News Magazine of the UW Department of Communication
By Sarah Cox
Erin Liebmen looked a little flustered. The color was rising in her cheeks, and she was shifting back and forth, from one foot to the other. After all, she was facing about a hundred sorority women, throwing question after question at her before she could respond.
All things considered, Liebmen handled the situation well — especially considering that she was presenting a policy that was not her own brainchild but one of Dolly Nguyen, the outgoing president of the Panhellenic Association and current vice president of the Associated Students of the University of Washington .
“How will it be implemented?” one woman asked. “What happens if we just don't want to do it?” immediately followed. The questions weren't unexpected. The ambitious proposal that Liebmen was presenting is far-reaching, with the potential to lead to something of a Greek Renaissance at the University of Washington . But it's also been controversial and has generated skepticism among some in UW's Greek community.
“Change just comes so slow,” said Nguyen, addressing these challenges. “That has been the hardest thing.”
Since last spring, Nguyen has worked obsessively on her biggest project as Panhellenic president, a program called Pursuit of Excellence. She and the IFC President Cartter Berg gave presentations to all 28 fraternities and 16 sororities, speaking to about 100 members per house. Nguyen repeatedly responded to comments and critiques about the program. Last month, after revising the program many times, the Greek presidents approved Pursuit of Excellence and agreed to implement it beginning this January.
“Dolly has really involved everyone in the process of creation for this plan,” said Cori Hammock, the Panhellenic adviser. “She has done a great job at listening to everyone's input and tried her best to incorporate most of it into the program.”
The program is modeled after the core values, mottos and standards of every Greek organization. It establishes minimum requirements for individual members and chapters in academics, community outreach, membership and community involvement. The organizations are expected to maintain chapter grade point averages of 2.8 and retain at least 80 percent of members annually.
“ After attending a leadership conference, Dolly felt that we needed to articulate our community standards and recognize those groups that provided a well-rounded experience for our members,” explained Hammock. “Dolly developed the idea using UW sororities' current local and international standards.”
Most chapters must already meet many of the program's requirements to stay in good standing with their national organizations, so additional paperwork was a common complaint about the program. Was it really necessary?
Nguyen argued that it was.
“In putting them on paper,” she explained, “we show ourselves and the external community that this is what Greeks stand for, and we're actually going to hold ourselves accountable. We're not just going to say it.”
However, the program is more than a statement about current practices. It also mandates change. The biggest is its diversity requirement. Every chapter must have a diversity seminar every quarter. Diversity is a subject that few students at the UW have the opportunity to study and discuss. The new requirement is aimed to get Greeks thinking about what diversity is and what it means to them.
Though race and ethnicity will be addressed, Nguyen made it clear that it's about more than just physical differences.
“It's really easy to box diversity into color, religion, culture,” but it's not all about typical subjects, she explained. “It's diversity of thought, diversity of identity, the diversity of being.”
The program is also unusual in that it's for both fraternities and sororities. “Fraternities and sororities are held to extremely different standards,” said Nguyen. “In the past we just let it go, and I think the further we let it go, the greater that gap is going to become, and we need something to hold us together.”
Incoming president Liebmen, agreed. “We're having an issue dealing with getting fraternity members to do it,” she said. While sororities have the motivation to participate due to recognition during formal recruitment, fraternities lack similar incentives, explained Liebmen. Liebmen believes that the “gap” will be one of the biggest obstacles of the program.
Finally, the program addresses how Greeks can become more involved in the UW community. Greeks are known to restrict their social and service involvement to the Greek Community. Pursuit of Excellence hopes to compel members to look outside the narrow box for opportunities to work with non-Greek community members. The goal is to better the UW neighborhood as a whole, not just the Greek Community.
“I think we need as a campus and a Greek community to recognize difference but appreciate similarity. So many times we're tagged for being Greeks, and we tag the ‘dormies,' but realistically we're the same, and I want people to realize that,” Nguyen said.
But why is now the time for change in the Greek Community?
“I think it's been time to do this for a long time,” Liebmen said. “Our community is at a standstill. We haven't gotten worse, we haven't gotten better.” Liebmen and Nguyen both say the program is the next step in the development of the Greek Community.
When Liebmen replaces Nguyen, her biggest responsibility will be the implementation of the program. The process will start in January with her giving every chapter president the Pursuit of Excellence form. The form is to be filled out as the year progresses. Each chapter is responsible for logging its fulfillment of all requirements, which must be verified by advisers.
In its first year, there will be no punishment for not fulfilling Pursuit of Excellence requirements, but beginning in 2010, those chapters that do not complete the program will not be labeled “premier” fraternities or sororities, may lose certain social privileges and will not qualify for several awards, including leadership and community involvement awards and scholarships.
Both Nguyen and Liebmen know that the first year will be trial. Liebmen said she will dedicate it to hammering out details and making the program work for everyone; trying to come up with something that fits the character and interests of every chapter will take time.
Despite the fact that the biggest challenges lie ahead, Liebmen is sure that the program will benefit the community in the future and urges Greek members to keep their minds open while things are being worked out. She knows it will take even her time to become totally comfortable working with what she refers to as “Dolly's baby.”
Nguyen acknowledges the challenges she left for Liebmen but is optimistic, saying, “If one member can honestly come back and say . . . ‘For the first time I'm opening up my ears and I'm opening up my eyes,' I think that's what it's all about.”
