Columbia Beta Theta Pi

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This was in Greek Life:

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Beta Is Back With Brotherhood And a 92 Inch Flat-Screen TV!


By Caitlin Connolly-Rankin
Columbia Daily Spectator
February 07, 2005


Five years ago, Beta Theta Pi was shut down on charges of drug abuse and bad behavior. Now, this same frat boasts a new set of member standards and, at 92 inches, the biggest flat screen television of any frat in the nation.

After its disbanding in 2000, the future of Beta’s chapter at Columbia, Alpha Alpha, was in question. But members of CC ’06 came together in 2002 to recreate a Beta with new standards for membership and more than a million dollars for improvements to their brownstone on 114th St.

The students who took on the challenge of rebuilding Beta nearly from scratch based their new frat on a grounding principle of brotherhood. Without older brothers to guide them, new Beta brothers have created their own rules and traditions. They initially required that all brothers maintain a minimum grade point average of 2.75 and stipulated that the house be a dry one.

“In short, it’s a shifting of focus from drinking to more intellectual endeavors,” said David Caldwell, CC ’06, vice president of Beta. He added that the fraternity is currently building a library in its house that will house sets of Literature Humanities books for common use.

Beta, formerly a wrestling frat, is now “a different kind of fraternity experience,” said Wayne Ting, CC ’06, a new brother. “It was a very different Beta that was disbanded.”

Current Betas feel they have exceeded expectations originally set out for them. This year, according to Ting, Beta brothers have the highest GPA in the fraternity system, and they now require that every pledge do community service.

Members say they have kept their promises not to drink in the house, believing that brotherhood should be about a “shared communal experience ... not so much getting plastered,” according to Ting.

These changes to the philosophy of Columbia’s Betas mirror changes in the philosophy of the national Beta umbrella organization. After Beta chapters across the country were forced to close because of behavioral problems, the Beta Theta Pi organization began the “Men of Principle Initiative,” which aims to improve the quality of life within Beta.

The initiative proscribes that the brotherhood “aids the individual, builds the Fraternity, and strengthens the host academic institution through lifelong devotion to intellectual excellence, high standards of moral conduct and responsible citizenship,” according to its national web site.

Ting describes the new Columbia Beta brother as someone who “has this man of principle within him.” In the past two years, he said, Betas have included four class presidents, many varsity sports members, and other brothers who are very active on campus. They were, he said, “new guys who had new ideas about a new frat.”

“Its not like a lot of fraternities,” said Dan Free, CC ’08, a Beta member and the only first-year in Greek housing. “We like to get people who come here for the principles, who share the same ideas.”

Beta alumni, impressed with the improvements to Columbia’s brotherhood, decided to donate some of the $1.5 million needed to renovate the five-floor Beta house at 550 114th St.; the rest came from fund-raising. The renovations included wireless internet embedded between the first and second floors and the new big screen television.

The Beta house is the only traditional fraternity at Columbia owned by alumni instead of the University. The alumni work directly with Columbia Housing and Dining because the neighbors are mostly Columbia residents. While Beta is treated by Columbia in much the same way as other frats, the University doesn’t provide it with some of the same resources it provides to the others, like toilet paper. But, during the renovations, Columbia employees helped wire the Beta house’s telephones.

According to Hikaru Kozuma, associate director at the Dean of Student Affairs Office, who works as a liaison between the University and its various fraternities and sororities, said no conflicts exist between Columbia and the Beta alumni or the national Beta organizations.

“You’d be surprised at how self-sufficient the groups here are,” said Kozuma, who helps with policies, procedures, advising, and resources for event planning.

The perception of Beta by other members of Greek life is mixed. “I like the dudes in Beta,” said Kalonji Perry, CC ’06, who is the president of Pi Kappa Alpha.

Others aren’t as impressed by Beta’s new attitude. “The bottom line is they’re a bunch of winners,” said a sarcastic Jonah Van Bourg, CC ’07, a member of Pi Kappa Alpha.

According to the Inter-Greek Council, there is no animosity between the chapters. “It’s a really unique community here”, said Emily Ross, CC ’06, President of the IGC.

“I feel like we’re a really great community, and I feel like more people should know that,” said Ross, who feels that many students think fraternities exist just for parties. She is helping the IGC in attempts to change this by coordinating a community service drive and a Greek Week on campus.

Beta might seem a little calmer than the rest, but with a 92-inch flat screen, their Super Bowl party on Sunday was sure to attract some rowdy friends.