[PSK480]

Just to post an update so everyone can read what happend and what the Grand Council has decided on doing I figured I would just post on here as a reply to this thread:

Well some of the things that you need to understand before giving you the actual facts of the case are about Pennsylvania culture, how our "house" is legally viewed, and that this is a state run institution of higher education. In Pennsylvania gun ownership for hunting and sport shooting is very big and a highly regarded part of the suburban and rural cultures. Secondly the "house" we occupy is off campus and not even inside the borough the school is located in. On top of that it is legally broken up into seperate apartments with lockable ajoining doors. There are a one man, a two man, a three man, and a nine man apartment. Each person signs a seperate lease with our landlord, who is in no way affiliated with Phi Sigma Kappa or the school. Each room in the nine man apartment is actually considered by PA state law to be a seperate apartment. There are no chapter, alumni, or national funds used to secure the house, each brother is responsible for his own rent.

Now for the actual events. On the night of October 19th there was a home invasion and shooting across the street from our "house". Some of our brothers are friends with the guys living there and one of those involved came over for help. The three brothers, all had permits to carry, had their guns locked in their rooms in lock boxes, walked across the street with guns concealed and unloaded to help their friend make sure no one was in the apartment. A short time later the State Police arrived and came over to interview the brothers. The police inspected the guns to make sure they were not used, and were satisfied. They then took down statements from the brothers and told us to have a good night and they would have done the same thing for a friend. While the police were at the "house" university officials showed up to "assist" in the investigation at our house, they more or less just sat around trying to get information off the police.

On October 21st our chapter president recieved a call requesting all brothers who live in the "house" to attend a meeting in one of the administration buildings. When we arrived they seperated us and told us not to talk. What then took place was a keystone kops meets people with dellusions of being FBI agents. Members of the administration interigated us with out ever notifying us of any rights we have. We then recieved letters stating that the chapter was being brought up on University Judicial Board charges for having guns in our "house", under FIPG. At our hearing we aregued, with national support, that our "house" is not a house but an apartment complex that it just so happens only brothers rent. We also argued that Clarion can not ajudicate policy that is not their's. Another point we made was the ineptitude of the Greek Life Advisor as far as educating greeks on policy. We lost our case, not a bog surprise b/c the university doesn't like us or greek life in general. With the help of Mike Carey we filed 32 points of appeal, and recieved a 1.5 page letter telling us it was turned down.

After that we had to wait for the Grand Council's decision. We finally found that out in early March. Along with the decision, the Grand Council, through the Grand President, sent a four page letter to Clarion explaining that they were keeping us open and why. Adding that we know our legal rights and not to push too hard. This letter was sent to the National HQ of all NIC fraternities, NPC sororities, and NPHC fraternities and sororities on our campus. We can still operate as long as we do not hold chapter events on campus and do not participate in events sponsored directly by IFC Panhel or Greek Life that are restricted to greeks. Which doesn't bother us. We have good relationships with most of the fraternities and sororities and continue to hang out with them. This just means we don't have to worry about float, greek week, or IFC dues. Plus we only have to operate by national rules.

Hope this helps.