Penn State Develops Scorecard for Fraternities and Sororities
More than 50 colleges and universities have agreed to participate in the initiative, which aims to create transparency and accountability.
Two years after the tragic death of student Timothy Piazza rocked the entire Penn State community and put a national spotlight on fraternity hazing, the State College university has developed the first national fraternity and sorority scorecard.
The National Fraternity and Sorority Scorecard, which was developed by Penn State and its Timothy J. Piazza Center for Fraternity and Sorority Reform, will “aggregate data across member institutions to give a clearer picture of how chapters are performing on key indicators at the national level,” according to the school’s student affairs website.
Data will be collected on grades, community service, hazing violations, alcohol violations, sexual assault violations and fundraising, among other things.
“The scorecard gives institutions the information they need to benchmark their local chapters against the national landscape as well as have meaningful and constructive dialogues with national organizations,” the website continues.
The survey findings will be included in a yearly national report.
More than 50 universities are participating in the program. The list can be found here, although it does not include all participating schools as some opted not to be listed on the website. Any school interested in participating can sign up here.
4 Student Deaths Linked to Fraternities
The initiative announcement comes as at least four students — including one at Penn State — died in less than a month in circumstances related to college fraternities, according to USA Today.
On Oct. 19, 17-year-old Penn State student John Schoenig died outside a house where Chi Phi fraternity members live, although it is not the official fraternity house. The university has suspended the fraternity.
Cornell University student Antonio Tsialas was found dead in a gorge on Oct. 26 — two days after he had last been seen alive. Tsialas had attended an unregistered fraternity-sponsored event where alcohol was served, according to Cornell President Martha Pollack.
Dylan Hernandez, a 19-year-old student at San Diego State University, was hospitalized on Nov. 7 when he fell out of his bunk bed and hit his head after attending a fraternity event. Hernandez died a few days later and the school announced the indefinite suspension of 14 fraternities.
On Nov. 12, 19-year-old Samuel Martinez was found dead at Washington State University’s Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. The coroner said Martinez died four hours before his fellow fraternity members called 911.
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Amy Rock, Executive Editor
Amy is Campus Safety’s Executive Editor. Prior to joining the editorial team in 2017, she worked in both events and digital marketing.
Amy has many close relatives and friends who are teachers, motivating her to learn and share as much as she can about campus security. She has a minor in education and has worked with children in several capacities, further deepening her passion for keeping students safe.
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If you’re going to apply standards to fraternity/sororities, I’d expect you apply the same standards to any group at that University or college, and add some other criteria as well. Too many times the University/college turns a blind eye to groups who attack other groups who do not support their view (like pro-life groups attacked by feminist groups), or groups who interfere with a group’s speaker. Seems a bit retaliatory to only isolate fraternities/sororities.