Students within the University of Oregon’s Fraternity and Sorority Life still face significantly higher rates of sexual violence in comparison to those who are not.
On Oct. 7, UO psychology professor Jennifer J. Freyd presented her findings of the 2015 Sexual Violence Survey during the University Senate meeting.  Freyd’s findings revealed that 100 percent of female Greek-affiliated students reporting sexual contact without consent indicated a male perpetrator.
According to the survey, “attempted or completed physical sexual contact” among those who are affiliated with FSL have shown significant decrease compared to those who are not affiliated. There is a 13 percent decrease in assault towards Greek-affiliated female students and a 15 percent decrease in Greek-affiliated male students. However, like the 2014 study, female students involved in FSL remain at a higher risk, with 35 percent experiencing attempted or completed physical sexual contact over the 26 percent from their non-Greek Life counterparts.
The survey also compared the findings of those who experienced non-consensual “completed anal or vaginal penetration,” with the findings of last year.  The results show that from those who were both Greek-affiliated and not, there is a slight increase. Among female students who do have a Greek affiliation, there is a 2 percent increase, along with a 3 percent increase from those without one.  Again, more female students within FSL had reported being survivors of such incidents, with 17 percent affiliated with Greek life and 12 percent who had no affiliation.
During an ASUO senate meeting on Feb. 18, 2015, senate passed a resolution that if sexual assault within the FSL community did not decrease by the spring 2015 survey, they would bring forth a resolution calling for a halt to the expansion of FSL.  The resolution came in response to the 2014 survey findings that Greek Life females on campus were three times more likely to experience attempted or completed rape. Members of the UO FSL community voiced concerns that their community was being unfairly targeted, and said that an expansion could help recruit more leaders to combat the issue.
Of the 1,334 students who were randomly selected by the registrar, (who also passed attention-check tests to make sure they were paying attention to their responses) 18 percent mentioned an affiliation with the FSL.  This is an increase to the 13 percent who had mentioned an FSL affiliation in the previous survey. Freyd said that she was aware of the ASUO senate FSL resolution, but was worried whether this may have affected the outcome of the survey.
“Some of this difference is a reflection of more students entering the [FSL] system,” said Freyd. “But I suspect that some of this difference is because there was a particularly strong interest in the results of this survey and that group of students.”
Freyd was unable to identify the exact percentage that FSL had grown in the fall term of 2015.
Journalism and communication and women’s and gender studies professor, Carol Stabile, described that as problematic.
“Here we are a year later, and you can’t get really good information about how much FSL has grown and what as a community we are going do about those subcultures of perpetration that we are marketing as part of the social experience in our community,” she said.
At the beginning of the University Senate meeting, ASUO Senator Zach Lusby mentioned plans to go forward with a resolution calling for the halt of FSL expansion.