Greek Life Standards Board Constitution

Constitution of the Washington University Greek Life Standards Board

Created June 21, 2010

Preamble

We, the recognized Greek chapters of Washington University, in conjunction with Washington University, seek to create a system of self-governance for the Greek Community. By this, we mean a system aimed exclusively at evaluating inherently Greek circumstances: positive as well as negative actions or events concerning individual chapters, and/or the Community as a whole, rather than those concerning individual persons. While the actions of an individual belong to him or her alone, individuals’ actions, if condoned or supported by their organizations, belong also to their organization. It is this association which reflects upon the Greek Letters worn by all within the Greek community. We believe that it is only through such self-governance that a complete and successful Greek community may prosper. Self-governance builds responsibility, accountability, and reliability to self, chapter, and community.

Article I: Name
1. The manner of self-governance we select shall be the Washington University Greek Life Standards Boards, referred to in this document as the GLSB.

Article II: Authority
1. Washington University Greek chapters, and all members thereof, shall strive to honor the values of Arete, as stated below.
We, as individuals of the Greek Community, have assumed the responsibility of brotherhood or sisterhood to our respective chapters by the act of initation. By accepting the active role of membership, we have voluntarily taken upon ourselves the duty to honor the principles, obligations and rituals as outlined by the founders of our organizations. We also recognize that our sense of duty within each chapter creates a greater Washington University Greek Community. Through membership in this community, we are connected by a mutual responsibility for and a sense of accountability to our image as a whole. Therefore, we have composed a list of values, Arete, that unite us as Greeks in the goal of assuming a positive role within our own chapters, at Washington University, and greater St. Louis.
Arete
It is with the following values that we seek to follow the concept of Arete; the principle of striving for excellence and nobility in all dimensions of character. We determine these values to be those of:
Integrity
Loyalty
Philanthropy
Responsibility
Friendship
Intellectual curiosity
2. The authority of the GLSB to adjudicate and uphold these standards is derived from a) the Washington University Judicial Code, b) the Washington University Office of Student Involvement and Leadership, c) the Women’s Panhellenic Association Constitution and Bylaws, d) the Interfraternity Council Constitution and Bylaws, and e) all local, state, and federal laws.

Article III: Structure
1. The GLSB is composed of two sub-boards, the Review Board and the Standards Board.
a. The Review board is composed of a) the Executive Director of Campus Life, b) the WPA Vice President of Standards, and c) the IFC Vice President of Standards.
i. The Review Board serves as the initial body to receive and review conduct reports.
ii. The Review Board may take immediate action or refer the case to the Standards Board.
b. The Standards Board is composed of a) the WPA Vice President of Standards, b) the IFC Vice President of Standards, and c) one representative of each recognized Greek chapter.
i. The term of a Standards Board representative is 1 semester, with additional semesters possible.
ii. All Standards Board representatives are expected to fully comply with all meeting and attendance requirements or training determined necessary by the Vice Presidents of Standards.
iii. All representatives will be nominated by their respective organizations at the start of each academic semester. All representatives must be members in good standing with their respective organization, full-time Washington University students in good standing with the University, and able to complete the entire term. The Review Board retains the right to approve all candidates. Organizations with unsuccessful candidates must submit additional candidates.
iv. The IFC and WPA Vice Presidents of Standards shall serve as co-chairs of the Standards Board.
c. Members of the Review Board and Standards Board may be removed from their positions for the following reasons:
1. Loss of good standing with the University (for academic or financial reasons, or violations of the judicial code)
2. Loss of good standing with organization
3. Major violations of Arete
4. Failure to perform duties.
i. The impeachment processes for the IFC and WPA Vice Presidents of Standards are detailed in each body’s respective governing documents.
ii. Complaints against Standards Board representatives for any of the above violations shall be accepted by the Review Board. If the complaint shows adequate grounds the representative will be notified and the complaint will be forwarded on to all Standards Board representatives.
1. The complaint shall be treated as a report and follow the guidelines for deliberations and hearings as detailed in this document.

