Penn State President Eric Barron on Sunday appointed five members to the new Greek-life Response Team. These five university officials will be in charge of implementing and measuring the effectiveness of changes to the Greek life system at the University Park campus.
This team is tasked with carrying out each of the safety initiatives announced at the recent special Board of Trustees meeting, a process which will include the creation of a thorough plan to implement each new initiative in an effective manner. The group will report directly to Eric Barron, giving the president reports on the progress of these recently-approved changes to Greek life.
The June 2 Board of Trustees meeting outlined the immediate changes to Greek life at Penn State, including the university’s new exclusive role in dealing with disciplinary matters – matters that were previously dealt with by the Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council.
Thomas Poole, Penn State’s vice president for administration, will serve as the chair of the response team. Damon Sims (vice president for Student Affairs), Zack Moore (vice president for Government and Community Relations), Keith Morris (University Police chief), and Frank Guadagnino (associate general counsel) make up the rest of the team.
“I want to emphasize again, the safety of our community is of essential importance and the University is determined to move swiftly to put these initiatives in place,” Barron said. “These are actions that require careful planning, resources and partnership with not only our Greek-letter organizations, but their alumni boards, housing boards, councils and national organizations. And the Greek-life Response Team will be critically focused on increasing student well-being and safety and the impact from these measures.”
Some of the most noteworthy changes to Greek life at Penn State include the recruitment policy for fraternities and sororities. Beginning in the 2019-2020 academic year, Greek chapters will be allowed to only take students who are sophomores or above. In the meantime, students will not be able to rush before the second semester of their freshman year.
The Greek community also will still face the social restrictions that were put in place following the death of Beta Theta Pi pledge Timothy Piazza. The 19-year-old from Lebanon, N.J. died after falling down the steps at the fraternity house during an alcohol-fueled bid acceptance party on Feb. 2 at Beta Theta Pi fraternity. His death resulted in charges against 18 fraternity members and the fraternity corporation.
Piazza’s parents, Jim and Evelyn, have spoken about their desire to see substantial changes to fraternities at Penn State and around the country and urged the university’s board to adopt a number of measures for Greek life reform.
