing the recommendations that address risk management; the second will direct its attention on the recommendations that focus on education.”
“This work is about creating standards of operations for our fraternities and sororities to ensure that we meet common guidelines and common practices that are recommended by national organizations,” Martinez said. “By aligning our policies and practices with national standards, we will strengthen our Greek-lettered organizations and better protect the health, safety, and well-being of our students.”
The committee, working through the two subcommittees, will focus on specific issues such as chapter advising, guidelines for recruiting new members, national affiliation, certificates of insurance, and ways in which the Intersociety Council and the creation of a fraternity and sorority judicial board might better set standards and hold each other accountable.
Patrick Gilrane ’83 and Noelle Niznik are chairing the committee, which began its work in late September. Members include: Kevin Alcala ’19, Emily DiBari, Andrew Dykstra, Jim Hacker ’81, P’19, P’20, Rob Hallock ’20, Travis Hill, Colin Hoy ’20, Caroline Langan ’18, Matt Lebowitz ’18, and Sara Robertson ’19.
Martinez said she expects the committee will seek regular input from the campus community and take initial steps prior to the start of the next recruitment cycle.
