ASUO Senate passed an amended version of the resolution calling Interim President Scott Coltrane to suspend the expansion of Fraternity and Sorority Life on Feb. 18. The resolution was passed in response to statistics from a campus climate survey conducted by University of Oregon professor Jennifer Freyd that indicate disproportionate numbers of sexual assault within FSL.
The amendment that ASUO passed added a stipulation that expansion would halt if sexual assault did not decrease by spring 2015, when the next campus climate survey on sexual assault will be released.
Senate deliberated on the resolution for over three hours at its previous meeting on Feb. 11, and discussion continued on Feb. 18 for another three hours. Senators proposed multiple amendments to the resolution, which all involved delaying the halt of expansion.
Senate ultimately decided to pass the resolution with an amendment from Senator Andrew Lubash that would delay halting FSL expansion until spring 2015. In the meantime, other parts of the resolution state other ways in which FSL will work internally to decrease the numbers of sexual assault including deferring recruitment for one term so it doesn’t coincide with fall term’s “red zone,” when students are particularly vulnerable to sexual assault.
Gerlinger 304 was filled with members of FSL and other University of Oregon community members who voiced their opinions about the subject.
Despite differences among individuals at the meeting, all agreed that sexual assault needs to stop immediately.
“One is too many,” Assistant Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, Mallory Wehage said.
All agreed with her statement, but the way to resolve that was split.
One of the first comments came from Zach Lusby, member of Delta Tau Delta, who challenged Senate to pass the resolution. He said that by being so reluctant to halt growth, members of FSL are not as committed to combatting sexual assault as they claim to be.
Members of newly colonized fraternity Alpha Tau Omega referenced their own experiences in saying that new FSL organizations bring more opportunities for leadership at the university, and that with more leaders they can better combat sexual assault.
The resolution passed 12-4.