Campus Diversity Audit: NIU Greek Life

Veronica Mascote

Bettie Mattison

Deyci Ramirez

Sean T. Vinson

Northern Illinois University

 Introduction

The office of Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) at Northern Illinois University currently

has four Greek councils that serve as support systems for Greek letter organizations. The four

councils in operation include the Interfraternity Council (IFC), National Pan-Hellenic Council

(NPHC), Panhellenic Association (PHA), and United Greek Council (UGC). The mission

statement of the Fraternity and Sorority Life office asserts that their purpose is, “to advocate for

fraternities and sororities within the NIU community and promote an understanding organization

of individual member responsibilities in accordance with University rules and regulations” (NIU

SILD, 2018). Additionally, the department’s goal is to enhance personal and professional

growth, development and education for its students. The purpose of this study is to analyze how

the FSL office upholds equity and inclusion between the affiliated councils. The researchers

chose to investigate this department because each member of the group belongs to a Greek letter

organization that is governed by three of the observed councils. Additionally, each researcher

had experiences that communicated a lack of equity and inclusion within Greek life at the

undergraduate level.

Methods

Th group collected data for by observing council meetings, conducting interviews, and

examining FSL documents online. Each group member was assigned to one Greek council at

NIU in order to observe a council business meeting. Additionally, each member had the

responsibility of interviewing each council’s Graduate Assistant advisor. This research audit

sought to determine how student members and Graduate Assistant advisors of NIU Greek

councils perceived the role of FSL in promoting and maintaining a culture of equity and
inclusion. The researchers were also interested in observing inter-council relationships and

perceptions. The following is a summary of our findings.

Observations

Council Meetings

Overall, facilitators of each meeting discussed current business operations with all

students in attendance. At each meeting, councils discussed current FSL policies, regulations,

and rules regarding event planning, scholarship, awards, community service/philanthropy, and

important deadlines. During these observations, only the NPHC meeting discussed issues of

equity. The issue in question pertained to the judicial proceedings concerning an IFC fraternity.

After learning that the organization in question successfully appealed a 3-year suspension for

hazing and event registration violations, NPHC representatives echoed statements of frustration.

The students expressed that NPHC organizations would not have been extended the same mercy

and pardon by the office of FSL. The NPHC advisor noted that the decision to pardon the PHA

and IFC organization was intentionally not shared publicly because of FSL’s concerns about the

reaction of NPHC members. It is important to note that all NPHC members at NIU are Black

students. In the NPHC meeting, a few students noted that not having access to university

recognized fraternity housing can be negatively consequential at times, as exemplified by the

mentioned scenario. Our observations of a single meeting limited the ability to observe how

other councils discussed this issue. Through our observations we noticed that the organizations

of UGC appeared to be united and supported each other’s events. None of the councils

mentioned future efforts to collaborate with organizations of other councils.

Graduate Assistant Interviews

 The interview questions proposed to each council’s advisor addressed issues of equity

and inclusion. When asked if they thought the Greek community would benefit from

collaboration and unity, advisors had a variety of responses. Whipple, Crichlow, and Click

(2008) argued that, “Strong, unified Greek systems promote the health and effectiveness of each

group, provide rich experiences for individual members, and contribute to positive educational

outcomes (p. 421)”. Although IFC and PHA are very close, and the UGC and NPHC councils

have worked together in the past, the councils have little interaction with each other. Ideas for

collaboration have been proposed, but none materialized. All advisors mentioned potential

benefits to collaboration between councils, should the member organizations put forth substantial

effort to do so. Some council advisors stated that councils are diverse, but the administration of

the university is not responsible for the membership of each organization or council. The PHA

council advisor recognized that women of color have felt out of place there in the past, creating a

less ethnically diverse council. Some advisors agreed that the NIU administration does not

typically interact with UGC or NPHC members and fail to take the time to recognize and

appreciate their work. FSL appears to invest more positive attention in the ongoing of the IFC

and PHA councils, which creates frustration from UGC and NPHC councils. It seemed that the

most interaction that each council has had with NIU administration was related to issues of

conduct.

The advisors gave varying responses when asked if they believed that having an advisor

that is a member of an organization from a different council would benefit their council. For

example, the UGC and PHA advisors felt that having an advisor from a different council would

be an asset. They emphasized possibilities for improved collaboration, unity and understanding

of each council, which may consequently be improving Greek life relations. The NPHC advisor
stated that such an arrangement may have a negative impact given the salient cultural traditions

that are particularly relevant to NPHC and UGC organizations.

