海角大神

The University of Virginia is again facing controversy related to campus sexual assault 鈥� this time, sparked by national sorority organizations asking their members at UVA not to participate this weekend in Men鈥檚 Bid Night, the kickoff to the fraternity pledge season.

鈥淲e believe the activities on Men鈥檚 Bid Night present significant safety concerns for all of our members and we are united in our request that the sixteen NPC [National Panhellenic Conference] sororities not participate,鈥� wrote Tammie Pinkston, the international president of Alpha Delta Pi, one member of NPC. NPC is an umbrella organization that includes the national sororities represented at UVA. [Editor's note: The original version of this story had the wrong affiliation for Ms. Pinkston.]

As word spread of the Jan. 20 letter, students reacted with outrage, calling the move sexist and saying it contributes to stereotypes instead of respecting women鈥檚, as well as men鈥檚, ability to make wise decisions. It was also frustrating for many because the campus is already taking steps to address concerns: Namely, it鈥檚 beginning to implement rules that were developed in recent months and are intended to improve safety at social events.

鈥淚nstead of addressing rape and sexual assault at UVa, this mandate perpetuates the idea that women are inferior, sexual objects. It is degrading to Greek women,鈥� a woman posted in a Change.org petition demanding that the Bid Night prohibition be revoked. It had more than 2,200 signatures by midday Thursday.

The controversy hints at the challenges for officials of both colleges and student organizations as pressure mounts to do more to prevent rapes and other sexual assaults. It can be a difficult balance to create policies to minimize risk while at the same time avoiding overgeneralizations and mandates.

Several advocates of safer campuses say the national sororities鈥� approach sends the wrong signal. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 doubt ... that they want safety, but I really question the choice of action,鈥� says Lisa Maatz, vice president of government relations at the American Association of University Women in Washington. 鈥淎ll this does is reinforce the victim-blaming ... by telling women if they just stayed home, everything would be OK.鈥�

But this situation has been taken out of context and is no different from the many areas in which national chapters develop rules and policies, says Timothy Burke, an attorney for NPC and several sororities within it, and a member of Fraternal Law Partners, a division of Manley Burke in Cincinnati.

鈥淣PC and its members have long had in place an agreement that discourages women鈥檚 groups from being involved in men鈥檚 recruitment activities,鈥� he says. That鈥檚 one of several policies meant to preserve the single-sex status of the organizations.

NPC, as well as many fraternity organizations, has been actively engaged in broader efforts to prevent sexual assault on campuses, Mr. Burke says. NPC was one of the first groups to contact UVA in the fall to protest its blanket suspension of Greek life in response to the now-discredited Rolling Stone account of a gang rape at a UVA fraternity house.

While national sororities do have a right to set policies, this one comes across as saying to sorority women, 鈥測ou need to police yourself to make sure sexual assaults aren鈥檛 happening,鈥� says Tracey Vitchers, a spokeswoman for SAFER (Students Active for Ending Rape). It would be better, she says, to see the national sororities 鈥渄emanding that the national fraternities do more ... [and asking them], 鈥榃hat are you doing to train your brothers on how to prevent sexual assault?鈥� 鈥�

Many campuses are relying on bystander training as a way to educate all students about sexual assault without pegging men as potential rapists or women as potential victims. But even some of that training is mostly risk-reduction strategies, she says. 鈥淭here鈥檚 still not a holistic conversation on many campuses today about what can we do to have zero tolerance for sexual assaults,鈥� she says.

UVA President Teresa Sullivan said in a statement that the university was not involved in the decision by the national sororities. 鈥淲e have confidence in our students鈥� ability to use good judgment, be mindful of one another鈥檚 safety, and adhere to the new safety practices developed by them and outlined in the recently revised Fraternal Organization Agreements,鈥� she said.

One thing that鈥檚 upsetting to a broad swath of students is that the national sororities鈥� mandate is 鈥渆ntirely disrespectful to all the work that鈥檚 been done鈥� on campus in recent months to create a safer climate, says Abraham Axler, a UVA Student Council leader who sponsored a resolution that passed overwhelmingly on Tuesday.

The resolution notes that the national mandate came without any prior discussion or student input and says it 鈥渕isconstrues sorority women as passive aggregates rather than active agents for change by eliminating their ability for self-governance.鈥�

It also points out that sorority women have been trained in bystander intervention. When you take them 鈥渙ut of the equation, you鈥檙e creating a more dangerous environment,鈥� says Mr. Axler, a second-year student.

The resolution calls on national chapter presidents to come to Charlottesville, Va., on Friday for a dialogue. Axler e-mailed it to all 16 national sorority groups represented at UVA, but as of Thursday afternoon had heard back from only two, which declined to send a representative.听

He said he鈥檚 heard that some of the national groups are talking with their chapters in the wake of the negative reaction, but he鈥檚 frustrated that the conversations are not more 鈥渢ransparent.鈥�

The Monitor reached out to the president of UVA鈥檚 Inter-Sorority Council but did not get a response.

UVA is not the only campus that has undergone a sort of soul-searching over these issues in recent years. On Thursday, after months of work by various stakeholders, Dartmouth College unveiled the 鈥淢oving Dartmouth Forward Plan,鈥� outlining steps to reduce everything from harmful consumption of alcohol to sexual misconduct.

In announcing the plan, Dartmouth President Philip Hanlon warned that the school would consider discontinuing Greek life if fraternities and sororities do no implement substantial reforms within several years.