Lawmakers propose task force on misconduct at colleges

FLORENCE – Several lawmakers and college leaders from the Pee Dee are supporting proposed legislation to study ways to reduce hazing and other misconduct at South Carolina colleges.

A fraternity pledge vandalism prank at Francis Marion University last Sunday, which ended in arrest and charges of malicious injury to property and disturbing a school for four students, was the latest incident to mar Greek life in South Carolina.

Last month, University of South Carolina fraternity member Charles Terreni Jr. died of alcohol poisoning after a party at an off-campus frat house. That was preceded by the death of Clemson fraternity pledge Tucker Hipps, who died last September after falling off a bridge during a pledge run. Both stories gained national attention.

In response to these cases, 27 senators filed a joint resolution that would create a Higher Education Safe Campus and College Experience Task Force to examine drug and alcohol abuse, discrimination, frequency of hazing, sexual misconduct and fraternity/sorority life on campuses across South Carolina.

Sen. Ronnie Sabb a Williamsburg Democrat who is a co-sponsor on the bill, said misconduct among fraternity members is happening too often for lawmakers to ignore.

“There is no greater tragedy in my mind than to send a child off to school and the child not return … because of hazing or other misconduct on campus,” Sabb said. “We believe it’s time for us to examine that aspect of college life to see if there’s anything we can do legislatively.”

The task force would include 15 members appointed by the Commission on Higher Education, including officials from: public and private universities, the South Carolina Campus Law Enforcement Association, the State Law Enforcement Division, local and campus law enforcement, the South Carolina Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services and the South Carolina Department of Mental Health.

“We want the college experience to be fun on one hand, but safe on the other,” Sabb said. “We simply want to study it.”

Sabb said the task force would make a report in January with suggestions on what could be done to improve campus safety and lawmakers would consider any necessary action.

“The biggest aspects we’ll have to look at is safety, fraternity life and the culture of our kids on campus,” he said. “I think if we examine that we’ll be able to intelligently discern what, if any, action needs to be taken.”

As reports of deadly hazing incidents, sexual assault and other illegal activity linked to college fraternities surface on a national stage, one local Greek life member, Christian Burris-Durham, says national perception of frat life is misguided.

He says the negative and harmful actions of a few fraternity members and a handful of “corrupt” chapters shouldn’t be an indicative view of Greek life as a whole.

As the only college in the Pee Dee with Greek life, Francis Marion’s University boasts five fraternal organizations: Kappa Alpha, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Phi Beta Sigma, Iota Phi Theta and Omega Psi Phi.

Burris-Durham is president of the Francis Marion Greek Council and the philanthropy leader of Kappa Alpha. He said fraternities are meant to help students better themselves through education and community service, not hazing and pranks.

“Hazing and these other incidents put such a bad light on fraternities and Greek life in general; it’s upsetting,” Burris-Durham said. “I constantly tell every one of my chapters to treat their pledges with respect. Hazing doesn’t teach pledges anything, it hurts them and makes your chapter look bad.”

He said the fundamental idea behind any fraternity is establishing a lifelong brotherly bond that will create better opportunities after college.

“When you harm them (pledges) in any physical or psychological way, that helps no one,” Burris-Durham said. “We’re supposed to strive for excellence.”

“We don’t want any of this stuff you hear in the news, like what happened at Clemson and Carolina, coming to life here at Francis Marion,” Burris-Durham said. “We’re a smaller university, with small Greek organizations … We just want to do right by our community.”

Reports of criminal activity in frats have risen in recent years, including incidents in the Pee Dee.

Four Francis Marion fraternity pledges were arrested and charged Tuesday after SLED and FBI investigators concluded that they had vandalized campus property by spray painting “1:12” in several areas. Investigators determined the numerals “1:12” were meant to symbolize the first and 12th letters of the Greek alphabet, Alpha Mu, according to a university media advisory.

Last April, Daniel McElveen, a former Francis Marion University student, was awarded $1.6 million after a lawsuit over a hazing incident involving the Phi Beta Sigma’s university chapter. The lawsuit claimed the student was seriously and permanently injured during the fraternity’s 2011“Hell Night” initiation.

McElveen was hospitalized for eight days, and three students and six alumni were arrested.

Dr. Fred Carter, Francis Marion University president, said he’s been keeping a close-eye on the legislation. He said anything that takes a comprehensive look into the safety of college campuses in the state is a positive thing for everyone.

“For us to have a statewide conversation about campus life and campus organizations is a very, very good thing for South Carolina,” Carter said. “This is a point in time where I think that conversation will be very beneficial for the state.”

Carter said all student organizations, not just fraternities and sororities, are important to student life. He said the bill addresses a variety of topics pertaining to campus life and will delve into ways to assess what works best for campuses across the state.

“I think student organizations, including Greek organizations, are a viable part of student life on campus,” Carter said. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t look at it critically from time-to-time to make sure that they’re delivering positive returns for students and for the community.”

This story was originally published April 18, 2015 at 11:06 PM with the headline "Lawmakers propose task force on misconduct at colleges."