Miami U. frat suspended after alleged fireworks battle

Miami U. frat suspended after alleged fireworks battle | Cincinnati.com | cincinnati.com:

OXFORD — A fireworks battle between two Miami University frat houses - Phi Kappa Tau and Sigma Alpha Epsilon - the weekend before fall classes began led police to a cache of drugs, and now several students could be criminally charged.

Steve Hartman, president of Phi Kappa Tau, said the Miami chapter of the fraternity has been suspended, effective immediately, pending the outcome of an investigation.

It is the latest example of Greek fraternities at the picturesque university landing in controversy - this time before even cracking a book or attending a lecture.

Oxford police were called after a fire alarm sounded at about 5:30 a.m. Sunday at Sigma Alpha Epsilon house, 310 Talawanda Rd., next door to Phi Kappa Tau.

When officers arrived, they saw someone shooting fireworks from the third floor at Phi Kappa Tau, said Sgt. Jon Varley, spokesman for Oxford police.

Students inside both frat houses had been shooting fireworks at each other, he said.

When police tried to investigate, the students refused to let them into the homes so officers had to get search warrants to go inside and see what exactly was going on.

That’s when they found large amounts of exploded and unexploded fireworks - and marijuana and drug paraphernalia in both homes

...and a link to another story about this:

Miami U Fraternity Suspended For Use Of Fireworks, Drugs

...But wait! There's more - After the jump: Who is suing who?

Time to stop blaming the media and start living the ritual - Sigma Nu blog

This article from the Sigma Nu blog was sent to us and the sender said he would like to see what sort of comments we get. Please read and feel free to let us know what you think.

Sigma Nu Blog
Posted September 12, 2011
http://sigmanuhq.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/time-to-stop-blaming-the-media-and-start-living-the-ritual/

Time to stop blaming the media and start living the ritual

By Leadership Consultant Spencer Montgomery

In such a short history, fraternities have evolved immensely and have experienced a vast shift in cultural identity. Many would suggest the only constant among all this change has been the values we say we represent, but are we sure about that?

Over the past few months, I have questioned what fraternities actually represent; not by what we say, but what we do.  This question demanded that I take a closer and more detailed look, so I decided to follow “fraternity” via Google’s alert system for the past month and see what was being reported on the Greek life I love so much.  To say the least, I was beyond disappointed.

Turns out, there has been a lot of negative coverage on fraternities lately.  It seems as though the media is relentless in their pursuit to find any and all negative byproducts of this system.  I can hardly blame them; no more than I can blame the media for those actions being made in the first place.

Too often, we jump to the same tired defense, arguing that the media fails to report all the good we do.  But is the good we do good enough?  Have we reached a point where we truly believe that six community service hours justifies the mental distress of an 18 year old?  Do we think raising 6,000 dollars can replace a life?

Like it or not, these horrible acts are committed.  And yes, they will always be the only aspect of fraternity reported by the media.  But is pointing out the good we do even an appropriate response?  It’s like we just accept this behavior as a necessary evil to all the good we do.  I just can’t bring myself to believe that.

Instead of fighting against what is reported, let’s give the media nothing to report.  We say we hold ourselves to a “higher standard” yet too often there is a report of alleged hazing or sexual assault by a fraternity member.  Look, we will never be able to control what is reported, but the one thing we can control is our actions.  Let’s stop playing into the stereotypes that we created.

I guess what I’m asking is at what point will we truly do what we say we do, without exception.  Reaching that point includes everyone in the community. Regardless what you think your level of guilt is in all of this, if you’re not doing something to actively stop those who are, you’re not doing anything to help our cause either.  Remember, the next time you turn your eye to what you think is minor hazing, it was that same bystander behavior that led to the death of an 18 year old being the top story on CNN.com.

Are we so far off the beaten path that we can’t come back to the pure state that we once were? Are we so concerned with fulfilling social norms that we dismiss the very reason we exist as an organization? Is the type of man that our fraternities originally sought even relevant anymore?

If you are looking for an answer, I don’t have them.  Sorry.  What I do know is that I took a vow to my organization, promising to be a better man and to make a difference. I’m committed to this vow. I commit to never giving up on our high ideals. I truly believe in Fraternity.

I’d like to challenge the fraternity men who continue to dismiss the values by which they vowed to live:  I challenge you to start living to our high standards and stop making those men doing the right thing defend your actions with their own.  I challenge you to stop giving the media stories to report.  I challenge you to earn your place in this Greek life I love so much.

Do Greeks Promote Social Excellence?

"Social Excellence: The Key to Greek Relevance"
from our Friends at Phired Up Productions

September 15th, 2009

* Blog post 2 in a series of 6 on Social Excellence *
by Josh Orendi
“Social organizations have a golden opportunity to redefine fraternal relevance within the modern collegiate environment. As important as risk management became in the 1980’s, leadership development became in the 1990’s, and values education became in the new century … social excellence is the issue of this next decade!”

We proudly call ourselves “social” fraternities and sororities….

Social Experiment #1: Ask your average undergraduate member if he/she is proud to be a member of a “social” organization. You’ll likely hear a Hell Yeah! (at least that’s what the guys say) Then, ask them what the word “social” means. With a confused look, you’ll likely hear him/her say something along the lines of “party, girls/boys, beer, fun.” Interesting.

Social Experiment #2: Walk into a fraternity/sorority house unannounced on any random day. Begin counting the number of people that walk past you without making eye contact, let alone approaching you with a smile, shaking your hand, and welcoming you to their home (especially if you are a stranger/alumnus). After the fifth person ignores you, walk over and steal their composite and/or television — chances are they still won’t stop to ask your name (we’re kind of kidding about that whole theft part).

Social Experiment #3: Gather the senior members together for dinner off campus. Invite some alumni, parents, and/or faculty as guests of the chapter. Watch and enjoy the awkward behaviors, conversations, and body language. At the end of the meal, separate your guests from the members and ask them to evaluate the men/women from the chapter in terms of their social skills/etiquette. Ask: “Would you hire them? Would you trust them with your daughter/son? Were you impressed?”

Here’s the hard truth that nobody is talking about: If a member is slurring his/her speech after the 5th beer we are taught and expected to cut that person off and get them home safely. They have become a social liability … a social embarrassment. HOWEVER, the pendulum swings both ways! We have members that creep out potential new members during recruitment, brothers/sisters that refuse to come out of their rooms for several days because they’re upgrading their avatar on World of Warcraft, and men/women that haven’t figured out that hygiene and appearance really do matter. Somehow these choices of social isolation have become acceptable!?! In a SOCIAL organization?!?

Social Experiment #4: Go to http://www.dictionary.com/ or pick up a copy of Webster’s dictionary and look up the word “social.” Read all the definitions and get a historic, complete picture of the word. Then, look at the list of synonyms. “friendly companionship, community, a gregarious person that avoids solitude….”

We’ve been “social” fraternities/sororities for a LONG time. Speaking of my own organization’s history (Alpha Sigma Phi), I’m guessing that Horace, Steven, and Louis (our founders) weren’t plotting at the first Yale College meeting in 1845 of getting the pledges together and throwing a raging kegger with strippers at the annual beach party in the basement of the Tomb. Furthermore, I’m guessing that Musgrave and the boys (some more of our founders) wouldn’t have tolerated a brother that came to class in sweat pants smelling like a moldy loaf of bread.

