Winthrop officials say school is proactive amid SC fraternity troubles

As leaders at the University of South Carolina and Clemson University study campus issues that may have contributed to the recent deaths of two students involved with fraternities, Winthrop University officials say they are taking steps to prevent similar tragedies.

“We don’t wait to react,” said Frank Ardaiolo, vice president of Winthrop’s student life division, which includes organizations such as student fraternities and sororities.

Winthrop, Ardaiolo said, has had several preventive programs and strict policies in place for years to guard against problems such as alcohol abuse, sexual assault and hazing that plague some campuses. While he’s not familiar with how every other public school in the state handles such issues, Ardaiolo said Winthrop’s programs succeed by emphasizing personal and social responsibility to every student.

In recent years, Winthrop has placed just two of its 15 Greek organizations on suspension – a low figure compared to recent incidents that have led to disciplinary actions at the University of South Carolina and Clemson University. Winthrop officials say they levied those suspensions after investigations of verbal hazing, not physical abuse, or drug or alcohol problems.

Winthrop’s overall student population and the number of students participating in fraternities and sororities may be a large factor in the university’s ability to exert control over activities and counsel students one-on-one. The Rock Hill school averages about 500 to 600 students each year who join one of 15 Greek organizations. That’s about 10 percent of Winthrop’s student body.

At USC and Clemson, more than 20 percent of the school’s students are in Greek organizations. USC’s 41 fraternities and sororities have about 5,000 members. At Clemson, more than 4,000 students participate.

Another factor for having fewer fraternity problems could be Winthrop’s history as an all-female college. Today, more than 60 percent of the university’s enrollment is female.

Ardaiolo says Winthrop’s smaller size allows employees to spend more time with students, but he points to several other measures his team uses to reduce risks on campus.

Those include policies such as requiring every student to live on campus during their freshman and sophomore years, with some exceptions. He and others say that requirement allows for more supervision of young students and boosts academic performance and retention.

Winthrop fraternities and sororities are also not allowed to recruit students during their first semester on campus. The “delayed recruitment” gives freshmen more time to adjust to college and focus on classes – not socializing, says Sarah Pankratz, Winthrop’s fraternity and sorority student affairs director.

Various Winthrop officials – including those from Campus Police, counseling services, residence life, and the dean of students – meet weekly to discuss specific student behavior issues on- and off-campus, Ardaiolo said.

“We are fairly cognizant of what’s going on,” he said. “We confront everything we learn about quickly.”

Winthrop also recently purchased a third-party online training course about preventing sexual assaults on campus and encouraging students to intervene when they spot problems. The course is required for every student.

Fraternities and sororities at Winthrop are required to thoroughly review with university staff members certain campus policies addressing alcohol and hazing.

Officials say they’ve also seen success with a requirement that all Greek organizations meet one-on-one with Pankratz and others before hosting off-campus parties. Fraternities and sororities are required to submit guest lists, hire a police officer to attend the event, and follow a set of rules established more than 25 years ago by city of Rock Hill and Winthrop officials.

It’s not common for every college to require face-to-face meetings between students and campus employees to plan safe social events like parties, said Winthrop’s Alicia Marstall, who oversees the school’s campus center and has previously served as the Greek Life director.

At Clemson, the director of fraternity and sorority life, Gary Wiser, said he expects all organizations to follow requirements from their national chapters. Fraternities are required to register parties or social events and submit guest lists, Wiser said. Off-campus parties, he said, must be registered with the city of Clemson police department.

USC officials did not respond to questions from The Herald about whether police officers are required at Greek parties and whether school employees meet with students to safely plan such events.

Clemson, USC probe fraternities

School leaders at Clemson have put together a task force to address problems that have recently surfaced with some fraternities.

In September, Clemson student Tucker Hipps died while on a run with other students who were pledging with the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity chapter. Hipps died after falling off a bridge. In a lawsuit recently filed, his family claims he was the victim of hazing and that others with the fraternity tried to cover up their involvement.

Clemson officials have suspended Sigma Phi Epsilon for five years, accusing the organization of violations of school alcohol policies, hazing, “harm to person,” and other problems.

This year, the university also disciplined another fraternity – Sigma Alpha Epsilon – for violations of the alcohol policy and Clemson’s student conduct code. The group is on disciplinary probation for two years after holding a Christmas “Cripmas” party that many have called racist because students dressed like gang members.

The Greenville News reported earlier this month that, in total, five Clemson fraternities have been sanctioned since August for violations of the university’s conduct code. Four others are on probation for incidents from the previous year.

At USC, officials have also formed a focus group to take a hard look at student behaviors. At the Columbia campus, three fraternities have been shut down this school year, according to The State newspaper.

Those suspensions include Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity. One of the fraternity’s pledges, 18-year-old Charles Terreni Jr., was found dead last month. Officials have ruled that he died from alcohol poisoning.

Such recent high-profile incidents at South Carolina’s largest schools have prompted some state lawmakers to call for greater scrutiny and response. The S.C. Senate’s education committee is considering a bill that would establish a task force to study campus issues such as substance and alcohol abuse, sexual assault, and hazing.

‘Small enough to care’

Winthrop officials say recent issues at USC, Clemson, and other universities across the country have renewed some conversations on campus about responsible behavior.

After the University of Oklahoma shut down its Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity chapter last month because students were captured on video singing a racist song, some Winthrop students affiliated with SAE called a campus forum.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon isn’t officially chartered as a Greek organization at Winthrop but it is in the process of building its membership. Although it isn’t officially chartered now, the fraternity of about 23 members still can operate as any other Greek organization on campus, including doing community service projects and sending a representative to Winthrop’s fraternity and sorority student government boards, Pankratz said.

Concerned about the negative publicity surrounding the SAE chapter at the University of Oklahoma, Winthrop’s SAE members held a campus meeting to assuage any concerns that they would engage in similar activities. Pankratz said she also encouraged other Winthrop Greek organizations to look at their own traditions and consider whether any group songs, chants or other behavior would be seen as discriminatory.

Ardaiolo said all universities face a “generational” challenge of helping students make good decisions. New-found freedoms at college can lead to students making unwise and risky decisions, he said.

Greek organizations and other campus clubs offer valuable learning experiences, leadership opportunities and lifelong friendships, Ardaiolo said. At Winthrop, such opportunities, he said, are a piece of the puzzle to offering a vibrant student experience.

Given Winthrop’s comparatively low number of fraternity and sorority incidents, Ardaiolo attributes the school’s success to its various practices that emphasize student engagement.

“We’re truly small enough to care,” he said, “And large enough to have resources and different capabilities.”

This story was originally published April 10, 2015 at 6:52 PM with the headline "Winthrop officials say school is proactive amid SC fraternity troubles."