Findings

Through analyzing NIU’s Fraternity and Sorority Life relationship statement we found

that there was a conduct and judicial expectation that each chapter’s conduct status would be

publicly posted. According to the document, chapters should expect to be held accountable if

their actions were inconsistent with NIU standards for student organizations (Northern Illinois

University, 2010). However, several conduct incidents involving various Greek organizations,

apparently, have not been made public. Through our observations and interviews, there is a

perception that conduct issues are not evaluated equitably for each council. Violations

conducted by members of PHA and IFC organizations are rarely made public and sometimes

dismissed or easily appealed. Another perception held by students was that sanctions, especially

suspensions, seemed to be carried out more decisively and swiftly with UGC and NPHC

organizations. Members of UGC and NPHC theorized that the large financial contributions of

PHA and IFC members (including alumni) may influence the disproportionate handling of

sanctions.

The FSL relationship statement included a non-discrimination/hazing policy,

emphasizing that, “each chapter should promote inclusivity within its membership and across the

Greek community at NIU (Northern Illinois University, 2016)”. Despite this statement, the

policy appears to be non-performative (Ahmed, 2012) as racial distinctions amongst councils is

very apparent. IFC and PHA consist of predominantly white sororities and fraternities. Through

interviews, we discovered that organizations tend recruit individuals who appear to have

qualities generally associated with the cultures of each respective organization. FSL has not
influenced how recruitment selection is approached by the organizations. This passive approach

by FSL allows for autonomy of each fraternity or sorority but may have contributed to

exclusionary microclimates within each organization. Currently, there is one Latina-interest

sorority affiliated with the PHA council with distinct cultural considerations that often are

unaddressed by the council. As a result, members of this sorority described themselves as

“misunderstood” and “lacking a sense of belonging” within the council. One issue is that the

Latina sorority is not allowed to participate in RUSH week (recruitment method for sororities

that have houses). FSL has not promoted other forms of recruitment, so this practice impacts

recruitment for this Greek organization and others. Based on our observations and interviews,

this group has found that the FSL office does not adequately uphold inclusive or equitable

practices for its affiliates.

Conclusion

The different councils on NIU’s campus do not collaborate for a variety of reasons. A

prominent reason, as expressed by UGC and NPHC councils, is a perception of FSL’s greater

value attributed to PHA and IFC councils. This perception of value is related to the large

financial and social capital amassed through IFC and PHA membership base. Gibbs (2013)

found that privileged students need to understand their privilege and to eliminate any factors that

identify with racism and stereotyping to create an equal environment in the Greek community.

FSL should seek to eliminate perceptions that race, and class influence how sanctions are

determined and executed. The policies in place should apply to every council, equally. Division

between councils also exists due to disproportionate resources such as housing, and inequitable

practices of recruitment support by FSL. FSL should consult organizations on how FSL can best

support their recruitment practices to promote inclusive advertisement. To help councils,

improve inter-council relations, perceptions of value, and fair sanctions, further research should

be conducted. Future studies should seek to identify specific strategies that can be utilized to

improve the mentioned areas.

 Appendix A: Interview Questions

Finalized interview questions for GAs:

1. How would do you describe the university’s performance of diversity in relation to this
council?
2. Have you had diversity or equity problems with NIU administration in regards to your
council?
3. What do you feel could be improved between the council and NIU?
4. Can you describe your council’s relationship with the other greek councils?
(NPHC/PHA/UGC/IFC)
5. In what ways does NIU support or fail to support your organization’s mission and goals?
6. How does having/not having a university recognized house affect your organization’s
mission and goals?
7. How does NIU’s standards for Greek life affect events and planning for your council?
(philanthropy, community service, membership requirements, etc)
8. Do you feel that members of your council would gain more diversity by working jointly
with other councils or would it be a detriment?
9. In what ways do you think that having an advisor from a different council would impact
your council?
10. In what ways (if any) do you feel that university administration can help to facilitate and
promote equity and inclusion in Greek life?
● Any additional comments on thoughts?
● Additional question: Ask if the GA knows what orgs have infractions and what kinds of
infractions they have.
 References

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Duke University Press.

Gibbs, C. T. (2013) Privilege in fraternities and sororities: Racial prejudices through the use of

formalized recruitment, tradition, and marketing (Master’s thesis, Kansas state

university). Retrieved from: http://krex.k-

state.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/2097/15602/CaeleeGibbs2013.pdf;sequence=1

Magolda, P. (2016). The lives of campus custodians: Insights into corporatization and civic

disengagement in the academy [Kindle Fire Edition]. Retrieved from Amazon.com

Northern Illinois University Student Involvement and Leadership Development. (2016).

Fraternity and sorority relationship statement: A statement between greek chapters,

councils, and northern illinois university. Retrieved from:

https://niu.edu/studentinvolvement/fraternity-sorority-

life/_docs/policies/niu_relationship_statement_09.2016.pdf

Northern Illinois University Student Involvement and Leadership Development (NIU SILD).

(2018). Fraternity and sorority life. Retrieved from:

https://niu.edu/studentinvolvement/fraternity-sorority-life/index.shtml

Whipple, E., Crichlow, M., and Click, S. (2008). Black and white greeks: A call for

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