Amherst Board of Trustees Fraternities Resolution

Statement and Resolution by the Board of Trustees
In 1983, with the College’s relatively new coeducational environment very much in mind—
and in response to concerns about the College’s social and residential experience, and about
issues of divisiveness and inclusion—the Board of Trustees formed an Ad Hoc Committee
on Campus Life. The Committee’s final report stated that Amherst “can be better without
fraternities than it can with them” and recommended, among other suggested improvements
to campus life, that fraternities on campus be abolished. A year later, in 1984, the Board pro-
hibited the use of any College facilities or any College resources, including money and staff
time, by fraternities or sororities. It revoked any College affiliation with, or recognition of,
these organizations. The goal of the 1984 resolution, as understood at the time and as con-
firmed by those involved in the original decision, was to bring the fraternity system to an end.
In the intervening years, several fraternities took on life underground. They have had “non-sta-
tus” as official student organizations. The College has not expressed itself with a single mind
about them, creating a condition of ambiguity.
In 2013, the Sexual Misconduct Oversight Committee—a committee composed of faculty,
students, staff, administrators, and members of the Board of Trustees—urged the Board to
review the issue of underground fraternities at Amherst. As noted in the committee’s report,
underground fraternities, despite their lack of any official status, “possess considerable ability
to shape the College’s social life.” At the same time, their “juridical invisibility”—the fact that
they “simultaneously exist but do not exist”—prevents the College “from enforcing appro-
priate expectations for student behavior with respect to them, including accountability under
the Honor Code.” The committee asked the Board to clarify this ambiguous situation. In
accepting the committee’s report, the Board resolved that it would address any matters, such
as this one, where Board action was needed or sought.
The issue to which the report called attention is a serious one. The College has no authority
with respect to underground fraternities. It knows little about their membership or their ac-
tivities. At the same time, whatever the realities may be, the appearance of College responsi-
bility cannot be avoided, both because the membership of underground fraternities consists
of Amherst students and because the College has acquiesced in the fraternities’ existence. For
the College, the condition of seeming to have some measure of responsibility without pos-
sessing any measure of authority is inherently problematic. That condition may be acceptable
or unavoidable in some situations, and there are variations of degree; Amherst students can
and do—and should—freely participate in many off-campus pursuits, and in most cases these
pursuits are transparent and have no bearing on the College, nor does the College need or
wish to venture an opinion. In this instance, however, the activity reaches directly into Col-
lege life and persists despite a decision taken three decades ago whose clear intention was to
“discontinue” fraternities at Amherst, for the College’s own well-being.
There are several possible responses. One would be to turn back the clock, restoring the re-
gime that existed before 1984. The Board and the Administration believe that the original
decision to ban fraternities was sound and that the reasoning remains valid: The College is
better off without, than it would be with, a fraternity system. A second response would be
to accept some version of the status quo, along with its contradictions and consequences,
indefinitely. Such a course, in the view of the Board and the Administration, would be coun-
terproductive and unwise. It would be counterproductive because the unregulated presence
of underground fraternities would divert from social and residential life on campus and from
efforts to create community at the College. It would be unwise because situations will occur
when the policies of the College and the wishes of underground fraternities are at cross-pur-
poses. Such situations are not hypothetical. They are inevitable.
The Board and the Administration embrace a third response: to reaffirm, unambiguously, the
spirit and intention of the 1984 decision—by prohibiting membership in off-campus fraterni-
ties, as peer institutions have done, while committing the College to new efforts on behalf of
student life. The 1984 decision banned on-campus activities “relating to rushing, pledging,
initiating or otherwise admitting to or maintaining membership by any student of the College
in any fraternity, sorority or other social club, society or organization (however denominat-
ed).” The Board resolution on membership in underground fraternities will be effective July
1, 2014. The prohibition will be articulated in the Honor Code, which embodies standards
and expectations that apply to all, and violations will be addressed according to procedures
spelled out in the Honor Code.
Amherst is a residential college, and the quality of the residential and social experience is of
central importance. Improving it is among the highest priorities of both President Martin and
the Board. The Administration has already approved and implemented changes intended to
enhance social and residential life—including an improved campus party policy, renovations
to the Power House, and a variety of campus-wide events. The building of four new dorms
with new social spaces has just been approved, and the dorms are currently being designed.
That work is being done in close consultation with students. A large component of the stra-
tegic-planning process currently under way—which will produce a working blueprint for the
College—is devoted to the residential and social experience on campus; again, students are
involved in this process. The Administration and the Board welcome ideas for improvements
from all parts of the community, especially from students. The quality of life at a residential
college is an essential part of the educational experience.
* * *
Resolved: The Board reaffirms the 1984 Trustees’ Resolution on Fraternities. In addition,
effective July 1, 2014, student participation in off-campus fraternities and sororities, and
fraternity-like and sorority-like organizations, is prohibited. Violations will be subject to ap-
propriate penalties, including suspension or expulsion from the College. Adopted, Board of
Trustees, Amherst College