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Special Report

Making Fraternities Safer

paddles-icon - Idea Lab

For all the efforts to rein in fraternities, problems associated with recruitment and initiation can seem intractable. But bringing problems out into the open and promoting confidential reporting have helped lift the veil of secrecy that perpetuates abusive behavior.

Members of Alpha Delta Phi at Cornell U. participate in a camping trip. As the university has taken more control over fraternities’ practices, activities like this are meant to replace more-dangerous pledging traditions.
News
Colleges Confront the Perils of Frats
By Katherine Mangan
Alcohol, hazing, and secrecy are a dangerous combination. How are colleges trying to limit the risks?
George Desdunes died in 2011 after a mock kidnapping at Cornell U., part of a pledge event for Sigma Alpha Epsilon. His mother holds his memorial card.
News
How One University Is Challenging an Ugly ‘Tradition’ Among Students
By Katherine Mangan
Five years after a student’s death, Cornell University has found that rules may help combat hazing, but changing mind-sets is the key.
Anti-hazing activists, like these at Cal State Northridge, can be valuable allies to colleges trying to make fraternities safer.
News
Who Helps and Hurts in Fighting Unruly Frats
As colleges try to rein in hazing and other misconduct, they will find some natural partners both on campus and off. Other groups may not always be so helpful.
The Review
Fraternities Can Change on Their Own
By Marc D. Stine
For more than a decade, the men’s Greek organizations at the University of Colorado at Boulder have been looking out for the safety of students without the oversight of university leaders.