Fraternity Sues Major University - Thoughts?

[KnightNews]

Beta Theta Pi at UCF is suing the school for finding it guilty of sexual misconduct, even after the girl dropped her criminal rape charges against the fraternity.

UCF suspended Beta for 2 years, but now Beta is actually planning to sue UCF administrators personally for damages -- they say they're another Duke Lacrosse.

There's more details here:
http://knightnews.com/2009/08/beta-l...pend-students/

I'm a reporter at KnightNews.com and was checking around for my next story to see if anyone else has heard of a fraternity winning a lawsuit and coming back to campus early. E-mail me at the send story tips section on http://knightnews.com or post here if you have info to share! Thanks for the insight!

[Kevin]

I have nothing more than your story to go on, but it leaves out some things I'd love to know. Namely:

1) What sort of testimony was given by the alleged victim? Did she testify in person? Was there an opportunity for cross-examination? In other words, did Beta have the opportunity to confront its accuser? This is a quasi-criminal sort of court as it is supposedly hearing evidence of a crime and then meting out pretty significant punishment. I know the U.S. Constitution does not require those things in this particular setting (See Osteen v. Henley), but how about the relevant Florida laws?

Also, Osteen v. Henley is not going to be exactly on point here. In that case, the student had already admitted guilt. I wonder whether the Constitution would confer other procedural safeguards which wouldn't have been allowed in Osteen? The Matthews v. Eldridge balancing test isn't especially helpful here.

2) Was it proper for the hearing officer to speak to the press? That action churns my stomach. I know he's not a real judge, but he's serving in a judicial capacity on what is maybe (depending on whether the enabling legislation aspect is fatal to the board's jurisdiction) a quasi-judicial administrative board. In the real world judges and courts do not give press conferences.

3) Are the arguments you're talking about in your article the only ones being raised? I can think of others, but I have no idea about any part of Florida law.

[Ghostwriter]

If I read this right the lady had sex with an alumnus of Beta Theta Pi but this alumus was not even an alumnus from UCF. The Beta's at UCF may or may not have known about the actions of the alum. The lady decided that the charges should be dropped after she lied about it the first time claiming up to 15 people raped her but later backed that down to 1.

If this were a real court of law I seriously believe it would have been thrown out due to lack of evidence.

Bottomline - the school was in error and this should not have occured. It is very similar to the Duke case with the school piling on. Their argument is specious at best.

[Kevin]

Universities don't have to stick to the letter of the law. Rules of evidence don't apply, nor are you even entitled to representation. Florida's administrative code might specify some sort of procedure, but usually academic institutions are exempted because it would be overly burdensome to them to expect them to keep up with procedural minutia for the expulsion process for one of many campus organizations since professors generally aren't lawyers and requiring lawyers to be part of the disciplinary process would cost a lot of money.

As far as the ultimate conduct is concerned, in a criminal case, the prosecution has to prove its case beyond a reasonable doubt. The standard is VERY different for hearings like this. Generally, so long as the decision is not arbitrary and capricious and it is generally supported by the record, then it'll be upheld.

It seems there's a legitimate challenge here, but it could go either way.

[ECUJacob]

I'm not directly involved with this situation, but have heard (from those involved) of what occurred.

1) What sort of testimony was given by the alleged victim? Did she testify in person? Was there an opportunity for cross-examination? In other words, did Beta have the opportunity to confront its accuser?

It's my understanding that she testified via email/fax, after refusing to be there in person or via phone/video.

I think it's also important to point out that Beta Theta Pi, as a General Fraternity, continues to recognize the UCF Chapter as an entity despite the university's lack of recognition.

Here's a few other situations I've found where fraternities sued their host institutions:

"Expelled Fraternity Sues College" http://www.dickinson.edu/dickinsonian/detail.cfm?1921

"Christian Fraternity Sues U. of Florida Over Denial of Recognition" http://chronicle.com/article/Christi...y-Sues-U/39206

A book, "The Law of Higher Education", By William A. Kaplin, Barbara A. Lee, had some court cases in it as well.