I’m not anti-party (far from it). And, I’m not anti-video games (far from that, too). Though I am deeply curious how we came to redefine our “social” history to meet our selfish desires and all the while mask the fact that more than 1/2 of our membership is socially inept. Seriously!?! How is it we have members that graduate from SOCIAL fraternities/sororities who can’t hold a 30 second conversation with a stranger? How is it that we’ve allowed our “values-based” organizations to redefine our ritual/purpose to become the center of the campus party scene?

I’d like to cut off my already-too-long rant and offer a plea that address this “social emergency” with an optimistic solution.

Social organizations have a golden opportunity to redefine fraternal relevance within the modern collegiate environment. As important as risk management became in the 1980’s, leadership development became in the 1990’s, and values education became in the new century … social excellence is the issue of this next decade! We are uniquely positioned to address a major need and do what cannot be taught in the classroom. Universities actually NEED US again. If we accept the challenge, we can become the model for developing a generation of socially aware, socially responsible, socially excellent men and women with the interpersonal social skills to succeed and enjoy a fulfilling life.

Fraternities and sororities are designed to empower peer education and common experiences in a low-risk, high-reward laboratory of life with a support network of mentors (alumni, HQ, greek life office, etc). If we we will embrace our traditional definition of “social” excellence, we can become THE case study for training a socially awkward, facebook generation.

Social Experiment #5: Write down the names of every undergraduate non-Greek student of the same sex that you know from your campus. After 3-5 minutes stop. Look at the paper and ask yourself what that list reveals about your “social network.” Is knowing less than 15 non-greek men/women how you define social excellence? Do those names on your list represent the best of your campus community? How would your brothers/sisters score doing this same experiment? Are you part of a socially excellent organization or is it time to get to work making some changes?

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Elitism or Egalitarianism …

Bob Kerr is away this week, but he sent his post in ahead of time. More good food for thought.

Elitism or Egalitarianism ….

…seems to be one of the central debates in the North American Fraternal Movement. In board rooms, bar rooms and conference rooms can be heard the debate on this topic decade after decade. Are we elite by nature if not by action? Is the grand design really supposed to be egalitarian? Let’s take a walk down this path and see what we will see.

According to Webster’s Dictionary, the two words are defined as:

• Egalitarian – Advocating full political and social equality for all people. One advocating this.
• Elite - The group, or part of a group, regarded as the best, most powerful, etc.

Fascinating distinction. I wonder, if one excels at being an egalitarian, say someone like Gandhi or Martin Luther King, Jr. or Linus Pauling, does ones actions make them elite? Or does it make them egalitarian role models? But, these individuals performed after they left college. To really examine the debate we need to start at the very beginning of the collegiate process. Recruitment.

Recruitment for most colleges is driven by their stated purpose. My undergraduate campus states their mission as:

“…committed to providing comprehensive educational opportunities in an urban setting. Through teaching, scholarship, and public service, the University seeks to equip both students and the larger community with the educational and cultural tools they need to thrive in a complex world, and to achieve both individual responsibility in their own lives and effective citizenship in the local, national, and global community (complete statement available on the University Website. at www.wichita.edu

If we examine the inherent outcomes we see a thematic focus on the development of an effective citizen. This citizenship serves as the great goal for participating in the local, national and global communities. In essence to contribute to serving the needs of the markets we exist in while being conscious to the global impact of our needs.

Now, let’s apply these basic concepts to Greek recruitment.

As it is commonly defined, fraternity recruitment is searching for the best of the best. Virtually every chapter I have ever interacted with says this same thing. Yet, their selection process does not match the desired outcomes. Often the lowering of standards is seen as a survival tactic when it is actually diluting the quality of the organization and its ability to recruit qualified prospective members.

As I have experienced it, there seems to be three basic criteria for selecting prospective new members. The first criterion is academic performance. A common measuring stick is a high school GPA of 3.0 or better. The second criterion is a verifiable history of community service. Finally, some demonstrated leadership experience be it a part-time job, student government, athletics, debate etc. That is the formulae I have experience in the North American Fraternal Movement for four decades.

So, what are the outcomes?

The outcomes vary from campus to campus, chapter to chapter. So let me share some of the indices and let you do the discovery. First, is the all fraternity chapter GPA above the all men’s? Second, are chapters struggling to get members involved with chapter activity or otherwise engaged with a campus group? Finally, how many members are involved in leadership at the chapter, IFC, campus or work level? So, while you are doing that work, I will share a little from my current campus.

In the winter 2008 grade report, 7 chapters performed above the all men’s average while 17 chapters were below the all men’s average. This means that the average male on campus outperformed 70% of the fraternity chapters. The funny thing is, the all fraternity chapter GPA was higher than the all men’s GPA on the strength and size of the 7 chapters. So a lot of above average students on campus are clearly not fraternity men and we seem stalled in how to attract them to our organizations.

So, are we elitist or egalitarian? Let’s see what Cicero had to say.

“We were born to unite with our fellow men and to join in community with the human race.”

In his later years, Cicero devoted himself to writing and sharing his sense of duty that the Roman leaders owed each other and the citizens of Rome. His work was one of the elements of a classical education and many of the men who signed the Declaration of Independence were students of his work. Some argue this influence can be seen in the critical concepts in the Declaration. A sense of community and a sense of duty were two of the primary lessons I remember in college and in my fraternity. I was filled with a genuine sense of a responsibility to make a difference regardless of where I found myself standing.

So, the question remains, egalitarian or elitist? If we say elitist then building community will be difficult if not impossible. The perception that one chapter or the other should be the leader of all the rest because of size, GPA or length on campus is a difficult pill for others to swallow. Clearly our recruitment criterion is a standard that can be achieved by anyone from any background.

If we are egalitarian, then we can work together to build genuine community based on mutual trust and respect. We can learn to serve each other and the greater causes we all cherish. We can learn to be better leaders, followers and disciples of the teachings of our separate rituals. Perhaps we have a duty to each other, as interfraternal brothers and sisters, to guide and mentor our undergraduate brothers and sisters to be more cooperative and less combative. To seek to work together versus vanquish each other in every aspect of college life. Perhaps if we learn how scary we can be in our group behavior, constant rivalry and unhealthy competition, we can discover how to attract more qualified candidates to learn with us and join with us. Peace, positive tension and harmony are far more welcoming than bitter feuds started so long ago no one knows why we don’t like each other.

Make no mistake about it, I firmly believe we should have high standards. I also believe that we should resist every temptation to lower our standards. We should also expect our interfraternal brothers and sisters to maintain and preserve their high standards. But high standards do not make us elite or egalitarian. Only our attitudes and behavior towards each other reveals that distinction,

Bob Kerr
Coordinator of Greek Life
Oregon State
OGH

Stereotypes overshadow fraternities’ philanthropic efforts

An interesting look at how "real world" people view fraternity members.

All too often the positive merits of a fraternity are overshadowed by assumptions of hazing, childish pranks and crushing beer cans against our heads after a game of beer pong.

What people don’t hear about is the thousands of hours of community service we contribute every year or the large amounts of money we raise for our respective philanthropies.

