Quote:
Originally Posted by SkiingSister
In the 70's I think it was, the members of Phi Kappa Tau chapter at California State University at Chico got fed up with their national, got rid of them and founded their own fraternity, Tau Gamma Theta.
Phi Kappa Tau must have recolonized and they are on campus.
Tau Gamma Theta has a house but are not recognized by IFC. I don't even think that have badges. They are known for their heavy drinking and hazing.
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In the spring of 1968, the national office of Phi Kappa Tau had a rule on the books. If a member of any chapter was found or known to be smoking marijuana, he was to be expelled. At Chico State, it was revealed that a member of the Phi Kappa Tau chapter did, in fact, smoke marijuana. It was policy that he be expelled. The overwhelming majority of the membership did not agree that his "crime" warranted expulsion- he was a functioning member of the group and he used marijuana on his own time and never while representing the organization. The rule was still a rule.
Charles Preusser, president of the Phi Taus, and forty-four other members of the organization, decided that they would not allow a fraternity headquarters thousands of miles away to dictate what they did in their personal lives. The broke off and formed the Tau Gamma Theta Fraternity, founding it on the ideals of Christian Values, Innate Worth of the individual, Democratic process, and tolerance.
Tau Gamma Theta became one of the most progressive fraternities in Chico, and rapidly grew in size. It became the first fraternity in Chico to allow a black man to pledge. It won "Pioneer Days" greek competitions repeatedly.
Now here's someone telling you that Tau Gamma Theta is a splinter group without badges that is known for hazing and heavy drinking. And that it's not recognized by the IFC. The IFC at Chico State has decided that no alcohol can be consumed in a fraternity house. I'm 22 years old and I live in a fraternity house. And if I want to drink a beer while I watch the final four, you better believe that no one's going to tell me that I can't do that in my own house.
Heavy drinking? Guilty. This is Chico, for christ's sake. We know how to have a good time. And unlike the IFC fraternities that hide their parties and work out loopholes in the system to sneak a keg into their functions, we're drinking right out in the open and celebrating our right to do so. This isn't the 1920's.
Hazing? Absolutely not. Just because we know how to drink and have fun doesn't mean we're going to force our behavior on anyone else. I am deeply offended by such a libelous and unfounded accusation.
The fact of the matter is, we broke away from our national chapter to take our activities into our own hands. No one sets rules for the members of Tau Gamma Theta except for the members of Tau Gamma Theta, and we've been doing it for almost forty years. If that's what you'd call a splinter group, then so be it. There were another 39 men who decided that they wouldn't be governed from thousands of miles away when they signed their own constitution. If these founders of this country were a splinter group, then I'm proud to be a member of one as well.