"Alabama college ordered to reinstate suspended fraternity members" http://www.freedomforum.org/template...cumentID=15414

"Suspended students sue UW" http://www.trib.com/articles/2007/12...a8000e0f6f.txt

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Ghostwriter

It is very similar to the Duke case with the school piling on.

Not really. In the Duke lacrosse case, it was the district attorney, not Duke, that did most of the piling on. Depsite the rhetoric quoted in the article, I'm not convinced it's very accurate to desribe this as Duke all over again.

It makes for a good soundbite though.

[The Dorg]

A little off subject but.....

The directors of Beta national and the staff that run the administrative office operate in a manner that is conspicuously "politically correct". Beta national will very often abandon a chapter for the slightest of infractions. I think Beta will do this more so than any other greek organization.

From what I can determine, this seems (not always) to be the case with the several large fraternities that have created what are basically "two tiered" organizations (i.e. Men of Principle, Balanced Man etc.).

The fact that Beta national is supporting the UCF chapter is a bit unusual (which is good for a change). It could be, in part, that Beta national is supporting the UCF chapter because it is a "Men of Principle" chapter. It makes me sad to say this, but if the UCF chapter were not a Men of Principle chapter, the support may not have been there.

Unfortunately, from what I can tell, it seems the fraternities that have two tiered systems may not treat all their chapters equally. This reality appears to be rather odd given the concept of what a fraternity is supposed to be.

Is anyone surprised that a university handled this situation the way it did? It's no secret that many people on staff at many colleges and universities in the United states are some of the most unethical and morally bankrupt folks out there. The decision on Beta by UCF should not have come as a surprise to anyone.

[Ghostwriter]

Originally Posted by MysticCat

Not really. In the Duke lacrosse case, it was the district attorney, not Duke, that did most of the piling on. Depsite the rhetoric quoted in the article, I'm not convinced it's very accurate to desribe this as Duke all over again.

It makes for a good soundbite though.

I disagree. The faculty at Duke did come out squarely against the Lacrosse team and in support of the stripper without the full story. A letter to the newspapers was signed by quite a few faculty members and poisoned the well against the team members so to speak. This was an effort on their part to be perceived as politically correct. The accused members of the team as well as the coach have since sued the University over the actions of the faculty. I believe several of the players have settled out of court with some suits still pending. I live 10 miles from the campus and this case was all over the local news as well as nationally. The similarities are definitely there.

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by Ghostwriter

I disagree. The faculty at Duke did come out squarely against the Lacrosse team and in support of the stripper without the full story. A letter to the newspapers was signed by quite a few faculty members and poisoned the well against the team members so to speak. This was an effort on their part to be perceived as politically correct. The accused members of the team as well as the coach have since sued the University over the actions of the faculty. I believe several of the players have settled out of court with some suits still pending. I live 10 miles from the campus and this case was all over the local news as well as nationally. The similarities are definitely there.

I see your point (I'm in the same media market as well), and the faculty and administration at Duke clearly ran amok and piled on -- I shouldn't have suggested otherwise. But they did so after the criminal proceedings, which were the bigger issue, were already in high gear, and to me that seems to be a fundamental difference.

I think at the root of it, I'm just leary of any situation being labeled "the next Duke lacrosse case" (or the next whatever else) -- I tend to think that sort of tag does little but to put emotion and preconceived assumptions ahead of facts. Perhaps it's simply the lawyer in me, but when I hear the fraternity comparing its situation to the Duke lacrosse case, my reaction is to think that someone is overselling. Like I said, it makes a good soundbite.

[Firehouse]

Someone asked to be made aware of any other faternities winning cases against the university. Here are two that took place here in Florida in 2008.

