From May 7-9, DU Greek Life members met in the first part of a new initiative, Pioneer Polis, which looks toward increasing Greek Life dialogue and improvements. The first meetings explored problems and action plans for the future of DU Greek Life. It began with Greek Life presidents and advisors on May 7-8 and continued with Greek Life members on May 9.

The May 9 meeting was an all-day event. Members from 17 sororities and fraternities, including social and multicultural groups, participated. Attendees split into small groups throughout the day to discuss the various issues that Greek Life faces on campus.

“We focused on sexual assault and drug and alcohol abuse,” said Anna Ketterling, sophomore political science and art major from Oswego, Oregon and next year’s president of DU’s Gamma Phi Beta sorority chapter. She said there was an emphasis on sexual assault as a campus-wide problem, not just a Greek Life issue.

In relation to drug and alcohol abuse, Greek Life members identified a lack of clarity in rules and regulation of house parties as a root of the problem. Many Greek houses are unsure about campus rules and policies about parties, so students prefer to go to bars, causing more issues with students running through traffic at night, according to Ketterling.

“We also talked about hazing, but concurred that it isn’t an issue here,” said Ketterling about the final topic of the meeting.

The Pioneer Polis initiative will continue through a set of action plans for DU Greek Life to try and improve existing problems with their environment. Ketterling also emphasized that attendees wished to show that Greek Life cares about the campus and community as a whole.

“We all want to change and we all want to be better,” said Ketterling about the meeting and the future of Pioneer Polis.
Potential action plans are expected to be released in the next week, which will determine when more meetings will occur and what they will address.