They don’t hear SigEp saves hundreds of lives a semester through their blood drive with United Blood Services. They don’t hear that Sigma Nu raises tens of thousands of dollars for St. Jude Foundation in their Chipping for Charity philanthropy.
[...]
Instead of wearing Greek letters that day at the airport, I was sure I had mistakenly strapped dynamite to my chest and had two horns protruding out of my forehead while carrying a pitchfork. How I managed to get that far into the airport is beyond me. A part of me was half-expecting to be blindsided and subsequently tased by an overweight TSA guard.

What have you done to change (or reinforce!) that stereotype lately?

The Nevada Sagebrush » Archive » Stereotypes overshadow fraternities’ philanthropic efforts

Northern Illinois U. Sig Eps under fire

(Mini-comment: the best way to avoid news stories like this is to avoid behavior that attracts "unwelcome attention" from the college.)

Nasty allegations at NIU. It has gotten to the point where NIU is corresponding with Craig Templeton, SigEp's national executive director, about whether the chapter there will be closed.

The Northern Illinois University chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon is facing potentially strict judicial punishment for a number of incidents over the past several years.

According to documents acquired by the Northern Star from NIU Judicial Affairs via a Freedom of Information Act request, the fraternity's violations include underage alcohol consumption, racially motivated harassment of another fraternity and several violent incidents, among other infractions.
[...]
NIU Judicial Affairs director Larry Bolles, in correspondence obtained between he and Craig Templeton of the Sigma Phi Epsilon national office, recommended the fraternity's NIU chapter be shut down.

"Recent actions taken by ... Sigma Phi Epsilon have created a dangerous environment for the NIU Greek System as well as the NIU community as a whole. The Chapter's actions pose a clear and present danger causing concern for the safety and welfare of our students," Bolles said in the letter. "Those incidents, combined with past incidents, have led to the conclusion that the NIU chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon must be closed down. The environment created by their most recent actions is dangerous to the safety and welfare of those who reside on Greek Row."

Maybe the alleged events at Bradley didn't warrant a "frat-boy" label, but these do...

According to the correspondence between Bolles and Templeton, Sigma Phi Epsilon, ("Sig Eps") on Aug. 26,, 2007, held a social event in violation of Greek Affairs and Intrafraternity Council (IFC) regulations. As a result of the violations, the IFC restricted the fraternity's ability to hold social and recruiting events. Sigma Alpha Mu ("Sammies") was the complainant in the incident, as its house is located close to the Sig Eps house, according to the letter.

After the Sammies reported the incident, Sig Eps retaliated by, on several occasions, harassing Sammies members with racial slurs, Bolles said in the letter. The incidents led to "increased tensions among the chapters on Greek Row," and "created an atmosphere that is no way conducive to the Greek lifestyle and has created the potential for violence," Bolles said.
[...]
On April 21, 2007, one month after a deferred suspension, Sigma Phi Epsilon was issued citations for allowing underage alcohol consumption to occur at its house, Bolles said in the letter. Four individuals were cited for underage consumption that evening, all of whom stated they were drinking at the Sig Eps house.
[...]
According to the correspondence between Bolles and Templeton, a Sig Eps member threw beer bottles at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house on April 26, 2007. When the chapter was confronted by Greek Row security, the security officers were treated disrespectfully by Sig Eps members, which security workers state has been a recurring problem with the fraternity. Sig Eps members reportedly would tell security workers "you work for us" and "you don't tell us what to do," Bolles said in the letter.

The Bradley SigEps were quick to defend their actions in the comments section. Does the NIU chapter have excuses too?

Northern Illinois U. Sig Eps under fire

The "Good Old Days" that never were...

Georgetown Sig Ep Explores Diversity

Where is the love, exactly?
Taylor Barnett

Love: It’s a fascinating, mysterious four-letter word that is life’s greatest complexity. We all pursue it, yet we are constantly bombarded by images that depict a world full of strife and discord. We don’t even have to look far beyond the Healy gates to see such hate, as we did with last month’s hate crime. So I ask myself, “Where exactly is this love?”

I see it in many ways here at Georgetown. I see it with those rallying for social justice in Red Square, with my friends who stand with me through the thick and thin. I see this love with my professors, who as mentors and friends are genuinely interested in my well-being. And I see it too with my brothers of SigEp. While one might wrongly think that I, a Southern, liberal, gay foreign-language geek, have no place in a fraternity, I have found a sense of belonging amongst my brothers that I never knew existed. They, like other genuine people, show the utmost form of love by looking beyond my background and beliefs and appreciating me for my whole person, a man of sound mind and sound body, a leader, a gentleman, a best friend, a brother.

Nevertheless, as an openly gay male in the South, I have experienced hate first-hand as I ran for my life being chased by a guy with a baseball bat, as I cringed at guys calling me “faggot” and “queer” and reciting Leviticus, as I grieved when a friend accused me of sexual harassment and spearheaded a petition to get me expelled from high school and as I took this all to heart and attempted suicide. I look back now and I think to myself: “So, are they right? Am I going to hell after all?” I doubt it, but I haven’t the power to be certain. But I’m not worried, for whether I am to be saved or condemned, I realize that I have this life to live right now, and I shall not waste it in fear and grief. I choose to live and share this life with others based on this principle of pure, unwavering love for my friends, my brothers, my community and myself.

Last month’s hate crime was atrocious, and such violence doesn’t belong here or anywhere else. And as we saw by the colossal turnout at last week’s rally, even in a world full of strife and discord, we recognize, in accordance with Jesuit ideals instilled in all of us, the importance of not only acceptance but also celebration of and love for diversity in our community. I speak of agape, a genuine and human love for our fellow brothers and sisters, and it’s here at Georgetown that I understand exactly what that means.

This brings me to Coming Out Week. For me, the spirit of it encompasses far more than sexual orientation. It’s about how we think of ourselves, how we construct an identity and how we share ourselves with the world. But first we must overcome one thing: fear. The fear of being different, of appearing weak or wrong, of what we fail to understand and even of what we may discover about ourselves. I choose not to see myself solely as male, nor as gay, nor as white, nor as American but simply as human. We must look beyond this bullet-point evaluation and recognize the individual as simply that, an individual. Be we women or men, foreign or native, Republicans or Democrats, gay or straight, rich or poor, Catholics or Protestants, Jewish or Muslim, or even none of the above, we must understand and be proud of what we believe and who we are. We must overcome fear in order to share ourselves and our gifts with others, as it is everyone’s duty to educate others in his or her unique individuality. Life is too short and the price too high to watch our years go by in silence and quiet desperation.

Love. It is the best thing I have ever felt. It is the greatest truth I have ever known. It is what makes me whole, what makes me human and what makes my life complete and worth living. To know that we love and are loved is the most wonderful thing we can ever experience. And I never forget that even in hard times I always can find faith, hope, belonging and understanding in love.

Where is the love, exactly?

Hey, Pledge! Get me a beer!

The new must-have gadget for chapter houses.


If the inventors ever get together with the guys who made this device, then they will really have something!

Just in! - Duke D.A. Barred from Bar

Looks like yesterday's crocodile tears and offer to resign were not enough to convince the ethics panel. They told him this afternoon "You can't quit, You're Fired!"

N.C. panel disbars Duke prosecutor

By AARON BEARD, Associated Press Writer

RALEIGH, N.C. - District Attorney Mike Nifong will be disbarred for his disastrous prosecution of three Duke University lacrosse players falsely accused of rape, a disciplinary committee decided Saturday. Even the veteran prosecutor said the punishment was appropriate.

