by Tameka L. Hicks and Mikal J. Harris

The Delta Chi fraternity’s appeal to SIUC Student Development for reinstatement of its Registered Student Organization status was denied Monday, but president Jay Curtis says Delta Chi has retained a lawyer to assist with the remainder of its lengthy appeals process.

Curtis said the fraternity’s lawyer whom he would not name is working pro bono on behalf of the fraternity. They also are consulting with the American Civil Liberties Union for help with what Curtis believes will be an uphill battle with the University.

Advertisement

We’re pretty much going to be denied all the way up the chain, he said. We’re just going to go and get a lawyer who won’t play their game.

At a March 5 administrative hearing, Delta Chi’s RSO status was revoked until the end of spring 2002. Student Development officials discovered that the fraternity, which was serving its second probation of the school year, organized a Feb. 13 Valentine’s social at the Marion Hotel and Conference Center. Alcohol was present at the event, despite the terms of the fraternity’s probation.

In the four-page letter of denial sent to the fraternity, Nancy Hunter Pei, director of Student Development, states that a keg was purchased from the hotel and became a self-serve, common source of alcohol, in violation of Delta Chi inter/national and Greek risk management policies. Pei further stated that no bartender was on duty at the social at which more than 70 people were in attendance no one at the event checked for underage drinking and no official registration of the event was processed.

Those actions violated the terms of Delta Chi’s probation, which explicitly stated that Delta Chi could neither organize nor co-sponsor any event at which alcohol was present. According to Pei, those actions also violated several major national risk management policies.

On Thursday, in response to fraternity members’ earlier charges that Delta Chi’s four-year suspension was too harsh for the Feb. 13 violation, Pei said SIUC’s Student Conduct Code allowed for Student Development officials to examine Delta Chi’s full disciplinary history in arriving at a suitable method of discipline. The fraternity had been disciplined for five additional incidents prior to that of Feb. 13.

Given that your application for appeal was limited to the question, Is the sanction imposed in keeping with the severity of the violations?’, Pei stated in the letter, the answer is yes.

The incidents and disciplinary proceedings involving Delta Chi during the 1997-1998 academic school year alone, the letter stated, were sufficient to conclude that the fraternity had demonstrated a lack of regard for the campus and the fraternity’s rules and regulations.

Advertisement*

I think I said it very clearly( in the letter), Pei told the Daily Egyptian during a phone interview. These decisions are never made lightly. The decisions are based upon prior incidents and previous disciplinary actions. That is outlined in the Student Conduct Code verbatim. That’s the same for any individual student.

But, Curtis said those past incidents should not determine the fraternity’s future.

They say we are not getting our appeal because of past incidents, he said. The reasons why we were on probation were ridiculous.

A summary of Delta Chi’s past troubles was listed in the letter as evidence of the chapter’s long history of violations.

In August, six members were involved in a fight at another fraternity’s house, where a woman was hit by a Delta Chi member. At a subsequent administrative hearing, the fraternities agreed to cease further activity.

In September, Delta Chi was released from a previous probation from the 1996-97 school year.

Following a Delta Chi big brother/little brother ceremony Oct. 8, an underaged new member was found intoxicated and passed out in his residence hall hallway. After the Student Resident Adviser contacted police, the police found his roommate another Delta Chi member passed out and unable to be awakened.

On Oct. 24, a month after the fraternity’s release from its first probation, Delta Chi had an event that involved alcohol. A bus that members chartered sustained more than $200 worth of damage, which included a toilet being ripped out of the bus.

A week later, on Oct. 31, after an administrative hearing for the Oct. 8 incident, Delta Chi was placed on probation through the end of spring semester 1998 under the conditions that the chapter could not sponsor or co-sponsor events involving alcohol.

The chapter was instructed to revise its new member program to ensure the absence of alcohol, specifically with activities which might occur during or following spontaneously or otherwise future big brother/little brother ceremonies, such as that occurring on Oct. 8. The fraternity did not submit the revision until Jan. 12, significantly after its Dec. 13 deadline.

By Feb. 15, the chapter was to host an open Select 2000 educational program in the Student Center with participation from 80 percent of its membership. But, Delta Chi had the program at the chapter house.

Curtis said he was under the impression that the meeting was supposed to be closed to the public.

That’s a complete lie, he said. It was not supposed to be open to all.

Nearly a year ago, SIUC became one of four universities to pilot the Select 2000 program, which requires all fraternity members to maintain grades, community service hours and alcohol and substance-free chapter houses. The program is to be completely implemented by the year 2000.

On Jan. 28, Andy Morgan, assistant program director of Student Development, met with Curtis to clarify the terms of the probation. Then, Morgan said that Delta Chi, again, could not have events where alcohol was present or the fraternity would be considered in violation of probation, which would result in an administrative hearing.

Curtis said he and his father later consulted with Chancellor Donald Beggs about the fraternity’s suspension. Beggs is one of the University administrators that Delta Chi may appeal to during the appeal process.

I told Jay that it has to go through the total process before it comes to me, Beggs said. I’m not about to intervene with any process.

Brian Vanselow, Delta Chi rush chairman, said that Student Development has only punished the fraternity without offering any assistance. He said it is their duty to serve SIUC students.

They’ve only pressed sanctions against us, Vanselow said. They never loaned a hand to help us. As far as for them, it is better to do away with us.

Both Brad Cole, Delta Chi adviser, and Bill Tallman, director of Chapter Development at the National Chapter in Iowa City, said they are behind the chapter’s plans to appeal.

Curtis, who believes the fraternity’s suspension is a direct result of Select 2000 guidelines, said their lawyer is eager to attack the Select 2000 initiative.

Interfraternity Council, Intergreek Council, USG and GPSC all voted to have this program suspended, he said. Why was their voice not heard? That’s not a democracy. That’s a bureaucracy and that doesn’t work.

The fraternity has until 4:30 p.m. Tuesday to submit a written application to Jean Paratore, associate vice chancellor for Student Affairs and Dean of Students.