Pushback: Fraternities break free from USC’s draconian supervision
What USC wants its students to become
Bring a gun to a knife fight: Faced with the university’s arbitrary rule that shut them down “without explanation or cause,” ten of the fourteen fraternities that serve the students at the University of Southern California (USC) have broken their affiliation with the university and formed their own oversight body.
Not surprisingly, the university immediately implied that these fraternities were acting to encourage “sexual assaults,” “drug abuse,” “mental health abuse,” and “underage drinking,” and should be blacklisted by USC students. Officials from the new independent council immediately disputed these slanderous claims:
“I want to say unequivocally that no, we are not disaffiliating to dodge these social event policies that were put into place,” Harrison Murphy, a representative from the new council, told The Los Angeles Times.
“Murphy said members that separated from USC did so because they felt the university’s policies toward Greek organizations were unfair and flawed,” The Los Angeles Times reported. “For instance, he said, USC banned all social events from November 2021 through January 2022 even for fraternities that had done no wrong.”
A look at university’s long and complex policy [pdf] for supervising these fraternities makes if very clear why so many have told the university to go jump in a lake. The number of inspections, meetings, and consultations required, combined with a lot of odious paperwork, appears absurdly unreasonable and costly. The policies also apparently allowed the school to shut a fraternity down merely on hearsay accusations, based on incredibly vague standards. Note the highlighted words below:
Under the Student Conduct Code, interim protective measures, including interim suspension, may be imposed upon a student or student organization after a report of prohibited conduct is received, pending resolution of a conduct case, where there is information that, if true, indicates the student and/or student organization poses a substantial threat: (i) to the safety or well-being of anyone in the university community; (ii) to the property within the university community; or (iii) of disruption or interference with normal university life or functions. [emphasis mine]
Apparently, no due process would be afforded either a student or fraternity, if accused. They would be considered guilty until proven innocent, and could immediately be suspended or shut down, based merely on an accusation by anyone at the university, even someone who might not be part of the fraternity.
Buried in this policy were also demands that the fraternities “align” with “USC’s core values,” which include “concepts of power and privilege.” What exactly does that mean? Of the numerous pages at USC outlining its so-called core values, this statement was given first place:
Embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion, and promote well-being.
In other words, the new policy will smash a boot onto the face of every fraternity that doesn’t kow-tow to the new racial segregation and discrimination policies being imposed by the Marxist “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” movement, which is simply another name for Critical Race Policy.
Rather than face the certain onslaught from the leftists on campus looking for easy targets (see these stories from 2016 and 2018 for examples), these fraternities have gone independent. They have decided to not allow the university to play them like puppets.
If I was a new student interested in joining a fraternity, I think I would make these clubs my first choice.
Readers!
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In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
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What USC wants its students to become
Bring a gun to a knife fight: Faced with the university’s arbitrary rule that shut them down “without explanation or cause,” ten of the fourteen fraternities that serve the students at the University of Southern California (USC) have broken their affiliation with the university and formed their own oversight body.
Not surprisingly, the university immediately implied that these fraternities were acting to encourage “sexual assaults,” “drug abuse,” “mental health abuse,” and “underage drinking,” and should be blacklisted by USC students. Officials from the new independent council immediately disputed these slanderous claims:
“I want to say unequivocally that no, we are not disaffiliating to dodge these social event policies that were put into place,” Harrison Murphy, a representative from the new council, told The Los Angeles Times.
“Murphy said members that separated from USC did so because they felt the university’s policies toward Greek organizations were unfair and flawed,” The Los Angeles Times reported. “For instance, he said, USC banned all social events from November 2021 through January 2022 even for fraternities that had done no wrong.”
A look at university’s long and complex policy [pdf] for supervising these fraternities makes if very clear why so many have told the university to go jump in a lake. The number of inspections, meetings, and consultations required, combined with a lot of odious paperwork, appears absurdly unreasonable and costly. The policies also apparently allowed the school to shut a fraternity down merely on hearsay accusations, based on incredibly vague standards. Note the highlighted words below:
Under the Student Conduct Code, interim protective measures, including interim suspension, may be imposed upon a student or student organization after a report of prohibited conduct is received, pending resolution of a conduct case, where there is information that, if true, indicates the student and/or student organization poses a substantial threat: (i) to the safety or well-being of anyone in the university community; (ii) to the property within the university community; or (iii) of disruption or interference with normal university life or functions. [emphasis mine]
Apparently, no due process would be afforded either a student or fraternity, if accused. They would be considered guilty until proven innocent, and could immediately be suspended or shut down, based merely on an accusation by anyone at the university, even someone who might not be part of the fraternity.
Buried in this policy were also demands that the fraternities “align” with “USC’s core values,” which include “concepts of power and privilege.” What exactly does that mean? Of the numerous pages at USC outlining its so-called core values, this statement was given first place:
Embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion, and promote well-being.
In other words, the new policy will smash a boot onto the face of every fraternity that doesn’t kow-tow to the new racial segregation and discrimination policies being imposed by the Marxist “Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion” movement, which is simply another name for Critical Race Policy.
Rather than face the certain onslaught from the leftists on campus looking for easy targets (see these stories from 2016 and 2018 for examples), these fraternities have gone independent. They have decided to not allow the university to play them like puppets.
If I was a new student interested in joining a fraternity, I think I would make these clubs my first choice.
Readers!
Please consider supporting my work here at Behind the Black. Your support allows me the freedom and ability to analyze objectively the ongoing renaissance in space, as well as the cultural changes -- for good or ill -- that are happening across America. Fourteen years ago I wrote that SLS and Orion were a bad ideas, a waste of money, would be years behind schedule, and better replaced by commercial private enterprise. Only now does it appear that Washington might finally recognize this reality.
In 2020 when the world panicked over COVID I wrote that the panic was unnecessary, that the virus was apparently simply a variation of the flu, that masks were not simply pointless but if worn incorrectly were a health threat, that the lockdowns were a disaster and did nothing to stop the spread of COVID. Only in the past year have some of our so-called experts in the health field have begun to recognize these facts.
Your help allows me to do this kind of intelligent analysis. I take no advertising or sponsors, so my reporting isn't influenced by donations by established space or drug companies. Instead, I rely entirely on donations and subscriptions from my readers, which gives me the freedom to write what I think, unencumbered by outside influences.
You can support me either by giving a one-time contribution or a regular subscription. There are four ways of doing so:
1. Zelle: This is the only internet method that charges no fees. All you have to do is use the Zelle link at your internet bank and give my name and email address (zimmerman at nasw dot org). What you donate is what I get.
2. Patreon: Go to my website there and pick one of five monthly subscription amounts, or by making a one-time donation.
3. A Paypal Donation or subscription:
4. Donate by check, payable to Robert Zimmerman and mailed to
Behind The Black
c/o Robert Zimmerman
P.O.Box 1262
Cortaro, AZ 85652
You can also support me by buying one of my books, as noted in the boxes interspersed throughout the webpage or shown in the menu above.
“Double Secret Probation”
Animal House (1978)
https://youtu.be/hostgKc7qV4
1:47
Zero…Point ..ZERO
Toga!