"This matter has been a fiasco. There's no doubt about it," said committee chairman F. Lane Williamson.

Nifong sat motionless, one hand resting over his mouth, as Williamson recounted how he engaged in dishonest and deceitful conduct. He said Nifong's early comments about the case — which included a confident proclamation that he wouldn't allow Durham to become known for "a bunch of lacrosse players from Duke raping a black girl" — were purposefully designed to boost his campaign for district attorney.

"At the time he was facing a primary, and yes, he was politically naive," Williamson said. "But we can draw no other conclusion that those initial statements he made were to further his political ambitions."

Nifong will not appeal the punishment, his lawyer said.
[...]
Williamson questioned why it took several months for the defense to get DNA test results that found genetic material from several men in the accuser's underwear and body, but none from any lacrosse player.

"It wasn't just one little oversight," Williamson said later. "This was conduct over an extended period in a very high-profile case."

Aware of those test results, Nifong pressed ahead with the case anyway and won indictments against Dave Evans, Reade Seligmann and Collin Finnerty. State prosecutors later concluded the three players were "innocent" victims of a rogue prosecutor's "tragic rush to accuse."

Looks like from now on the only bar Mr. Nifong will be addressing is the one with whiskey bottles and beer taps.

And it isn't over for him, either. Attorneys for the three lacrosse players are planning to seek criminal contempt charges, too.
N.C. panel disbars Duke prosecutor - Yahoo! News

Duke lacrosse prosecutor plans to quit

The DA who so aggressively pursued the Duke lacrosse players he alleged raped a woman at a party has announced he is quitting. He is currently on trial himself for allegations of ethics violations in the case. He kept insisting the three young men were guilty and must be prosecuted even as the case fell apart. The accuser kept changing her story as new facts came to light, and there was a total lack of forensic evidence of wrongdoing.

RALEIGH, N.C. — Testifying in defense of his conduct in the sexual assault case against three Duke University lacrosse players, Durham County District Attorney Michael Nifong cried and conceded that he made mistakes, apologized to the accused and their families for the "pain" the prosecution had caused and announced his intention to resign.

"To the extent that my actions have caused pain to Finnertys, the Seligmanns, the Evans', I apologize," he said Friday during the emotional conclusion to his direct testimony at a bar hearing. "To the extent that my actions have brought disrespect or disrepute to the bar, to my community, I apologize."
[...]
A three-person panel of the North Carolina State Bar is considering charges that Nifong violated ethics rules while pursuing rape allegations, brought by a stripper hired to perform at a team party, against the three players. The state attorney general in April declared that the players were "innocent."

The bar complaint accuses Nifong of making prejudicial statements in the case's early stages, of lying to a judge and of withholding exculpatory DNA evidence. If he is found guilty, the panel could suspend his law license or disbar him.
[...]
Nifong denied that the months of withholding the DNA evidence — which showed other men's DNA present but not that of the accused players — was malicious. Instead, he said it was a result of an oversight caused in part by his lack of careful notes.

There are a lot of college students who read this blog. Can you imaging having this conversation with your parents? Parents, can you imaging having this conversation with your child?...

The ramifications of his pursuit of the allegations also became clearer Friday, as Reade Seligmann testified about the effect on his family.

Seligmann choked back tears and brought tears to the eyes of family members when he described how he learned that he had been picked out of a lineup by the accuser. He was in his lawyer's office, he said, when the secretary came in and said, "Mike Nifong is on the phone."

"He picks up the phone. You could see the color in his face just changing. ... The room was spinning," Seligmann said. "My dad just fell to the floor, and I just sat on the ground, and I said, 'My life is over.' " He then called his mother.

"I said, 'Mom are you alone right now?' She said, 'Yeah, what's going on?' " he testified. "I said, 'She picked me.' I could hear her on the other end of the phone. The life was just sucked right out of her."

As the parent of a college student, I cringe to think of it.

The outcome of the hearing may be a recommendation to disbar Nifong. It couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

But how are the three young men who have had their lives completely disrupted going to get the last year back? You may recall they were vilified in the press as being "spoiled rich kids" with no sense of responsibility. Although they were lacrosse players, when you read the coverage from back then it is easy to see how the DA, news media, and of course the blogosphere were simply substituting "lacrosse team" for "fraternity" in their rush to judgment.

Duke lacrosse prosecutor plans to quit | Chron.com - Houston Chronicle

Secret DKE Ritual Must Exclude Animals

[Thanks to the guys at FratBoyNews for this example of enlightenment.]

LSU DKE Chapter Cleared of Goat Charges

LSU Lifts Fraternity's Suspension

Louisiana State University's chapter of Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity is no longer suspended on the Baton Rouge campus, after having their name cleared in an incident of hazing involving a goat stemming from an initiation party last November.

“In this day and age, whether it’s right or wrong when people hear ‘fraternity goat,’ it does not sound right to people,” LSU's dean of students, K.C. White, told WBRZ News.

LSU's administration agreed to take the suspension away Tuesday when brothers said they would gladly participate in a two-year introspection of the fraternity.

The brothers told the university in a letter they would exclude all animals from every initiation process and ritual they conduct.

Stollman Challenges Greeks to Know Their Values

Speaker inspires Greek future on campus
Meghan Foley

A cell phone ring began speaker David Stollman's challenge to Keene State College Greek Life organizations to remember their values and standards, and break the stereotypes.

"You earn your letters when you're allowed to wear them … by living up to what they mean," said Stollman to at least 84 Greek Life members gathered in the Mountain View Room of the Young Student Center Monday night.

As Stollman presented his interactive lecture, "Buy In or Get Out," excitement and energy became as bright as the colored T-shirts identifying each organization in attendance for the Greek Week event.

"He talked to a lot of people's hearts and made a lot of people cry," said senior Caitlin Ball, a member of Phi Sigma Sigma.

Stollman, who is with Campus Speak, stated the importance of organizations staying true to leading and serving.

One part of leading meant leading in the classroom, while another meant serving, he said.

"This is our true tradition. This is what our organizations are about. This is what all Greeks are about," he said. "We all swear ourselves to the same basic values."

He challenged those who didn't want to adhere to an organization's true traditions to leave it.

"For those of you who don't want to, I hope you leave," he said.

According to Stollman, an alumnus of Sigma Phi Epsilon, Greeks understood the difference between brotherhood and friendship, and sisterhood and friendship.

"Friends say what we want to hear. Sisters, brothers say things you need to here," he said.

Stollman also addressed the stereotypes associated with Greek Life.

"The rest of the world sees your letters and they don't know they are different, and they don't care," he said regarding organizations that promote the stereotype. He added the world thought the stereotype was fine because Greek organizations tolerated it.

"Are we perpetuating or breaking the stereotypes?" he asked repeatedly throughout his speech.

Besides looking at how Greeks were viewed by others, Stollman said members needed "to start thinking about the things [they] were doing."

"The more we perpetuate [the stereotype] the more problems we have," he said.

Hazing is one of those stereotype supports.Anyone who believed in hazing never understood that concept to begin with, said Stollman.

"Chapters that haze the most don't understand it doesn't work," he said. Stollman, advisor to the Alpha Sigma Tau sorority at New York University, also relied on his experiences to enforce what he was saying.

"Him having a personal experience made his speech that more eye opening," said Greek Life Assistant Cory Anderson.

