Decisions and Outcomes

The following consists of updates to the Presidential Task Force Groups.

July 2, 2020 Update

On July 2, the Presidential Task Force on Student Activities and Safety report was finalized and published.

The Presidential Task Force on Alcohol and Substance Misuse will be finalized this month.

SDSU President Adela de la Torre, J. Luke Wood, Vice President for Student Affairs and Campus Diversity, and Randy Timm, Assistant Vice President for Campus Life and Dean of Students, also shared on July 2, 2020 an update about the activities of both task force groups.

In the update, de la Torre, Wood and Timm indicated that the following are among a longer list of new additions or changes meant to address student safety and well-being (more details will be provided in both task force group reports):

A Good Samaritan Policy. The policy was introduced to incentivize all SDSU Recognized Student Organizations including removing conduct penalties for certain alcohol and other drug violations. Student organization members are encouraged to make a priority the health and safety of the student community, and seek timely assistance from appropriate emergency personnel and SDSU staff for any student impacted by alcohol or other drugs at a student organization activity.

New Requirements for Brotherhood and Sisterhood Events. Social fraternities and sororities, as well as Recognized Student Organizations, including Greek-lettered business and service fraternities, must adhere to new expectations for off-campus gatherings. All must identify and address potential risks, provide an hour-by-hour agenda, submit a risk management form for review, and coordinate with the national office or board to seek approval for the event. For off-campus events not held at designated fraternity/sorority house, national office and or alumni advisors must be present at the activity to help facilitate leadership events and team bonding activities.

Restricted Times for Hosted Events. Guidelines restricting times for Interfraternity Council chapter-hosted recruitment and new member education events have been imposed, so that hosted events cannot during certain hours. Additionally, IFC-member organizations will not host recruitment or new member education events and meetings at satellite houses, and IFC-member organizations will need to provide clear guidelines for social gatherings in their bylaws.

Hazing Policy Acknowledgement Required. Effective in Fall 2020, all social fraternities and sororities are required to provide formal acknowledgement of hazing policies.

Members Must Participate in Educational Programming. All Interfraternity Council-member organizations are expected to participate in the SDSU-hosted New Member Education Symposiums.

Enhanced Accreditation Program Expectations. Chapters are expected to meet or exceed the Greek Accreditation Program standard of 90 percent of new members participating in the symposium. Additionally, the overall Greek Accreditation program will be strengthened with a greater emphasis on risk management, new member education, and community wellness.

January 24, 2020 Update

Since being charged by SDSU President Adela de la Torre, members of the two Presidential Task Force Groups have begun meeting to evaluate student activities and safety and also alcohol and substance misuse given the depth of concern with such issues on college and university campuses, including San Diego State University.

Following de la Torre’s charge, members of the Presidential Task Force on Student Activities and Safety have recommended three important changes to student organization policies and practices. All three changes have been approved by SDSU’s administration and will be adopted immediately. They are as follows:

Good Samaritan Policy. SDSU will establish a Good Samaritan Policy. This new policy incentivizes all SDSU Recognized Student Organizations and their members to commit to making a priority the health and safety of the student community. The policy removes conduct penalties for certain alcohol and other drug violations. This applies when a student organization seeks timely assistance from appropriate emergency personnel and SDSU staff for any student impacted by alcohol or other drugs at a student organization activity.

The Good Samaritan Policy strives to make clear the responsibility of students in the event of an emergency; encourage students to take appropriate action; and ensure that organizations that do take appropriate action are supported and not met with formal disciplinary sanctions for reporting the issue or incident.  

Interfraternity Council (IFC) Recruitment and New Member Education. All social fraternities and sororities are required to participate in SDSU’s annual Recognized Student Organization (RSO) application process. SDSU’s Student Life & Leadership team has reviewed the status of all IFC member organizations and has posted the suspension statuses on the Student Life & Leadership-Fraternity & Sorority Life website.

In accordance with the new policy, only organizations that are Recognized or Recognized with Conditions will be able to recruit members during Spring 2020. Updates to IFC recruitment are as follows: 

• All chapter-hosted recruitment and new member education events for IFC-member organizations must occur between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. This requirement becomes effective for all councils in Fall 2020. The Spring 2020 recruitment period is February 2 through February 11, 2020.
• Chapters may not host recruitment or new member education events and meetings at satellite houses.
• An organization advisor (faculty, staff or alumnus) must be present during all chapter-hosted recruitment and new member education events and meetings.
• All IFC-member organizations must submit an overview of the chapter’s recruitment and new member education plan prior to the beginning of recruitment, on January 27, 2020. The plan must include information about individuals responsible for all events and meetings, the advisor to be present, an overview of activities and other details. The university has already communicated this requirement to the IFC and IFC members. 

Other Changes Implemented. The Office of Student Life & Leadership will also extend the required, formal acknowledgement of hazing policies. Beginning this semester, all social fraternities and sororities will now be required to make an acknowledgment.

All IFC-member organizations are also expected to participate in the SDSU-hosted New Member Education Symposiums. Chapters should meet or exceed the Greek accreditation standard of 90 percent of new members participating in the symposium.  

Communicating Organizational Policy and Misconduct on University Website. To increase transparency and ease in finding important conduct information, the Office of Student Life & Leadership will introduce an “Organizational Policy & Misconduct” section on its website. The site will be regularly updated with publicly accessible information about the judicial status of organizations at SDSU.