Fact: Three students tragically passed away within six months at Southern Methodist University due to either drug or alcohol abuse.
Fact: We, as a student body, understand that change is both necessary and inevitable.
Fact: Student leaders and administrators are working together on the Task Force on Substance Abuse Prevention to address this concern.
Fiction: The Greek community is getting kicked off campus by the SMU administration.
Regardless of any personal opinions about how to effectively implement this change, no one can deny the facts listed above. In fact, as two student leaders within the SMU community, this is an issue that we, too, are attempting to understand and appropriately address. In order to clarify what exactly the role of the task force is, the committee was originally charged with examining current university policies, practices and programs associated with student behavior as well as the external forces that influence trends on college campuses. It is important to note that the task force’s responsibility, as charged by President R. Gerald Turner, is to solely research and recommend improvements to current policy. It is not to implement change that will shatter Greek life as we know it. The idea of eliminating the Greek system has not been discussed at a task force meeting nor has it even crossed our minds. Upholding President Turner’s charge is still the committee’s top priority. All rumors aside, this remains our one and only goal. As members of two Greek organizations, both of us understand the value of Greek life in general, especially at SMU. In fact, one of the many reasons we both chose SMU for our undergraduate education was because of the strong Greek presence on campus and the opportunity to positively influence SMU as members of the Greek community. We are confident that as members of the task force we can positively reinforce that there is much more to Greek life than what may be commonly perceived. Whether it is raising over $100,000 for cancer survivors at the annual Relay for Life or organizing and hosting the Special Olympics on Oct. 27, it is undeniable that the Greek community has a positive purpose. To imagine that we would support a decision to eliminate this community is unfathomable. We, as a student body, are in this together. As student members of the task force, we want to hear your input and feedback regarding what should or should not be recommended by the task force. The task force as a whole is open to student suggestion as illustrated through last Friday’s meeting in which seven Greek members were invited to attend an open conversation with the task force. The task force will continue to invite students to participate in focus groups to further this important discussion between administrators and students. If you have something to say, the task force is here to listen. As a task force, we have established an anonymous online blog that can be found at smu.edu/smunews/liveresponsibly, where you can address any questions, concerns or changes you want to propose to the committee. Also, there will be a student organized Town Hall Meeting on Oct. 30 at 5 p.m. if you would rather contribute your thoughts and ideas in person. The task force is only as strong as the perspective that students will provide us.
Fact: The task force is here to listen to the student body.
About the writers:Katherine Tullos is a senior political science and psychology major. She can be reached at [email protected]. Josh Camp is the IFC president and a senior finance major. He can be reached at [email protected].
