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Old 05-13-2008, 06:49 PM
LXA grits LXA grits is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2002
Location: Lakeland, FL
Posts: 83
I want to make sure nobody is making assumptions.

I said that if a member was using illegal drugs, they would need to be held accountable for those actions. I did not specify what that consequence would be, because I think those types of reactions need to be appropriate to individual situations. If the Constitution and Statutory Code does not explicitly mandate or advise a particular punishment, then it is up to the chapter's Executive Committee (or, at a higher level, the Grand High Zeta or General Assembly) to decide what consequence is appropriate.

To specifically answer GammaZeta’s question…(“So you're saying, if you ever saw one of you brothers using drugs, you would immediately begin the process of kicking them out?”):

I was Phi, Standards Chairman, and an Exec member-at-large my senior year. I found out three members were making a bad name for Lambda Chi by smoking weed and associating drugs with our chapter. I brought them up on charges in front of Exec, and a decision was made by the Committee. ...(I think, if I remember correctly, that they (1) were required to be sober - no drugs or alcohol - for the rest of that academic year, they (2) completed extra house clean-up chores, and they (3) attended a college presentation on the negative effects of drugs.) These were three decent guys that ended up quitting the drugs and rebuilding their relationship with the chapter. I think one became Tau and the other became Kappa their senior years. So, yes, I certainly think members (and chapters) can grow to become better after difficulties, if appropriate measures are taken. A member can be rebuked, and then as long as he seeks forgiveness through mending his ways, then he can improve his status back to full-membership. ...same thing for a chapter.

On the other hand, I've also been placed in the sad, but sometimes necessary, role of leading a Membership Review committee. This "house-cleaning", as I've seen it called, was at a chapter of about 100 members. This Zeta was in such disarray, due mostly to drug and alcohol abuse, that their operations were struggling to stay above water. Their leadership was disrespected, their treasury was in the red, each of their offices was in a sad state, and overall morale was killing their chance of survival. It was deemed impossible that this chapter would be able to climb up the improvement ladder with its current membership of so many men pulling down the chapter, again mostly due to their illegal lifestyles. It was necessary to work with them to ensure the chapter on that campus had re-growth. This was only possible if the men that were dragging down the chapter were formally disconnected from the fraternity, through the decisions of the Membership Review Committee. At the time, I hated it when I handed out 49 expulsion letters. I still don't like the fact that the environment in that Zeta had become so bad that it was necessary to expel them in order to save the chapter. But, now, I see that it saved the chapter in the end.

We don’t know the particulars in this situation, so we’re in no position to cast judgment. Let the chapter take care of itself, in most situations. In this case, someone has deemed that the chapter can’t make this decision on its own. If it’s up to the University, they’re going to do what they want to do…it’s their Greek system. If the decision comes down to our Office of Administration or a Status of Chapters Committee during this summer’s General Assembly…then I’m sure our brothers will do what’s in the best interest of the experience shared by the members of this fraternity.
__________________
Chris Hall 2001 Lambda Chi Alpha
Epsilon-Xi Zeta 937 (Florida Southern College)
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