To The OC Campus Community,
During the spring of 2016 the men of Chi Lambda Phi engaged in behavior that did not represent the values of our club or our university. Because of our actions, we put someone in an extremely uncomfortable position where their power of choice was taken away. Disrespectful words were targeted to this person, and when other members of our club had the opportunity to stand up for this injustice, we did not do so. The definition of a bystander is someone who witnesses something negative occurring and, while doesn’t agree to it, does not stop it from happening. No one should ever have to go through this and we are deeply sorry for the actions we took, and for not stopping those actions when we had the chance. Because of the weight of our actions, we were honest and compliant during the university’s investigation. After the investigation was over a Title IX panel gave out sanctions that they deemed appropriate for our actions. These were the sanctions that the panel gave out:
We will be on probation for two consecutive semesters, beginning with the Fall 2016 semester. Probation means that we will not participate in club activities (such as all sports competition, Homecoming, or Spring Sing) for these two semesters.
We, as a club, accepted these sanctions. No one deserves what we put the victim through, and for that we are deeply sorry. So that something like this will never happen again, our club has created new goals, typed out and signed by every member of club. These goals hold ourselves to a higher standard in how we handle ourselves on campus and in life as men of God. We have bystander training scheduled for the beginning of this year that will equip and educate us on how to handle these situations in the future. We are surrounding ourselves with mentors to hold us accountable to continue to change the culture of our club and refocus on the original purpose. We also ask the university to hold us accountable.
The verse that we have chosen to represent our club is found in 2 Corinthians 5:17 and it states this:
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has gone and the new has come.”
And if we claim ourselves to be made in Christ, there needs to be change, and that’s what we’re planning to accomplish this year. We know we can’t take back what we did, but we have full control on where we are going. That being said, we will not look at this year as a wasted year. This is a year of change and growth. Our focus will be on the goals we set for ourselves to refocus our club, and expect to make huge strides to improve the culture of our club.
-Chi Lambda Phi