I don't know what the legal title of the case was, but Pi Kappa Alpha won a landmark case against the Univerity of Florida in 2008. The way it was explained to me was that after the ruling the university asked for "clarification" which I'm told is a way for the school to make additional arguments. The judge ruled for the fraternity on all counts, dismissed all university overtures and ordered the Pike chapter reinstated immediately. But by that time the chapter had dropped from 100 members to a handful. At issue was the typical arrogance and high-handed behavior of the university. They did not follow their own rules, and disparaged the fraternity publicly. In addition, the very charges that caused the uproar proved to be false, but the university continued their bullying arrogance believing that they could not be challenged. That's what generally happens; that's the way so many schools operate. But the 100-year old Pike chapter has over 3,000 alumni. They're maintaining a skeleton chapter until they can build a new house. They're still contemplating what action they might take against the university and/or individual administrators.

The second case took place here at Florida State in 2007. Sigma Phi Epsilon's officers had to travel to Panama City overnight to attend some required IFC retreat. Four idiot brothers took 30 pledges in the winter and stuck them under a house in downtown Tallahassee. FSU Police had been tipped off. They found 30 pledges dressed in filthy t-shirts crammed underneath in freezing weather. The four Sig Eps were charged with hazing by the State Attorney and the 150-man chapter suspended.
A local judge threw out all the evidence because the FSU PD had left their own jurisdiction to come into town without informing the Tallahassee PD beforehand. Evidently this case is just one instance in an ongoing battle over jurisdiction between the two police departments. But even so, Sigma Phi Epsilon has been off campus for two years and there's no word on when they might return.

[knight_shadow]

Originally Posted by bobie

Are colleges above the laws of the land or higher courts?

Who said that they were?

[MysticCat]

Originally Posted by bobie

Are colleges above the laws of the land or higher courts?

Hello Tom.

[ECUJacob]

Beta national will very often abandon a chapter for the slightest of infractions. I think Beta will do this more so than any other greek organization.

I must respectfully disagree with this statement. Our General Fraternity often provides chapters the freedom to govern themselves with minor infractions. I say this speaking from personal experience as a Chapter Advisor.

The fact that Beta national is supporting the UCF chapter is a bit unusual (which is good for a change). It could be, in part, that Beta national is supporting the UCF chapter because it is a "Men of Principle" chapter. It makes me sad to say this, but if the UCF chapter were not a Men of Principle chapter, the support may not have been there.

I must also inform you that we no longer differentiate chapters based on participation in the Men of Principle Initiative. The initiative/program, now over ten years old, has been completey integrated in our organization's operations. Therefore, all chapters are expected to adhere to the standards it sets.

[Knights 157]

The Zeta Psi Chapter is receiving support from the Administrative Office, (and as such, is being allowed to operate as a private chapter unaffiliated with UCF) but I don't think it's just because they are a "Men of Principle" chapter. I think the Administrative Office, for one, doesn't want to get sued, and two, I think the AO knows the men there are great Betas and has their head on straight regarding everything. Further, this was the first disciplinary issue with the chapter in it's 9-year history, so I'm sure that helped since it was not a pattern of behavior.

It is interesting that from all of Beta's claims in their appeal, UCF has made changes to it's Golden Rule handbook. All of the changes are direct reactions to points brought up by Beta. I'm not sure of the implications of making such blatant changes like that in the middle of a court appeals process is, if any, though.

http://knightnews.com/2009/09/osc-pr...le-for-alumni/

That article highlights one change, but it does not really get into the others. If UCF was so right all of this time, then why make those changes and those changes specifically?

[Langox510x]

I honestly hope they do go through a lawsuit. Rape is horrible, but false allegations of rape is extremely detrimental, and usually without much or any accountability. My organization has never had any formal charges around the allegation of rape, but rumors have surfaced many times before, and it sickens me.

Anyways, if anybody can provide any advice for my org please click my link:

http://www.greekchat.com/gcforums/sh...d.php?t=108008