No AFA Reflection

This is my first year, since 2002, that I won’t be at AFA…

The Association of Fraternity Advisors (AFA) Annual Meeting was something I always looked forward to… professionally the first time I went I was totally in awe of the workshops and speakers. All those  people talking about making a difference in Greek Life, making campus communities stronger, working together to make the fraternity experience relevant.

Over the years as I left the field, and was no longer a full time Greek Advisor I still managed to get to AFA. Sometimes to represent SLB, or for the banquet to see a dear friend get honored for her work. Last year I was at the hotel to meet with clients, and to facilitate the first Cultural Greek Summit. The Summit was not technically part of AFA, and since I wasn’t registered maybe I wasn’t technically at AFA… but hey I was in the hotel during the weekend. Interestingly I might of gone to more sessions than some of the registered AFA attendees…

Maybe I became jaded along the way, or maybe I am just disappointed in how far, or how far we haven’t, come in the 12 years since I first joined AFA. Recently issues impacting the Greek collegiate experience seem on the rise…

Racial issues in Greek Life have gotten worse than I remember, the blatant racism in recruitment hit a peak and most people barely flinched… it was more of a “well that just happens over there, but not on my campus” type of response.

Sexual Assault, always the dark secret of the Greek experience, is now not such a secret, and much darker than most thought. Just like the racial issue, the guilt was deflected, this time with comments like “well it doesn’t just happen in fraternity homes, it is a college problem.”

If for anything else I wish I was at AFA trying to stir the pot a little… what are we really doing to change not ust cultural in a chapter, not just a campus culture, but our society in general? I think as Greeks we have made everything, including education, about trying to be risk adverse. We aren’t trying to make the world a better place, we are just trying not to make things worse. We aren’t trying to end sexual assault, we are just trying to make sure it doesn’t happen in our house. We aren’t teaching responsible drinking, we are trying to create barriers to liability to our chapters when the members do drink. We aren’t trying to solve problems, we are trying to stay out of the way of societal problems.

We need to change these views… Greeks need to be leading the charge to make things better, not avoiding being personally responsible.

I have struggled this past year with my role. I am no longer on my fraternity board, and as a consultant and speaker I get a wide range of clients so where can I make real impact? One thing I enjoyed a ton in the past year was facilitating the Cultural Greek Summit. As a former Greek Advisor, and fraternity president I have a unique perspective on Greek Life.

To my AFA friends… please take the conference seriously. Isn’t just an annual vacation with your work friends… it is your chance to network and make professional alliances to help make a difference in Greek Life. To the people running the meetings, and the top execs there… where are we going? How are we working together on solving problems? Are we worried about if things are profitable, or if they are the right thing to do? Also for those who are slacking at the conference… or for those who aren’t are you being a bystander? Lets hold each other accountable as well. AFA isn’t a vacation, it should be a ton of work, your students/institution is trusting you to use the time wisely.

I love Greek Life, I am here to help, and I welcome others who want to help. I am committing to working on new projects to make Greek Life better. For those at AFA who get inspired, find a friend, call me, call someone and share your ideas and excitement and lets harness that momentum. In 2015 I am helping plan the second Cultural Greek Summit with the NIC, and I am working on a national conference… let me know if you are down to help!

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