On Monday, the Greek Judicial Board reached a decision on the appealed case of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity. The board convened on April 21 and considered the appeal that centered on the infractions of Rensselaer’s grounds for disciplinary action.
According to the press release from the Greek Judicial Board, Tau Kappa Epsilon was already on disciplinary probation and suspension of social privileges when they held a social event at their house, serving alcohol to over 50 people who were in attendance. The release said the party was in violation of the IFC party policy and was a direct and intentional violation of the sanctions previously imposed by the Greek Judicial Board in February 2003.
The release stated that the chapter admitted knowingly violating the terms of the disciplinary suspension by pledging new members into the fraternity and partaking in pledge activities that were in line with Rensselaer’s definition of hazing. Tau Kappa Epsilon continued to have alcohol present in the chapter house, even after the sanction stipulation called for the house to be alcohol free.
Greek Judicial Board Chair Andrew Siegmann stated in the press release that, “The chapter seemed and essentially implied to not be able to function correctly as a fraternity without alcohol.” In the chapter’s defense, witnesses admitted to the mistakes the chapter had made, but the current fate of the chapter was dismissed as being the fault of the older fraternity members.
After review of the evidence and deliberations, the board modified the original sanctions proposed by DOSO. This process, as described by Siegmann, is the “greek community monitoring the greek community. The administration has nothing to do with it.” The new sanctions being issued include disciplinary suspension from March 31, 2006 until March 31, 2016. Secondly, no RPI student will be permitted to live in the Tau Kappa Epsilon chapter house, effective May 31, 2006. Finally, the fraternity will be allowed to reapply for institute recognition any time after March 31, 2016. These all reinforce the premise that Tau Kappa Epsilon should cease to exist for a significant amount of time. “If they mess up, this is the price they have to pay,” Siegmann commented.
The sanctions were increased because the board felt that action must be taken against the fraternity for the blatant disregard towards nearly all the sanctions put forth to the chapter. The board also considered complete expulsion of Tau Kappa Epsilon from Rensselaer. This idea was discussed in February 2003; the Greek Judicial Board’s decision at that time said that “... any further violations of any alcohol policies or laws during the probation period will result in the expulsion of the chapter.” The current board felt that the sanction was unfair and unnecessary since the future Rensselaer community could benefit from a new and reborn Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.
The chapter failed to present a convincing case for more lenient sanctions; the board cited concerns that the same issue might otherwise reappear in a few years. According to the press release, “Four years would not be enough time to erase the perception of the current Tau Kappa Epsilon image from campus and truly give the fraternity a fair chance to start fresh and unhindered from its past mistakes.”
In response to these new sanctions, the members of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity have appealed the case to the Review Board in hopes of lowering the charges drastically. According to Tau Kappa Epsilon brother, Benjamin Saenger ’08, the chapter brought the appeal to the Greek Judicial Board in hopes that all the sanctions would be dropped on the account that there was not enough evidence against the house. However, once the decision was passed with increased sanctions, Saenger said the brothers were “not impressed.” The brothers of Tau Kappa Epsilon plan to purse the appeal to the Review Board and present the idea of re-colonizing the current fraternity in an effort to save it on Rensselaer’s campus.
