Goals of the IAGGL period
•Fraternities and sororities must provide open access and engagement opportunities to all students at Lafayette (non-discriminatory in selection of members).
•Fraternities and sororities must facilitate demonstrated learning opportunities for students and provide benefits to the College as a whole.
•The academic performance of students affiliated with fraternities and sororities must be comparable to the student body as a whole.
•The disciplinary profile of members of fraternities and sororities, as well as the individual organizations, must be comparable to the student body as a whole and other student organizations.
The report that could determine the fate of Greek life is coming soon. The Implementation and Assessment Group on Greek Life (IAGGL), a committee established to assess the benefits and drawbacks of Greek life at Lafayette, is approaching the end to its investigation period on the campus’s Greek life and culture.
The decision to launch IAGGL and its exploratory period resulted from a “Greek Life Working Report” issued in 2011, along with recommendations made by the Board of Trustees made in December of that same year. The period aimed to specifically address the “serious concerns expressed about the differences between the records of Greek members and the general student population in such fundamental areas as academic achievement and student behavior,” an email from former President Daniel Weiss sent in December 2011 said. The period was to occur over the next three years, ending in June 2014. However, according to incumbent President Alison Byerly, the report will be released in late March instead.
When it began, the Board of Trustees asked IAGGL to address Greek life’s performance in four major areas: academic performance, involvement and connectivity to Lafayette College, discipline profile, and transparency as it relates to the recruitment process.”
“I knew coming into this position that a lot of my time and attention in my first year at Lafayette College would be devoted to working with all of the Greek organizations on campus to ensure they work toward fulfilling the metrics that were developed by the IAGGL committee,” Director for Fraternity and Sorority Life Dan Ayala said.
Ayala said that the IAGGL group has not found anything regarding Greek life that should alarm the administration.
“I can report at this time, in my judgment, there is nothing on paper that would be classified as a red flag,” he said.
Ayala is hopeful that “as the…committee begins to develop its final recommendations to the Board of Trustees, whatever those end up being, it recognizes that first and foremost Fraternities and Sororities at Lafayette College contribute immensely to the mission of this institution through a variety of ways.”
The goal for IAGGL now is to maintain these standards and ensure that all of Greek life at Lafayette is upholding the principles of the college. This can be accomplished “by extending membership to individuals who can best further those ideals, put them to practice through outstanding academic achievement, leadership throughout campus in a variety of capacities, enormous contributions to serving Lafayette College and the Easton community among other things, and ensure those positive things are communicated through the proper channels out to all students, faculty, staff, and administrators,” he said.
Though the IAGGL committee won’t be active after the current semester, there are plans being put in place to further enhance Lafayette’s student experience.
“One of the activities that we worked on this past fall was to accept an accreditation program that would replace the metrics currently in use,” Vice President for Campus Life and IAGGL Chair Annette Diorio said. “[It] could be used in the future to measure the various contributions of an organization.”