According to Anderson, a member of the Sigma Lambda Chi fraternity, several KSC Greek leaders went to Pittsburg, Penn. for the Northeast Greek Leadership Association conference, and heard Stollman speak along with many others. They then asked him to attend Greek Week and give his speech, said Anderson.

"His speech is a good reminder of why we originally joined our respective organizations and to awaken members of the organization that have not realized their responsibilities," he said in an e-mail following the event.

"It was just as good the second time around," said senior Teddy Byrne, vice president of the Interfraternity Council and a member of Delta Nu Psi.

"He makes your want to improve your organization internally and turn it around."

Stollman ended his presentation with five things he wanted Greek organizations to do as a way to reach their potential.

Those objectives included
• watching out for other members interests,
• showing an organization's true values when recruiting,
• holding members accountable for their actions,
• seeking opportunities to break stereotypes,
• and challenging members not meeting the organization's standards and values.

"The entire organizations future rests in your hands," he said.

A fraternity house the neighbors like

'We realize we're not on some island'

Freshman Greg Gold shaves his head during Sigma Phi Epsilon's fundraiser for Crohn's Disease reserch at the Johns Hopkins University's spring fair April 14.

This school year has not been a good one for some fraternities on the Homewood campus of Johns Hopkins University.

Last fall, the Sigma Chi chapter drew national media and the attention of the Black Student Union after the fraternity threw an allegedly racist-themed "Halloween in the Hood" party.

Currently, Tuscany-Canterbury is fighting the return of a Phi Kappa Psi house, where police were called 37 times in 2 1/2 years.

But not all Hopkins fraternities are controversial. Take Sigma Phi Epsilon, whose house at 2900 Wyman Parkway is in good standing with its neighbors.

Owen Fuqua, 77, said he has lived at 2940 Wyman Parkway for 40 years, about as long as the frat house has been there.

"I enjoy having the students around," Fuqua said. "I like the college atmosphere. I'm sort of a perpetual student myself."

He said that noise levels aren't a problem in the neighborhood and that neighbors appreciate the frat helping them with community projects.

"They could be a little bit better housekeepers," he said, but added, "Our frat people have improved a lot since I've been here."

"I don't know that they're there," said another resident a few doors down who would not give his name.

According to Baltimore City Police spokesman detective Donnie Moses, police have not received any complaints about the house in the last 30 days.

The key to the frat's success is its sensitivity to its surroundings, the chapter's president, Alex King, said. King, who doesn't live in the house, said the biggest struggle is making sure that noise levels stay down during events and that trash doesn't accumulate.

King acknowledged that neighbors have complained about trash piling up at the house. He said frat brothers used a Habitat for Humanity trash container to get rid of the excess rubbish.

Sam Charlton, 21, past president of the fraternity and a resident of the house, said police stopped there once in 2 1/2 years because of a complaint about loud noise.

Although the house plays host to weekly meetings and events that can attract all 73 fraternity brothers, only 10 live there.

"We realize we're not on some island," King said.

Baltimore Messenger

DZ 'marketing effort' is "Ditzy"

The PR fiasco that came of the attempt by Delta Zeta to 'upgrade' their chapter at DePauw has me wondering. Didn't anyone at their headquarters ever takes a basic marketing course?

First problem - :By all accounts, the sorority chapter was a small but diverse group who were noted more for brains and personality than a "Barbie doll" look. The initial attempt to reorganize the chapter got off to a bad start when all but 12 women were asked to leave because of a "lack of commitment." Oddly, all the girls who were "committed to improving the chapter" turned out to be thin and white. All the brown and dumpy ones were "not committed". What would it take to show commitment - lose weight and bleach their skin? Maybe Delta Zeta should recruit Michael Jackson as a makeover consultant.

Second Problem - :After the initial shock wore off some of the newly minted "alumnae" went public with their comments and concerns and the story quickly found legs on the internet and in the mainstream media. DZ HQ responded with a defensive statement that sounded like Alberto Gonzales trying to justify firing the 9 US attorneys. The DZ National President tried to make out like they were the victims in all this mess. Puh-leeze! It sounds sort of like the boy who killed his parents, then pleaded for mercy because he was an orphan.

Third Problem - :Then, After DePauw got fed up and kicked them off campus anyway, DZ has filed a lawsuit! Thereby guaranteeing that there will be updates as the suit progresses for months or years to come. They should have just laid low, accepted the 'injustice' as a price for their incompetence. and gone on about the business of image repair.

Back to marketing. I have just finished taking a graduate level marketing course. Coincidentally, the professor is a graduate of DePauw and his wife is a DZ alumna. Somehow, the class started discussing the situation. (OK - I confess. I started it.) He told us that in his view the national organization has done everything wrong, starting with the reorganization process. He told us his wife is extremely upset and has vowed no more involvement. I believe it. If a similar fiasco had happened with my home Sig Ep chapter I would be similarly upset.

If the DZ leadership has any hope of getting past this they would do well to consider bringing in some professionals at image repair. It would probably start by 'regretfully' accepting the resignations of anyone who had responsibility for those decisions. Next I would think they should bend over backwards to demonstrate how 'diverse' and 'accepting' they can be. They could hire the same ad firm that does the "Campaign for Real Beauty"commercials for Dove.

Sorority Challenges from an Alumnae Perspective

Confessions of a Theta
By Angela Rozas

I will not show you the secret handshake.

I never could remember the Greek alphabet, though I still can recite the names of our founders.

I have purged my closet of many T-shirts over the years, but I cannot give away the shirts that carry my Greek letters.

Confession: I was a sorority girl. In fact, I was president of my chapter, Delta Kappa of Kappa Alpha Theta, at Louisiana State University.

I wore Greek shirts to class, painted posters of support for my homecoming court sister to hang on our sorority row house, and yes, partied late into the night with the alcohol we squirreled away in flasks.

Every few years, some new crisis arises to give the nation a chance to lambaste fraternity and sorority life. This time it's the closure of the Delta Zeta chapter on the campus of DePauw University in Indiana.

The university recently evicted the chapter--which had been on campus 98 years -- after members charged that national officers forced 23 women from the local chapter into alumnae status. The women say they were kicked out because they didn't fit the model of a sorority girl: pretty, white and popular. Six more women quit out of solidarity with the members who were forced out.

The sorority's national leaders have denied those charges, saying they told the chapter they would close it if it could not improve recruitment. They insisted that image and race were not involved, though 12 women allowed to remain members were not minorities and were described as conventionally pretty.

From what I've read, it seems as if the Delta Zeta chapter, though small in numbers, was diverse and valued friendship and uniqueness over popularity and dress size.
If the women's charges are true, then the university was right to send a message of condemnation to the national organization. Telling women they need to be sexy and popular to attract the attention of fraternities and new members is archaic.

Instead, the women should have been congratulated for choosing members based on their character and distinctiveness. Perhaps the national officers should have done more to work with their existing members to help them recruit more women like these instead of giving them the boot.

Some might argue that the days of sororities and fraternities should be numbered, that organizations built on exclusivity, whose sole purpose is to "party," have no place in modern college life.

But there's more to sororities than parties.Supportive sisterhoodMy sorority--actually, it's a fraternity for women and never adopted the label sorority, a point of pride to this day--was formed in 1870 at, coincidentally, what is now DePauw University.

