STATESBORO — Georgia Southern Greek life socials are not allowed during parts of October and November unless approved by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life.

Coming off an academic year where three chapters were suspended and two girls have fallen out of GS fraternity house windows, the Office is looking to be proactive.

October and November are not on “blackout” for socials, but it is on the table as an option, according to Francisco M. Lugo, M.Ed., GS’ Director of the Office of FSL.

“We are accepting and allowing social during the first two weeks of October,” Lugo said in an email sent Friday afternoon. “Something we will be revisiting again next week as we continue to stress to our chapters the importance of following our policies.”

The office is aiming to find a healthy balance of having social and academic fraternities, according to Lugo.

“It’s an option we are exploring to make sure all fraternities and sororities are following our protocols and procedures within the office,” Lugo said in an email.

The publicizing of events and creating open parties caused the office to explore these options. Social policies are put in place nationally so that the socials are closed and every attendee is accounted for, according to Lugo.

“If we can’t come to a consensus…[blackout] is a possibility,” Lugo said. “We’re not giving them the idea that you can submit paperwork. In order for us to move forward, we need to make sure that [the chapters] are at a point where [they] understand the severity. [The chapters] understand that we need to create some sense of urgency in what’s going on.”

The reality is that leadership changes every year, creating inconsistency in the chapters, according to Lugo. 

“My responsibility as director is to at least plant that seed of change to make sure that we are changing in the right direction,” Lugo said.

The possible blackout applies to all 33 chapters on the Statesboro campus.

An update was made at 4:07 p.m. Friday, Sept. 20. 

Sarah Smith, The George-Anne News Editor, gaeditor@georgiasouthern.edu