Article IV: Submission of Reports and Deliberation Procedure
1. Any incident may be considered by the GLSB if submitted in a written report.
a) Reports may be submitted by affiliated or non-affiliated students, faculty, administration, or staff of Washington University.
b) A positive conduct report may submitted by any of the above parties. Whenever possible, the positive conduct report should include the following information. However, none of the below information is required for consideration of the report.
i) Date, time, and location of positive conduct.
ii) Organization(s) and individual(s) contributing to positive conduct
iii) Name of reporting individual/organization
iv) Detailed description of positive conduct
v) Compelling reason for positive recognition within the context of Arete
c) A concern report may be submitted by any of the above parties in situations where a member of the community is troubled about relationships between various organizations, particular behaviors, or the general status of a Greek organization. A concern report does not have to reference a policy violation.
i) All concern reports will be referred directly to mediation.
d) A misconduct report may be submitted by any of the above parties. When at all possible, the misconduct report should include the following information. However, none of the below information is required for consideration of the report.
i) Date, time, and location of misconduct.
ii) Organization(s) and/or individual(s) involved in misconduct
iii) Witness(es) of alleged misconduct
iv) Name of reporting individual/organization
v) Detailed description of misconduct
e) All reports shall be submitted to and collected by the Executive Director of Campus Life for consideration by the Review Board.
i) The Review Board shall evaluate each submitted report on evidence, source of information, and policy violated. Each criterion should be clear. The Review Board reserves the right of personal judgment on each submitted report.
f) After consideration, the Review Board shall notify each party involved in a report within five business days. Notification shall be of receipt of report and alleged policy violations only.
i) Contact with organizations shall be made through each respective organization’s president. The president shall serve as the liaison between his/her organization and the Review Board.
g) The Review Board may take any of the following action on all submitted reports.
i) The Review Board may disregard the report if it feels the allegations do not support further action.
ii) The Review Board may issue immediate sanctions if the complaint presents irrefutable evidence or the accused party admits to the alleged misconduct when presented with the report.
1) The Review Board shall determine appropriate sanctions as listed in this document.
iv) The Review Board may forward the report to the Standards Board for further deliberation.
2) The Review Board shall forward all reports not meeting the above criteria, including but not limited to:
a) Offenses by an organization with similar previous offenses
b) Non-compliance or non-completion of sanctions issued by the Review Board
c) Any offense which could result in suspension or closure of chapter
d) Any matter not successfully resolved by the Review Board
e) Any offense deemed egregious to the Greek community
2. In dealing with referred reports, the Standards Board shall follow the deliberation procedures outlined below.
a) The Vice Presidents of Standards shall provide all Standards Board representatives with copies of all forwarded reports and any supporting material.
b) The representatives of all involved organizations shall be given appropriate time to respond to reports.
c) Following this response, the remaining Standards Board representatives shall deliberate without the representative of the involved organization(s) present.
d) After deliberation, the Standards Board shall vote on appropriate further action. The representatives of accused organizations retain their voting privileges. A simple majority vote shall determine. The Board may choose to respond with any of the following action:
i) Non-action (ie, the report is thrown out)
ii) Mediation
iii) Hearing
iv) The consequences of each action are detailed below.