Four women who were excluded at their mostly male college formed Theta to support each other in their quest for a college education and university experience.

I was a small-town girl when I moved to Baton Rouge to attend Louisiana State, a campus of roughly 30,000 students. I knew almost no one at the school. Joining my sorority helped me meet ambitious, smart, talented women who wanted the most out of their college experience and gave me years of support. I loved being part of an organization that placed so much value on scholarship (we had a required grade-point average), service and simply being classy ladies. And yes, we had fun too.

Not that sorority life was perfect. The dreaded weeklong process by which members were chosen at LSU, called "rush," often felt just like that--rushed and superficial. With so many women vying for spots, a first impression could make or break you.

Like so many things in life, being pretty can make a difference. But so can being a leader in high school, a talented musician, a budding humanitarian.

Sororities often were labeled--the smart girls, the rich girls, the promiscuous girls. Sometimes a sorority got its label because its name rhymed with an adjective. Phi Mu was Phi Moo. Delta Zeta was Sleazy-DZ. It was stupid, kid stuff.

At DePauw, the Delta Zeta chapter was known as the "dog house," supposedly because the women were not conventionally pretty. But that label was as much a result of students' stereotyping and harsh ideas of beauty as it was a problem with the Greek system itself.

The smart girls--and more
At LSU, we were the smart girls, mostly because we consistently had the highest GPA. That inevitably also meant we were not the prettiest girls or the party girls. But the truth was that we had smart girls and pretty girls, average girls and arty girls. Nearly every chapter will tell you the same.

I regretted then, and now, too, that my chapter did not have any minorities, as was the case with all the sororities on my campus. But that is changing. A few minorities have joined my sorority and others on campus in recent years, and minority sororities have admitted white women. That change happened long ago in other chapters around the country.

That's why the DePauw incident, if true, is so disturbing. The national organization should be ahead of the curve, promoting more progressive ideals of sisterhood. You can be any shape, size and color and still believe in your organization's ideals and purpose.

In Delta Zeta's case, that is "to unite its members in the bonds of sincere and lasting friendship, to stimulate one another in the pursuit of knowledge, to promote the moral and social culture of its members, and to develop plans for guidance and unity in action."To look really hot for guys and new members isn't listed.

I don't regret my years as a Theta. Some people spend their whole life trying to fit in, with a group or ideal. With Theta, I got my chance to do that. But now, after years as part of a group with rules, ideals and traditions, I find that I prefer to be on my own.

I guess being part of the in group gave me the confidence not to want to be in one anymore. It may not have been the lesson my sorority intended, but I thank it for that anyway.

And I still won't show you the secret handshake.

DePauw and DZ Withdraw Recognition

Delta Zeta vs. Depauw Wrap-up of press releases and letters.
(There is quite a bit... Click on "Read More" to see it all.)

DePauw severs ties with troubled Delta Zeta sorority

GREENCASTLE, Ind. -- DePauw University has severed ties with the Delta Zeta sorority, where a mass eviction of members sparked allegations that only attractive, popular students were asked to remain. "We at DePauw believe that the values of our university and those of Delta Zeta sorority are incompatible," school President Robert G. Bottoms wrote in a letter delivered Monday to the sorority's national president, Deborah A. Raziano.

The university in Greencastle, 40 miles west of Indianapolis, planned a 2:30 p.m. EDT news conference to discuss the decision. The sorority's members have long had a reputation as being known more for academics than conventional beauty or partying, and their chapter was widely known among students as the "dog house."

The chapter started the school year with just 35 women in the sorority house, far short of the nearly 100 members at other sororities on a campus where 70 percent of students join the Greek system. Delta Zeta's national leadership conducted a review last fall to determine members' commitment to recruiting. As a result, it moved 23 members to alumnae status in December, evicting them from the sorority house. Six others left on their own.

A call to the executive director of the national Delta Zeta organization was not immediately returned Monday. Executive Director Cindy Menges has said Delta Zeta based decisions on the women's willingness to recruit new members to revitalize a nearly 100-year-old chapter whose numbers had fallen steadily over 10 years. But those who were asked to leave the sorority charged that they were removed because of their looks and contended they had been active and supportive members of the sorority. DePauw's decision follows a letter of reprimand sent to the national organization Feb. 19. "We at DePauw do not like the way our students were treated," Bottoms said in Monday's letter. Bottoms said the university would not recognize Delta Zeta beginning with this fall's semester.

University Announcement Regarding Delta Zeta - March 12, 2007
Today Dr. Robert Bottoms communicated with Delta Zeta president Deborah Raziano and severed the University’s relationship with the national sorority. His letter to alumni describing the reasons for his action and a copy of the letter to Ms. Raziano follow.

March 12, 2007
Dear Alumni of DePauw:

As most members of the DePauw family know, the New York Times article of February 25 about the Delta Zeta chapter on campus has resulted in significant media attention. Many of you have written or e-mailed me sharing your views, and many of you have taken the time to share your personal experiences with our Greek system. Nearly all of the responses from alumni have been supportive of the University and our early steps to intervene on behalf of our students.

I have spent significant time gathering facts and information over the past two months. As a result, it has become clear that the values of DePauw University and those of the Delta Zeta National Sorority are incompatible. Therefore, effective immediately, I have severed future ties with the Delta Zeta national, and I am including here my letter of notification to them. I wish to emphasize that our problem is with Delta Zeta national, not its local members, who have handled themselves with extraordinary poise and maturity in difficult circumstances, nor our Delta Zeta alumnae, many of whom have expressed dismay about their national’s behavior and support for DePauw. We will continue to work closely with these students and alumnae as we go forward.

We must view the Delta Zeta situation as an opportunity to face some of the problems inherent in DePauw’s Greek system. If our system is to rise above the negative stereotyping so many of you have written about, modern recruitment processes must be developed. Also, to prevent a sorority or fraternity from reorganizing in the middle of the year and displacing student residents, new housing standards must be developed.

As you know the Delta Zeta controversy arrived in the midst of the University’s major effort to improve the Greek System at DePauw. As an outgrowth of the Greek Fact-Finding Commission, trustees, students, house corporation officers, chapter advisers, faculty, alumni, and parents are working together to improve the physical structures and health and safety standards of the Greek houses, to examine new member recruitment and new member education, to refine the judicial system at DePauw, to expand the staff support and other resources for fraternities and sororities, and to curb high-risk drinking. We have been heartened by our progress and the enthusiastic support and cooperation of all our DePauw constituencies.

Our destination for this undertaking should result in a very public position that there is a new Greek tradition evolving at DePauw-one that builds on our system’s strengths within our learning community-and one that might become a national model for other colleges and universities around the country.

I thank you for your loyalty and support of DePauw.

Sincerely,
Robert G. Bottoms
President

March 9, 2007
Ms. Deborah A. Raziano
National President, Delta Zeta Sorority
c/o Alumni Affairs Office
Clarence James, Jr. Alumni House
Nicholls State University
Thibodaux, LA 70310

Dear Ms. Raziano:

Over the past weeks, I have interviewed many DePauw students, including several who were asked to take alumnae status in the sorority. I have also interviewed the women who were chosen to remain active members in your organization. I have talked with faculty, including the faculty Ms. Menges met on campus, and needless to say I have heard from many loyal DePauw Delta Zetas.

What has become increasingly clear from these discussions is that we at DePauw believe that the values of our University and those of the national Delta Zeta Sorority are incompatible.

