In light of a proposal that requires students in fraternities and sororities to register their off-campus addresses with the Office of Greek Life, The Eagle supports and praises the Interfraternity Council's dissent.
According to Associate Dean of Students Sara Waldron, the university does not intend to use the address database to police fraternities and sororities. Instead, she said, the Office of Greek Life seeks only to ensure students' safety in this tumultuous post-Sept. 11, post-Virginia Tech world.
Not to insinuate Waldron's remarks are exaggerations, but we cannot say we agree with the university's rationale. Of the countless students opting to live off campus, the university requires only one other group of students to report their addresses - student athletes. And that requirement is the by-product of a nationwide NCAA regulation, not a group-specific AU housing policy.
So, what is the real reason for the Office of Greek Life's proposed address database? Is it that the university perceives fraternities and sororities as vulnerable to injury or harm, as Waldron suggests? Even if that conclusion were viable, it does not make sense for the Office of the Dean of Students to prioritize the safety of one group of students over another.
Perhaps, then, this is just another university attempt at overregulation. Cynical as the assertion may seem, this is not the first instance this semester that AU administrators have tried to monitor or legislate students' off-campus conduct. Let's not forget the Office of Campus Life's September warning that off-campus infractions are inherent violations of the Student Conduct Code, or the policy that more than one alcohol transport results in a judicial record for a student. In some respect, we have witnessed the university's administrative authority expand from moderator to parent this fall, certainly to students' detriment.
That's why we support the IFC in principle. Despite the university's justification, compiling fraternity and sorority members' addresses solely for safety doesn't check out; there are ample ways for AU to communicate with off-campus students in the event of crisis. Instead, the university should take care not to overextend its authority to the extent that it resembles an overprotective parent.
