Disabled Students See Obstacles in Fraternities, Sororities

After being denied bids from thirteen sororities for a third semester this fall, a senior came to the conclusion that it was her wheelchair, and not her personality, that had barred her from the Greek community.

“I am not just deciding this on a whim, in fact after I was denied in fall 2004, I refused to believe it when it was suggested that my wheelchair had anything do with it,” senior Margaret Mele said in an e-mail.

Although there are currently no disabled students living in campus sororities, Nicole Mann, president of the Panhellenic Council, said a student’s disability does not factor into the selection process when offering bids.

“As far as the current member side, I don’t think there is any effect on the recruitment process,” Mann said.

Mele added that her rush experience was not accommodating and at one point, she had to go to Alta Bates Hospital to receive treatment for a concussion after she hit her head in the street due to improperly set brakes on her wheelchair.

However, Mann said the Greek community usually learns of disabled students intending to rush about a day in advance and that adjusting the recruitment program so rapidly is impossible.

She added that a backup plan for accommodating disabled rushees was created a few years ago, when Greeks were notified far in advance of a disabled student hoping to rush, but there are currently no backup provisions.

Currently, a majority of the fraternity and sorority houses do not and are not required to abide by the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, said Jamie Wilson, the disability access specialist from Disability Access Services.

Because the Greek houses are not federally funded and stood before the act was passed, existing facilities are not under its jurisdiction, she said.

“If they haven’t done any major renovations since the ADA, then they are not in violation of the ADA,” Wilson said.

While most of the Greek houses do not meet the act’s standards, the co-op system is now in its eighth year of a 14-year plan to bring its houses up to the act’s benchmarks, Wilson said.

Wilson said the landmark status of many of the Greek houses makes it difficult to bring them into compliance with the act. She added that the large financial commitment necessary for renovation could be a deterring factor.

Mann said that the lack of disability access in sorority houses could be a reason why very few disabled students choose to rush at all.

Senior Alex Madrid, a fraternity member since 2003 who has cerebral palsy, said that access became a huge factor when determining which house to join.

Prior to joining Sigma Nu, Madrid, who believes he is currently the only physically disabled fraternity member on campus, said he believed the Greek community would make little effort to understand the needs of a disabled person. But he said his fraternity brothers turned out to be very willing to help.

“Before that, I heard that (fraternity members) were snobbish and that they didn’t know much about disabilities,” Madrid said. “They seemed willing to learn, but ... they just talk without action.”

Madrid added that, aside from access, the feeling of exclusion is a major obstacle for disabled students in the Greek community. He said he has felt most left out during exchanges and invitationals with sororities.

“Most of the time, people see me but they do not know how to interact with me or they tend to not talk to me,” he said.

But Charlie Friedemann, vice-president of risk management for the Interfraternity Council, said there is tolerance for disabled students.

Madrid, who is living in the Kidd Hall co-op for only this semester, added that though co-ops are more physically accessible than fraternities, the understanding of disabled students remains generally the same.

He added that education is the key to increasing disability awareness and believes that the members of his fraternity are now more understanding of disabilities because of his presence there.

“I feel more education and more willingness to learn and hands-on experiences can change the system or the whole society,” he said.

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