At the end of last semester, the Greek Judicial Board, the student body that handles disciplinary action against greek organizations, issued strict sanctions to two fraternities following testimony by leaders of the organization that according to chair of the Board, Andrew Siegmann ’06, showed “blatant disregard” for the rules at RPI.
“It was clear from the hearings that neither organization would admit to doing something wrong,” Siegmann said. “It really does more damage than good.”
The first fraternity, Phi Sigma Kappa, whose house is at the intersection of Burdett Avenue and Hoosick Street, was put on emergency suspension last September after underage students were found drinking there. A few days later, during the suspension, more underage students were again found drinking.
Following the investigation, the Dean of Students Office issued sanctions on the house that were appealed to the Greek J-Board. During the hearing that followed, Siegmann said, the representatives from Phi Sigma Kappa made “no admittance of any sort of guilt” and gave the impression to the Board that they did not feel there was anything wrong in what they did. As a result, the Board decided to add another year to the suspension that DOSO had given and require representatives of Phi Sigma Kappa to hold a seminar for the greek community on how the judicial system at RPI functions and integrates with the greek system.
The sanctions against Phi Sigma Kappa currently include suspension through December 31, 2007; a permanent ban on alcohol in the chapter houses; the required hiring of an advisor to live in the house; the allowance of alcohol to be served at social events after January 1, 2010, but only by third party vendors at venues other than the chapter house; and the seminar, which the organization must give sometime in 2008. These sanctions are being appealed to the Review Board, which will hear the case later this month.
The second fraternity the Board sanctioned was Delta Tau Delta. Siegmann said the case was “essentially the same” as the Phi Sigma Kappa case, with underage students drinking at a house event to the point that one female student was taken to the hospital. Again, representatives of the fraternity would not admit guilt at the hearing, and the Board decided to extend the probationary period recommended by DOSO.
The sanctions against Delta Tau Delta, which are now finalized because the fraternity has opted not to appeal, are suspension through May 31, 2006, probation through May 31, 2009, a ban on alcohol in the house during probation, and the required hiring of an advisor to live in the house during the probation.
Siegmann emphasized that the main reason for the extension of the sanctions against the fraternities was the refusal to admit guilt during the hearings.
“The greek community as a whole is being hurt by people lacking to take guilt for something that might have gone wrong,” he said.
Associate Dean of Students and Senior Judicial Administrator Travis Apgar said, “It’s one thing to make a mistake, but the thing we expect is that you accept your actions, learn from them, and move on.”