I remain concerned by the points I raised with you in my February 19 reprimand of the sorority. Now, three weeks after my initial letter to you, my dissatisfaction with your organization continues to grow. I am proud of our DePauw students and the way they reacted to an unwarranted situation. Our students have shown a maturity beyond what one might expect of undergraduates. Yet postings on your Web site attempt to discredit any DePauw student critical of your actions. Your Web site has also been critical of our faculty for their willingness to openly discuss the way the membership review took place within the Delta Zeta chapter.

In summary, we at DePauw do not like the way our students were treated. We also disagree with your portrayal of the University in the media. We are opposed to your media freeze. One of the foundations of a university is free and open communication, which has been a hallmark of how we at DePauw have responded to this situation. We also vehemently contest the assertion on your Web site that “at all points in this process we (Delta Zeta) have worked with the University, sought their advice and acted upon their advice in our reorganization efforts.”

It is my decision to sever ties immediately with your national organization. Beginning in the fall of 2007, Delta Zeta will not be recognized by the University. In the interim, I call upon you to allow Delta Zeta alumnae to support the local chapter for the remainder of the spring semester rather than your national organization.

Sincerely,
Robert G. Bottoms
President
cc: Cynthia Winslow Menges

University Statement on Delta Zeta February 28, 2007

DePauw University is home to the Delta chapter of Delta Zeta but we are not responsible for, nor do we condone, the manner in which the national officers of Delta Zeta carried out their membership review and the subsequent treatment of their members. DePauw University disagrees with Delta Zeta’s actions and their characterization of what has occurred on campus.

It is outside our previous experience that a national organization would take actions that so negatively impact our students. Delta Zeta’s timing of its membership review, its mixed messages to their members, and its unwillingness to address our community’s concerns are markedly different from the standard of behavior that we expect from University partners.

This situation has been very difficult for our community, especially for the students who were asked to take alumna status in Delta Zeta and for the students who continue to be active in the chapter. In early December when the Delta Zeta national office sent letters to our students informing them of their status, University staff immediately responded to support them and to secure their housing for the second semester. At that time we also requested that a national Delta Zeta representative come to campus to address our concerns. Cindy Menges, the Executive Director of Delta Zeta Sorority, declined our invitation to come to campus until February 8.

Some have asked why the University did not immediately revoke Delta Zeta’s charter. Initially we hoped that we could reach an acceptable resolution for our students by communicating on their behalf with Delta Zeta national officers. When that did not occur, a formal letter of reprimand was sent by President Bottoms to the national office outlining our dissatisfaction with Delta Zeta’s treatment of our students. As this issue has continued to unfold, we have tried to be sensitive to the remaining student members of Delta Zeta who continue to live in the chapter house and to the DePauw Delta Zeta alumnae who played no role in their national office’s decisions.

There have been, and will continue to be, campus discussions about stereotyping, image and social status. Delta Zeta national actions contradict the principles of respect for individuals and their differences that we hold dear. DePauw is home to six historically Black Greek-letter organizations, one Latina sorority, 11 NIC fraternities and seven NPC sororities, including the Delta chapter of Delta Zeta sorority. In DePauw’s 150-year partnership with national and international Greek organizations, we have found that fraternities and sororities, like other student organizations, have a positive impact on students’ satisfaction and persistence toward graduation. All recognized student organizations are expected to adhere to University policies and principles and respect individual differences. We continue to seek a resolution for our students that affirms the positive legacy of the Greek system at DePauw but holds Delta Zeta’s national officers accountable for their actions.

February 19, 2007
Letter from President Bottoms to Delta Zeta can be found at
http://www.depauw.edu/student/greek/documents/DeltaZetaletter.pdf

February 19, 2007
Meeting Scheduled between Delta Zeta and DePauw Representatives

February 8, 2007
DePauw University administrators and faculty will talk with a representative from the national Delta Zeta office on Thursday, February 8. Cindy Menges, Executive Director of Delta Zeta Sorority will meet with Bob Hershberger, Associate Professor of Modern Languages; David Gellman, Associate Professor of History; Cindy Babington, Dean of Students; and Betsy Demmings, Executive Assistant to the President. The purpose of the meeting will be to discuss the University’s concerns regarding Delta Zeta Sorority’s recent actions as part of their chapter reorganization process. National representatives from the Sorority conducted a membership review that resulted in over two thirds of their current membership being placed on alumna status.
Representatives from the University plan to address the following issues at this meeting:

DePauw University administrators have significant concerns about the timing of the membership review and subsequent decision letters. Information received from a DePauw Delta Zeta indicates that the women were told the review team would be in place by October 1. However, the membership reviews did not begin until November. Letters informing the members of their status were received by the women one week prior to final exams.

No representatives from the national Sorority staff or their chapter adviser were present when the women received their letters. Following the membership review, no one from the national Sorority staff has been on campus to provide support and to respond to questions from those students placed on alumna status. Consultants are now on campus working with the remaining Delta Zeta actives.

The news release from Delta Zeta Sorority explaining the situation arrived on campus four days after the news was delivered to the women. Why was the news release delayed?

At issue for many parents is the fact that Delta Zeta agreed to house their daughters for the academic year. Because of this process, members placed on alumna status had to relocate mid-year.

We also have questions on behalf of our students about what will happen if any of the members choose to reject alumna status. Will they be deactivated? And if so, on what grounds?

Community members expressed their concerns in a petition written by Dr. Hershberger and signed by 55 faculty members. The petition, which was delivered to President Bottoms in early January, indicates that the signers regard the conduct of the National Council of Delta Zeta Sorority on DePauw’s campus to be unethical and call upon the University to take action.

Questions or concerns should be directed to Cindy Babington, Dean of Students, at cbabington@depauw.edu or (765) 658-4270.

President Bottoms' letter to the campus community regarding Delta Zeta December 20, 2006

Dear Members of the DePauw Community,

I know that many of you are concerned about the recent actions of Delta Zeta sorority national representatives toward our students in Delta Chapter, a matter that I take very seriously. Over the past several weeks we have worked closely with members of the local Delta Zeta chapter and communicated with the national officers. As we move forward, the staff is examining what happened at Delta Zeta, how the membership review has affected the sorority's members and the campus at large, and advising me about potential responses.

I extend my sincere thanks to the faculty and staff members who reached out to the women of the local Delta Zeta chapter and assisted them with what has been a difficult transition. All of the students who left DZ have secured new housing, thanks to the diligence of the housing staff, and I'm happy to report that we were able to place many of the women together with their sorority friends.

To all, my best wishes for a safe and happy holiday season.

Robert G. Bottoms

---

PR majors take note:
This is becoming a textbook case of how NOT to manage your national publicity.

A Final Word from DZ on DePauw Situation

Statement from National President -
February 26, 2007

I am sure by now that you have read the unfortunate New York Times article which involves our sisters at DePauw University. The article is inaccurate and grossly mischaracterizes the situation.

It is important that all Delta Zeta women understand what has happened and the steps that the National Organization is taking to bring all parties to the table to find resolution and to support these women moving forward.

It is in this vein that I ask you, as a leader, to commit to supporting our DePauw members and Delta Zeta. Your commitment and leadership is an important part of our healing process.

