Reasons for Hope and Concern for Greek-Life Organizations at Florida State

Florida State University is one of the top 20 public universities in America, according to U.S. News. It boasts an impressive research record and is home to several Greek organizations. When it comes to free expression and the rights of student groups to organize, however, how does Florida State stack up with its peers?

An answer can be found in the new Survey of Greek Organizations on Freedom of Speech and Association sponsored by RealClearEducation and administered by the opinion-research firm Slingshot Strategies. The survey included more than 4,500 students involved in Greek organizations at over 500 colleges and universities around the country. Students were asked questions about organizational freedoms, free speech and expression, and administrative fairness. Responses indicating students’ positive perception of personal and organizational freedom and administrative fairness were assigned higher numbers, while responses indicating students’ negative perceptions were assigned lower numbers. The resulting scores were used to assign institutions a letter grade based on their performance relative to the other colleges and universities represented in the survey.

Nationwide, the survey results demonstrate that many students involved in Greek organizations feel their group’s status on campus is in peril. Forty-nine percent of students surveyed felt there was at least some pressure for their Greek-life organization to be kicked off campus. Sixty-four percent felt that when one member of their organization engaged in misconduct, the entire organization was sometimes or often punished, suspended, or banned. Responses to both these questions are troubling indicators that students’ rights to participate in voluntary organizations and not to be punished for the misdeeds of their peers are under attack at many colleges and universities.

Florida State University received a ‘D’ grade for its performance in the survey, which placed the university in the lower third of participating institutions. While only 24 Greek-life-involved students from FSU participated in the survey, the findings were nevertheless alarming. Eighty-three percent of Greek-involved students surveyed at FSU felt there was at least some pressure for their group to be kicked off campus. A majority felt that the administration did not treat all student groups equally. And every FSU student surveyed indicated that entire student groups were at least sometimes punished for the actions of one student.

Taking a minority view, Russell Groscurth, a former Florida State student and an alumni member of Beta Theta Pi, said that he didn’t feel the administration at FSU treated Greek-life organizations unfairly.

“[The administration] treated all organizations with an equally heavy hand. They were relatively heavy-handed in making sure that we were living up to university standards, but I know from memberships in other organizations and from outreach that they were very equal across the board,” Groscurth said.

Groscurth did feel that certain conversations were difficult to have on campus, particularly in the classroom.

“I would say this specifically in the context of your general liberal-arts classes, non-major-specific classes, there was definitely a more left-leaning, liberal [perspective among faculty.] It was not spoken but understood that it would negatively affect your performance if you were to dissent against that opinion.”

It made him less likely to speak up and more likely to soften his opinions when he did.

“I was always very wary about what I said, and always said it in a context that I knew would be as neutral as possible.”

One Florida State alumnus who held an executive position in a sorority agreed that FSU administrators treated student groups fairly and was surprised by FSU’s performance on the survey. Still, she understood why some students felt like Greek life was imperiled on campus.

“I did feel like FSU tried to be as accommodating to every student organization as possible,” she said. But she acknowledged that the administration’s response to hazing scandals at FSU led her to “feel like there was pressure on Greek life to really hunker down or close down altogether.”

A spokesperson for Florida State indicated that the university is committed to respecting the rights of its students.

“Florida State University values every individual’s and organization’s right to free speech and expression, and we believe that the ability to freely engage in the exchange of ideas is an integral part of a thriving campus community,” the spokesperson said. “Separately, if the university is alerted to organizations or individuals who are participating in high-risk and illegal behaviors, we will investigate and take action, if warranted. The same student conduct organizational code applies to all of the university’s Registered Student Organizations, including Greek fraternities and sororities, and the same procedures apply for all organizations during the resolution process.”