Proposed requirements for fraternities and sororities at the University of Colorado that call for delayed recruitment, live-in house advisers and chapter recognition agreements are not without precedent.
One-third of the nation's campuses have spring rush, 40 percent of fraternities have live-in directors, and the University of Washington has agreements that fraternities and sororities must sign to be recognized.
The CU plan comes in the wake of the drinking death of fraternity pledge Lynn "Gordie" Bailey in September and amid stinging criticism from his family that CU has done nothing since his death to address its campus drinking culture.
"The university wants to remove the alcohol culture, yet the fraternity men are a very small percent of the campus and the alcohol culture is campuswide," said Jon Williamson, vice president of the North-American Interfraternity Conference (NIC), the fraternities' national umbrella organization.
The proposals have proved controversial among Greek organizations at CU, and a gulf is emerging between the CU plan proposed by university administrators and one put in place by the NIC last week specifically for the Boulder campus.
The NIC plan, while pledging alcohol-free recruitment and classes on ways to prevent abuse, does not include a spring rush, nor does it address a live-in house director or recognition agreements.
The spring rush is particularly troublesome to the NIC.
"CU is saying, 'Wait five months to join a fraternity, to be associated with men of your own choosing, and all your problems will be solved,' and I don't see the empirical data that suggests that," Williamson said. "We strongly believe in our plan. It's a good-faith effort to accomplish what the university wants."
Peter Smithhisler, NIC spokesman, said: "This is not a counterproposal. This is our plan. It is going to happen."
Meanwhile, the CU plan will be finalized this month, and spring rush will not be negotiable, said Ron Stump, CU vice chancellor for student affairs.
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