After years of struggling to recruit, Delta Zeta DePauw members voted in August to close the chapter at the end of the 2006-2007 school year. The women's majority vote meant that they could live in the house and be relieved of active membership duties, including the intense work of recruiting on a daily basis. The intent was for Delta Zeta to close and reorganize to return at a later date.

On September 12th the request for reorganization was denied by the University. The University indicated that Delta Zeta, which has been on the DePauw campus for 98 years, would not be guaranteed a return. University officials asked Delta Zeta to undertake a membership review.

Delta Zeta members, who could support the national plan to actively recruit, were asked to remain active. Other members, who no longer wanted to engage in day-to-day recruiting, became alumnae members of the Sorority.

The sole basis of the decision and the membership review was the women's commitment to actively recruit.

It is here in communicating the results that we made a mistake. We misjudged how these communications would be received. Delta Zeta deeply regrets that. On December 2, we informed each woman by mail whether she would be relieved of responsibilities to recruit and become an alumna member or remain on active collegiate status. As you know, active status at a struggling chapter requires daily recruiting. In hindsight, Delta Zeta national leadership should have once again returned to campus and communicated the results in person with each woman.

Finally, we are offended at suggestions that decisions made at DePauw were related in any way to our members' races and nationalities. We are proud of the diversity of our members and alumnae nationwide, which reflect the mandate in our Constitution that members will be selected solely on their merits and without regard to their race, color, religion, national origin or handicap. On each of our campuses, our faces reflect those of the communities of which we are a part, and it is irresponsible to suggest otherwise. Without its diverse population, Delta Zeta could not thrive as it does on college campuses today.

Article III, Section 3 of the Delta Zeta Constitution reads: "All members of Delta Zeta shall be chosen for moral, social and intellectual worth. Membership shall not be denied because of race, color, religion, national origin or handicap."

It is here that I call upon you to commit to supporting these women and Delta Zeta on your campus. Please take steps at your campus and among your personal and online communities to spread the word about Delta Zeta, our good works, and our support for DePauw chapter sisters and our National Organization.

Shortly, I will be contacting many of you to develop specific actions that can be taken. Please do not hesitate to contact me at leadership@dzshq.com with your suggestions, questions and concerns.

In Delta Zeta,
Debbie Raziano
National President

Sorority life: It's not easy being Greek - Opinion

A Sorority member a temple takes on some of the Greek stereotypes.

Everyone has had to live with a stereotype. But after attending Temple's Greek Leadership Conference and discussing Greek stereotypes, I started thinking about how groups almost always fail to live up to their negative labels.

In my own case, I'm a girl, so I must love pink and hate "Star Wars." While I do love pink, I also happen to be a "Star Wars" junkie. I'm from a small town, so people think I'm naive. However, I know people who grew up in big cities and don't have a clue about the real world.

I'm also a sister in the Phi Sigma Sigma sorority. That must mean that I'm a witless slut with a cup of jungle juice permanently strapped to my hand, right?
[...]
I refuse to be a hypocrite and profess my lifetime crusade against stereotypes because I have probably helped fuel a few. However, thinking about my Greek experience has opened my eyes to how unfounded all stereotypes probably are.
[...]
People think that Greeks are stupid. It upsets me that sometimes I don't want to show off my letters in class because I'm afraid my peers won't take me seriously.

Most of them don't know that scholarship is one of the most important aspects of Greek life and that we strive to improve our overall average each semester.
[...]
My favorite insult to Greek life is that we pay for our friends. "I wanted to be more active on campus and be more involved in things, so I joined a sorority," said Becky Beauchamp of Alpha Epsilon Phi sorority. "I'm paying to be in the same organization as my friends, not to have them."

Well, if I pay for my friends, it's the one purchase that I will never regret.

As one of my college SigEp brothers said one bleary Sunday morning (he was somewhat 'under the weather' from the previous evening's cotillion): "Pay for friends? Bullshit! With all the money I put into this place, I could have bought much better friends than these."

Sorority life: It's not easy being Greek - Opinion

Few Black Students Join Historically White Houses - Untold Stories

Article in the "Daily Northwestern" discusses reasons for the slow progress of diversity in the Greek world.

Media Credit: Photo Illustration by Tommy Giglio Weinberg sophomore Courtney Sharpe, center, chats on Monday with her sorority sisters in the Kappa Kappa Gamma house. Kappa Kappa Gamma, like many other sororities, is predominantly white. [Click to enlarge]

Media Credit: Tommy Giglio/The Daily Northwestern Left: Weinberg sophomore Dre Collier joined Delta Tau Delta last year after meeting members who lived in his dorm. [Click to enlarge]

Weinberg sophomore Courtney Sharpe has always felt caught between two worlds.

Growing up in a mostly white Houston suburb, she became accustomed to being one of the few black students in her classes and never found a place in the black community. So when she came to Northwestern, joining Kappa Kappa Gamma, a predominantly white sorority, was an easy transition.

Still, there are times when Sharpe, who was raised by her grandmother, a former sharecropper, longs for friends in her sorority who can share her background. And while she knows she can find that in NU's black community, she fears not being accepted there.

"I guess in most aspects of my life, I've been the outlier," Sharpe said.
[...]
But membership still brings challenges, from finding cultural commonalities with members of the house to connecting with the black community. Today, members of both traditionally white and historically black chapters are taking steps toward healing the divide that separates the two worlds.

"Although these organizations no longer engage in overt rejection of candidates based on race, many did in the past and, thus, have a history of such racial - as well as ethnic - exclusion," psychology Prof. Jennifer Richeson said in an e-mail. "Such a history is very hard to overcome, even if all of the current members would never think of engaging in such racial exclusion."
[...]
Greek officials said the number of black students remains low today in IFC and Panhel, which make up the bulk of Greek life on campus. Representatives from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, who were contacted by e-mail, phone and approached in person for this story, said they don't track the number of black students in Panhel and IFC. They declined to comment further.

But students say the reasons for small numbers are more a matter of comfort and logistics than overt racism.

"I don't think people are looking to be divided," said Weinberg senior Alex Lofton, a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. "There is some sort of barrier that's less malicious and more about how they grew up."
[...]
For Weinberg sophomore Dre Collier, the decision to join an IFC group was based on proximity and ease. Collier joined Delta Tau Delta last year after meeting members who lived in his freshman-year dorm, Bobb Hall.

Race was not a factor, Collier said. Although there are only a handful of other black students, Collier said he doesn't feel a cultural disconnect with other members.

Being part of a mostly white organization is "normal if you grew up in an upper-middle class society," Collier said.

"That's the way the other (black) guys (in Delt) grew up," he said. "Our styles don't conflict."
[...]
[SESP senior Jen Leyton, former president of Delta Delta Delta] said it's important to develop closer relationships with the National Pan-Hellenic Council, which represents historically black Greek organizations. Since Spring Quarter 2006, through a program called "Bridging the Gap," leaders of every chapter have attempted to overcome their differences by forging friendships.
[...]
But for blacks in mainstream Greek life, it is easy to feel like a minority among other black students, particularly those in the NPHC groups.
[...]
Collier said, for him, historically black fraternities were less accessible than mainstream Greek houses.

"I was never approached by (black Greek leaders)," Collier said. "I went down one path and they saw me as a lost cause. That community is very closed. It's more based on a network."

S&P had an opinion post about diversity some time ago. It is still relevant.

Few Black Students Join Historically White Houses - Untold Stories