California enacts Campus-Recognized Sorority and Fraternity Transparency Act
Assembly Bill 524 requires institutions of higher education to require sororities and fraternities to report their total number of active members, their average GPA and number of disciplinary citations, among other things. Photo by JACK SUNDBLAD, Staff Photographer
Chapman University’s sororities and fraternities are about to get a lot more transparent by revealing grade point average, membership and misconduct. But not by choice.
In September 2022, Calif. Assembly Bill (AB) 524 was approved by Gov. Gavin Newsom. However, its requirements only began to be imposed this academic year.
AB 524, which has been cited as the Campus-Recognized Sorority and Fraternity Transparency Act, requires that statewide Greek organizations report a wide variety of aspects, including but not limited to, the number of active members, the location, date and time of any sanctioned event and the number of citations, or disciplinary actions taken, relating to misconduct.
Its title has also been informally shortened to the Greek ACT, referring to accountability, change and transparency.
The bill also indicates that the higher education institution should suspend the campus recognition of any campus-recognized sorority or fraternity that does not comply with the reporting requirements listed.
AB 524, which began to be drafted in April 2021, was spearheaded by Associated Students and Students Against Sexual Assault, along with Assembly members Freddie Rodriguez (D-53), Dr. Joaquin Arambula (D-31) and Jose Medina (D-61).
According to the American Psychological Association, campus sexual assault is the leading on-campus crime in the United States.
“The issues surrounding hazing and sexual violence at higher education institutions have gone on for far too long,” said Rodriguez in a Sept. 15, 2022 press release. “Holding the institutions and the organizations on their campuses accountable will help address this issue and provide students with the reality of an organization they are considering joining before getting themselves into a situation that is much different than what it seemed.”
“The issues surrounding hazing and sexual violence at higher education institutions have gone on for far too long. Holding the institutions and the organizations on their campuses accountable will help address this issue and provide students with the reality of an organization they are considering joining before getting themselves into a situation that is much different than what it seemed.”
Rodriguez added: “AB 524 will allow students to receive information surrounding an organization before joining so that they can truly make the decision best for them.”
The bill’s purpose is to ensure Greek life is transparent and held accountable for their organizations’ transgressions. Jaclyn Dreschler, the associate director for student involvement, believes it will be a helpful tool for all students.
“I think transparency within sororities, fraternities and student organizations is good and can help both associated members and unaffiliated students be more informed about the history, experience, achievements and conduct of the organizations,” Dreschler said.
“I think transparency within sororities, fraternities and student organizations is good and can help both associated members and unaffiliated students be more informed about the history, experience, achievements and conduct of the organizations.”
However, she also clarified that although the bill may seem problematic for the privacy and safety of students in Greek life, particularly in relation to event addresses, that is not the case.
“We will be sharing locations of events in a format that doesn’t specify individual student housing addresses or event addresses unless required,” Dreschler said. “The events list is extremely long and tedious for chapters and staff to compile, but organizations do not have to submit that data until the end of the year.”
More information on all reporting requirements for Chapman’s sororities and fraternities can be found in the bill’s text.