Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council Risk Management Policy

Purpose
The Interfraternity Council (IFC) and Panhellenic (Panhel) Council at Hope College are responsible for being the main governing body over all Greek organizations. The Hope College Greek community is a unique community that provides a valuable Greek experience to its members through leadership, scholarship and service. The uniqueness is attributed to the fact that the organizations have remained local fraternities and sororities for many years. As IFC and Panhel have been established to govern these organizations, many policies and procedures have been developed that best suit the needs of the entire Greek community.

IFC and Panhel have again answered to this call to develop a policy that best fits the needs of the Greek community. Over the last several years, many changes have occurred with regards to the way that Greek organizations can and should conduct New Member Education, Rush and event planning. The expectations have been made clear in regards to federal, state, local and College policy in regards to these events. Also, a rise in awareness about insurance coverage and event planning has also defined some definite expectations. In order to hold Greek organizations accountable for their actions and to provide a clear understanding of the risk management that Greek organizations will practice, this policy has been developed.

I. Definitions

A. House/Cottage: The physical property of a Fraternity or Sorority that is referred to as property of an organization or assigned by Hope College through the Organization Housing Agreement. This also includes any off campus housing that is referred to as the organization's off campus house.

B. Event: Any gathering of people that is sponsored by an organization, occurs on an organizations property, funded and/or publicized in any way by the organization, or construed by a reasonable person to be an event of the organization.

C. Duty to Care: An organization has the responsibility to care for its members or any persons present at an organization's event. This is a duty to care. If organizations do not fulfill this duty, they may be found of negligence in a court of law.

D. Risk Management: The act, manner or practice of reducing risk for your organization and any members or guests.

II. Actions of Risk Management

A. Organizations must follow all federal, state and local laws.

B. Organization must follow all Hope College Policies.

C. Event Planning

1. Designating an Event

a. Every event shall have a start and end time to designate when the event will occur. All events must end by 2:00am.
b. Events will have a designated area for invited guests only, such as a room or sectioned off area. There should be restricted access to non-members of the organization.
c. Events will be approved by the organization's faculty/staff advisor.
d. No organization may enter into agreement or co-sponsorship of an event with an alcohol distributor, charitable organization or tavern (tavern defined as an establishment generating more than half of the annual gross sales from alcohol) where alcohol is given away, sold or otherwise provided to those present.
e. Publicity for an event must be consistent to the educational mission of Hope College and the Greek community.

i. Publicity must not convey that consumption of alcohol is the purpose or reason for the event or refer to the amount of alcohol.
ii. This includes flyers, table tents, T-shirts and other forms of memorabilia.

 

f. Events may be designated if it is announced in the forum of a business or social meeting, email or listserv, fax, phone calling to the organization's phone list or announced at the end of an event.

2. Travel

a. Travel to and from the event must be within the set start and end time for the event.
b. It is encouraged that organizations provide a central means of transportation such as rented buses for travel.
c. If members are driving their own vehicle, these requirements must be met:

i. The driver has proof of insurance of $100,000 to $300,000 coverage.
ii. The driver has signed a designated driver form.

d. If treacherous weather has been reported, the event must be cancelled or held on campus.

3. Group Management

a. There will be one (1) monitor for every 50 people present at the event. Party monitors should:

i. Be older members of the organization.
ii. Be a collegiate member in good standing.
iii. Be sober before and during the event.
iv. Be marked or designated as a monitor prior to the event.
v. Be present during the entire event.

b. Emergency numbers will be given to the President for use in the event of an emergency. The Greek Advisor should always be notified of emergency situations. Always call 911 when in doubt. Public safety can be reached 24 hours a day in case of emergency.
c. A plan should be created by each organization as to a response should an incident occur.
d. The President and event planner should keep a list of all members and guests present at an event. If the event is out of the Holland area, this list should be turned in to the organization's faculty/staff advisor and the Student Development Office.

4. Alcohol

a. Events with alcohol must follow the guidelines set forth in the Third Party Vendor or BYOB Checklist provided by Student Development. These may be found in appendix A.
b. No members, collectively or individually shall purchase for, serve to, or sell alcoholic beverages to any person who is under the legal drinking age of 21.
c. There is to be no alcohol present at any Rush or New Member Education events, or the weekend following New Member Education.
d. No alcohol may be purchased through organizational funds. Nor may the purchase of alcohol for members or guests be undertaken or coordinated by any member in the name of, or on behalf of, the organization. This also includes "passing the hat."
e. No common containers may be used to distribute alcohol. This includes kegs, beer bongs, party balls, trashcans or cases of alcohol.
f. There may not be any liquor present at the event. Only beer and wine may be present at an organization's event.
g. The service of beverages must end forty-five (45) minutes before the end of the event.
h. If a member or guest is intoxicated they should not be served any other alcoholic beverages.
i. No event shall include any drinking contest or encourage rapid consumption of alcohol in the activity or its promotion.
j. Non-salty food and non-alcoholic beverages must be present at any event where alcohol will be present. The food items and non-alcoholic beverages must be featured as prominently as the alcoholic beverages.
k. Non-alcoholic beverages must be in a closed container, be free of charge and enough for every member or guest who is underage. A vending machine or water fountain is not acceptable.

D. Hazing

1. Hazing is defined as any action taken or situation created, by one group or individual toward another group or individual, intentionally or unintentionally, whether on or off campus, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule. Hope College prohibits conduct, which creates an unreasonable or substantial risk of physical, mental, spiritual, or academic injury to another person or group. Causing or permitting a person, incident of initiation into or membership in a society, club, or similar organized group, to participate in any activity that subjects that person or others to risks of physical injury or mental distress or personal indignities of a highly offensive nature, whether or not such person has consented to participation in the activity, is prohibited.
2. The "Regulations Governing New Member Education" and "New Member Education Policies" are documents that address hazing and should be followed at all times during New Member Education. Failure to do so will result in charges being filed against the group or member. These documents may be found in Appendix B.
3. No initiation or new member activity shall constitute any emotional and/or physical hazard, physical exertion and/or exhaustion or physical violence.

III. Accountability

A. This policy will be enforced and maintained by the Greek Advisor, IFC and Panhellenic Councils.
B. Any violations of this policy will be referred to the Greek Judicial Board. The Board will then decide where the case will be heard. Please see Appendix C for Greek Judicial Board Procedures.
C. Each organization and advisor will assume responsibility for the actions of any individual or group affiliated with the organization (new member, member auxiliary or alumnus/a), when the individual or group activity occurred with the knowledge or consent of the organization or was performed by an officer as a part of the officers duty.
D. Each organization must work with the Greek Advisor and IFC or Panhellenic President to develop a written Risk Management Plan and program for their organization.

1. This program will include how the members of the organization will be educated about the policy.
2. The organization should also indicate how they will hold members accountable to the plan and program.