Article V: Mediation and Hearing Procedures
1. A mediation shall involve a) the WPA Vice President of Standards, b) the IFC Vice President of Standards, and c) the presidents of any involved organizations. Additionally, each president may choose to bring one additional representative.
a) The Vice Presidents of Standards shall strive to lead an open discussion with all parties involved and facilitate appropriate remedies to the situation.
b) The Vice Presidents of Standards shall further determine appropriate sanctions based on information communicated through the mediation.
2. A hearing shall involve a) the WPA Vice President of Standards, b) the IFC Vice President of Standards, c) the presidents of any involved organizations, and d) two additional representatives from the organization as chosen by the president. For hearings involving sorority matters, e) four female Standards Board representatives and three male Standards Board representatives shall be present. For hearings involving fraternity matters, f) four male Standards Board representatives and three female Standards Board representatives shall be present.
a) The Standards Board representatives shall be chosen on at random based on availability. A representative is barred from serving on a hearing board involving his or her own organization.
b) Hearings shall be conducted informally in the sense that legal rules of evidence shall not govern the testimony received. However, the procedures outlined herein shall be followed in the interest of fairness to all parties involved.
c) The Vice President of Standards shall be responsible for consulting all involved parties to schedule a reasonable hearing date and time. The Vice Presidents of Standards shall give the involved parties no less than 6 business days’ notice of hearing dates and times.
d) The involved parties may have one alumni/a (at such party’s expense) of his or her choice present at the hearing. This alumni/a shall take the place of 1 designated representative. Furthermore, this alumni/a shall not be allowed speaking privileges for the organization.
e) The involved organization may not bring legal counsel or other unaffiliated parties as a representative.
f) The proceedings of the Standards Board are not open to the public.
g) The accused party shall be given appropriate time to read the reports and respond to the allegations contained therein. After such time, the involved organizations shall submit to questioning by the Vice Presidents of Standards and the Standards Board representatives.
h) The Standards Board representatives shall work in conjunction with the Vice Presidents of Standards to create appropriate sanctions based on information received in the hearing. Sanctions shall be drawn from the list contained within this document. The involved organizations shall not be present during the sanctioning period.
i) The involved organizations shall be notified of the hearing outcome within one week. If the organization is suspended, they shall be notified within 72 hours.

Article VI: Sanctions
1. At all times, the GLSB shall work to set fair and appropriate sanctions. Sanctions should meet the severity and nature of the allegations they are intended to respond to. Whenever possible, sanctions should serve to address underlying issues within the chapter, rather than merely serve as punishments.
2. Sanctions given out by the GLSB shall include:
a) Education: Education may include but is not limited to presentations, workshops, or compulsory attendance at a Greek Life event.
b) Community Service
c) Fines and restitution
d) Social probation: Social probation shall serve as a warning for organizations with social infractions. Any further violations shall cause the organization to be placed immediately on social suspension.
e) Social suspension: Organizations placed on social suspension shall be prohibited from holding social events for a specified period of time.
3. All sanctions handed down by the GLSB are recommendations to the Executive Director of Campus Life. The Executive Director of Campus Life reserves the right of final judgment in all cases.
Article VII: Appeals
1. Appeals shall be accepted up to fourteen (14) days from the date of the written decision of the Review or Standards Board. Appeals shall be granted under the grounds that a fair hearing was not provided or specific sanctions imposed were excessive.
2. Appeals shall be made in writing to the Executive Director of Campus Life, who shall reserve the right to accept or deny any such appeal. The Executive Director of Campus Life shall limit the scope of his review to determining whether a fair hearing was provided and whether the sanctions imposed was excessive.
3. The Executive Director of Campus Life may order a new hearing or may reduce or modify, but not increase, the sanctions given by the GLSB. The decision of the Executive Director of Campus Life is final.
a) In the event that a new hearing is granted, it shall be adjudicated by hearing board comprised of members of the Standards Board not present for the original hearing. For hearings involving sorority matters, four women and three men shall be present. For hearings involving fraternity matters, four men and three women shall be present. The hearing board shall be chaired by the Executive Director of Campus Life.
4. Sanctions will be stayed until an appeal has been fully considered.

Article VIII: Approval of and Changes to the Constitution
1. Any changes to the Greek Life Standards Board constitution shall be presented no less than one week prior to a proposed vote.
2. Standards Board representatives shall be given a week to consider the proposals. A two-thirds vote (13/19) is required to pass changes to the constitution.
3. Changes successfully passed by the Standards Board representatives shall be referred to the Women’s Panhellenic Association and the Interfraternity Council for final approval by their respective processes.

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