Colgate withdraws recognition of three fraternities
 

Colgate withdraws recognition of three fraternities


December 9, 2004, 11:09 PM EST
HAMILTON, N.Y. -- Three fraternities at Colgate University will not be allowed to house students beginning next fall after negotiations to sell the Greek houses to the school failed.
Colgate will no longer recognize Alpha Tau Omega, Delta Kappa Epsilon and Kappa Delta Rho, school officials said Thursday.
Seven other fraternities and sororities reached agreements to sell their houses to the university before a Nov. 30 deadline. Colgate decided over a year ago to buy and regulate the houses after a series of hazing incidents.
In 2001, Colgate shut down Delta Kappa Epsilon for a year for serving alcohol to the driver in a crash that killed four people. Kappa Delta Rho was suspended indefinitely last fall after the university accused members of hazing, and Alpha Tau Omega was suspended for four years in 2000 for fighting.
With the university's oversight, the Greek organizations will lose some individual governance and must follow one set of rules for social events, recruiting and dining.
"The university has put a lot of time and resources into these negotiations, and there were a couple houses that couldn't come along, but the lion's share has," college spokesman Charlie Melichar said.
Alumni chapters of each Greek organization must vote by March 15 on selling the houses for the agreement to become final.
About 40 percent of Colgate students belong to a fraternity or sorority. The university, 45 miles southeast of Syracuse, has about 2,750 undergraduates.
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Why should the fraternities be forced to sell?

How can they force people not to live there?

-Rudey

They can pressure many students to not live there by not granting financial aid that would normally cover housing.

If Colgate is private, they can do whatever they want. They can kick non-compliant students out of school.

Or maybe they have some zoning thing going for them where if the school doesn't recognize you as a GLO, then you're violating a zoning ordinance with x number of people under one roof.

Lots of possibilities.

The chair of Colgate's board of trustees explains the action in a letter on Colgate's web site:

http://www.colgate.edu/DesktopDefaul...6013&nwID=3190

or just go to http://www.colgate.edu and look for the relevant news headline.

As I understand from the trustees' statement, fraternities that did not sell will not be recognized and students will not be able to live in those unrecognized houses.

And yes, Colgate is most assuredly private; it's also very hard to get into, expensive, and ranks high in the U.S. News and World Report listings of national liberal arts schools.

This is one of the reasons why fraternities on my campus refused to identify their members...

-Rudey

What does that mean, "This is one of the reasons why fraternities on my campus refused to identify their members..."?

Very nice.


So, you are saying We dont like to let people know We are Greeks.


Nice Signature. :cool:

Seems pretty heavy handed to me, but as has been pointed out, a private entity can do pretty much what it wants.

It makes perfect sense if you can expect reprisals from administrators.

Not that hard to get into; 31% is a pretty high admissions rate for such a small school.

If you were going to get kicked out of school for being Greek, you wouldn't tell people you were. It's why we don't let our administration know who's in VOXX.

So, does this make them Clubs with Greek Letters?

Does anyone think that The School doesnt know they are there?

If these Greek Organizations did not do the things that they did, would they be suspended?

Who is trying to fool who?

We as Greeks seem to be our own worst enemies dont you think?

I'm wondering how the college owning a physical structure will cut down/eliminate something like hazing. Sure, I can see how they can enforce some additional rules on parties, but.....I don't know....I don't really get their point.

PsychTau

I reviewed their web site for a bit before posting here. It is clear on the web site that all students must live in campus housing except for 250 seniors who used to be able to apply for exemption. In the past, fraternity and sorority houses were acceptable alternatives to living in. They would clearly know who wasn't living in their campus housing so keeping their members a secret wouldn't help in this particular situation. It also sounds like they will no longer be exempting any seniors from living on campus. I imagine the local landlords who rent to these seniors now are none too happy either. Overall, the school sounds very controlling and not somewhere I'd want to go, personally!

That said, I don't see how a university can force an incorporated entity run by alumni (assuming their house corps are incorporated as ours are encouraged to be) to sell their real estate. I can see how they can require students to live in, but to force the sale of the house is ridiculous. If the organization chose to sell, they can legally sell to whoever they want. If they want to rent it out to some other people, that is their choice too. If they want to let it sit empty, that is also their choice. It isn't as though the collegians own the house.

Dee

DEE, I think you are absolutely right. I dont know of any Chapter of any Greek Organization that outright owns a chapter house.

Most if not school owned are owned by Aluni Associations via a House Corporation or in some cases like LXA LCAP which has taken over ownership to preserve the investment.

U. Ark was taken over by LCAP and rented until that Chapter was reinstated or U. Mo. where it was sold. The Chapter has since ReChartered and is living in the SX House as they were suspended.

But, as was priviously stated, Private schools have a much larger leeway to judge and decide than Tax supported schools.