September 11, 2024

An open letter to our fraternity & sorority community,

At the start of each academic year, we share a letter with our entire FSL community – current and new members, chapter advisors, housing corporation members, chapter alumni, national office leadership, and families of all members – because it takes everyone to create and maintain a culture of kindness, inclusion, respect, and safety.

In recent years, you have likely heard of student deaths caused by hazing and alcohol or drug abuse across college campuses. You may also be aware of hazing violations for which some of our own chapters have been held responsible. These incidents are heartbreaking, especially because they are preventable. These tragedies can happen anywhere when vigilance and respect for the others’ well-being are absent. Hazing, high-risk drinking, drug abuse, and sexual violence are serious issues that directly go against the values of each of our organizations.

While these concerns are not limited to Greek life, we want to remind all members of our fraternity and sorority community about the centrality of our values and standards. This is especially important because of the leadership, scholarship, and service roles each of you hold across our campus. As we embark upon a new academic year, we know that students are eager for social engagement. As we get to share and enjoy new experiences, exciting events, and memorable membership processes, we must remember the extremely important role we each have in caring for ourselves and each other. With that being said, we urge you to join us in rededicating ourselves to enormously important truths:

Hazing, high-risk drinking, drug abuse, and sexual violence have no place on our campus.

We are better, and we should want better for our community.

This letter is a reminder to our entire community about the risks we face and the role we play in combating them. It is imperative that we are each courageous and intentional in our actions. It is our responsibility to treat others with dignity and respect. We ask each member of every organization to recommit to your values and adhere to organization and campus policies. But most importantly — we need you to care.

The following page contains important resources of which we want you to be aware. Please reach out if you are motivated to improve a situation, are/become aware of something that should be addressed or suspect something is wrong or in violation of University policies. Your engagement is critical to the culture, safety, and sustainability of our fraternity and sorority community. It will take our entire community to facilitate the culture of kindness and respect required to combat hazing, high-risk drinking, drug abuse, and sexual violence.

Sincerely,

Brent A. Marsh, Ph.D.

Assistant Vice Chancellor & Dean of Students

Jess Turuc

Director, Fraternity & Sorority Life

Jordan Freeman

Associate Director, Fraternity & Sorority Life

Beckett Abington

Interfraternity Council

President

Jatoni Donelson

National Pan-Hellenic Council President

Sarah Owens

Panhellenic Council

President

I believe in respect for the dignity of each person. – The University of Mississippi Creed

To report any hazing-related behavior, please complete the Hazing Report Form at:

https://umatter.olemiss.edu/hazinginfo/

Recent steps taken at UM to further address high-risk behaviors and safety concerns within our community:

Required training for chapter new member educators/intake coordinators as well as risk managers and social chairs to better understand anti-hazing practices, host safe events, and be in compliance with university rules and expectations
Updates to the event registration process and other university policies to address safety and help curb high-risk behavior
Encouragement to download the Rave Guardian mobile safety app
Re-designed StandKIND, one of Fraternity & Sorority Life’s signature programs focused on harm reduction education, to reach new and general members of each chapter.
Disrupt the Culture program by the Magee Center offered or assigned to organizations to prevent hazing
Joined the Hazing Prevention Consortium cohort for 2023-2026 designed to develop, implement, and evaluate hazing prevention strategies on campus
Launched a new Hazing Policy which more clearly outlines expectations, clarifies hazing behaviors, and lists how to report alleged hazing activity