Alpha Chapter Woes

[furmanbeta]

Hey everyone,

I only recently started to hear a little about what was going on with Alpha. There's currently a running blog on their issues. Any further information would be helpful. In the meantime, take a read, it's pretty interesting stuff.

Pete

http://www.wooglinswoods.blogspot.com/

[Coramoor]

Sounds to me like the AO is showing their hand prematurely.

Has anyone doubted that within a few years we are going to be a Honorary/Commmunity service fraternity?

It's been going in this direction bit by bit for quite a while.

[a.e.B.O.T.]

This blog is mind boggling to read. Although I have always stayed on the fence when it comes to my feelings about the AO, I only hope that this blog is lacking information. I doubt that the Alpha Chapter is even close to our worse off, and I dont think the Alpha chapter should hold it self to special standards (high standards nevertheless). I think that we are all brothers, and we all need to hold ourselves equal, no matter what chapter, and likewise, the AO should do the same. I am on the fence whether the AO should have forced a reorganization, and their authority to suspend members; according to the blog, a lot of the reasons was that those people were told they were not allowing the chapter self-governess, well, that if that is truly what the AO holds dear, then they have no business reorganizing. This is the first that I've heard of this situation, and I hope that such events do not hurt the chapters reputation on campus, because such events could scare potential members, and hurt the morale of the active brothers. I do think that reorganizations are often necessary within our fraternity, and we need to hold are selves to the standards we commited ourselves, which does mean sometimes trimming the fat. Beta is a privledge, not a right! I also think these blogs are childish in rhetoric. I realize their anger, which could cause such release, but the blog is sublined 'Your Number One Source for Alpha Chapter Gossip' which is inappropriate to spread. So, this is a tough situation, and I think that based on this blog, the AO and the men writing this blog are both in the blog

[ECUJacob]

So, this entire blog is filled with holes and blanks that I would like to have filled. It's only showing one person's side of the story.

Bryan Stainfield started the blog on Wed., February 14th. So, almost two weeks later, after several heated posts, he still has not provided a background for whatever drama is going on up there.

I'm curious as to what happened that would drive the AO to have a review of the chapter.

[ZZ-kai-]

Sounds like a lot of holes in that story to me, lots of bitching and not much meat to it. I highly doubt that the AO just went in there just to go in there. They're not going to make waves just for shits and giggles. That being said, it seems that 4 guys have a blog, and one pissed off mom, and thats about it. That is about 3% of their chapter. Until more info. is posted, or this becomes a public discussion among actives/alumns/chapters, I'm not putting too much into it. Seems like some guys whining to me??!!

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by ECUJacob

So, this entire blog is filled with holes and blanks that I would like to have filled. It's only showing one person's side of the story.

Bryan Stainfield started the blog on Wed., February 14th. So, almost two weeks later, after several heated posts, he still has not provided a background for whatever drama is going on up there.

I'm curious as to what happened that would drive the AO to have a review of the chapter.

Stories are already starting to circulate. I have my own limited opinions which I have no intention of airing on the web, but be that as it may I am sorry to see this blog.

It is a no-win situation.

For starters, unless the full story can be told- it is useless as a tool to get the rest of us to look at what happened and make our opinions heard if such a thing is merited.

Second, you can't tell the whole story on the internet because this is a private fraternity matter! As long as whatever happens in a chapter problem does not involve any criminal charges or public threat, then it is a matter for the chapter first, and the Beta brotherhood second- and nobody else at all.

I have much to say about this, but I cannot even bring myself to hint at my inclinations. This just doesn't belong on the internet.

But I will say- this young man is our brother and clearly upset and worthy of our consideration and care regardless of which side is right or wrong on any given issue. I hope he will bring this blog down and handle the matter among brothers- even emailing guys like us from other chapters just to be there to listen if that helps.

[BigRedBeta]

I e-mailed Bryan late last week and he said there was going to be a full disclosure post soon, starting from the very beginning which stretches back to last year. Apparently it's a pretty long story.

Given the small run-ins we've had with EC's in the past couple years about parties and the like, having the AO over your shoulder is probably a real tough thing. While I can certainly understand the GF's position on the grounds of risk, insurance costs, and general image to the public, I think there is a pretty big lack of understanding on their side as to just what the implications of their position are on the chapters. Regardless of what they want chapters to be, the chapters still have to provide what rushees are looking for. And at many places that includes girls, parties, and alcohol, in addition to great brotherhood, academic success and men of principle. If this ends up being about social policies I wouldn't be surprised, but it will still upset me (considering how good Alpha has been over the past several years...of course, if they undergo some sort of reorg, then my chapter can take back our lead in total Knox awards...)

[furmanbeta]

So you're all aware, the blog has been updated to give a concrete series of events. It's a pretty interesting read if you get the chance.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by furmanbeta

So you're all aware, the blog has been updated to give a concrete series of events. It's a pretty interesting read if you get the chance.

Thanks for the good word- I had given up checking figuring it would go away.

Seems this is much as I figured.

1. This post does in fact confirm that this whole matter started within the chapter.

2. Despite that, it seems like AO and the advisors are all bad guys and not one nice thing can be said about them. They are also named individually.

3. All of the disciplined members are presented in the highest terms- not a word against any of them or even an admission there might have been some bad judgement calls. And while the AO and advisors involved all get named, we have yet to see a list of those who were disciplined.

4. The post also confirms, as I suspected, that the entire intent of having the two separate houses (I did not know one was rented from a Beta alum) was to circumvent the chapter risk management policy- which many ACTIVES clearly did not like because they instigated this whole process.

Taking the new pledges over to an annex house and having communal alcohol is absolutely an RM violation under the chapter's own rules- and puts the chapter, advisors and GF at the same legal risks as if that event had happened in the house. That is very clearly where you go from having a house rented by some Betas and get into the territory of having a Beta house "on the side".

Whether any of us agree with the dry house concept, some actives at this chapter clearly felt they were entitled to circumvent a policy that was in place when they first pledged! If they did not like it, they could have pledged somewhere else.

5. Again we hear about how the keg was empty and how so few people knew about the alleged incidents. These are excuses, not defenses.

The keg was on the porch in plain sight. Empty or full does not matter.

And perhaps noone knew about the alleged incidents because a small faction of the chapter chose to establish 2 annex houses to do things that clearly many in the chapter would not agree with.


I read this and I see the anger of a small group of people who hate our GF, who hate their advisors and alumni who make the chapter possible, and even seem to have disregard for many of their own brothers. Is this a debate with two sides or some malcontents who have resentment towards everyone else?

And who on the other side directly involved is going to post in response? What is there to gain. These young men have created a platform from which they can say whatever they want and they know darn well that the opposing view can do nothing to effectively and meaningfully respond.

They should consider themselves lucky to be on alumni status- that is a gift at this point. The original incidents might not have been that severe, but the attitude we are seeing now suggests there was quite a bit of after-the fact denial and lack of contrition that made this far worse- all crowned with a vicious online smear campaign.

[Oldest_Pledge]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

And who on the other side directly involved is going to post in response? What is there to gain?

I challenge you to provide the other side of the issue to the Brothers At Large. This is a very important issue the entire membership. It is clear that you feel the issue should have never been publicized. I agree with you on that point.

However, since this has been made a public issue, show the rest of world that all Betas are not petty, vindictive people. Step back from your own opinion of the situation and write a good 5-10 page white paper that can be shared with all.

[EE-BO]

Originally Posted by Oldest_Pledge

I challenge you to provide the other side of the issue to the Brothers At Large. This is a very important issue the entire membership. It is clear that you feel the issue should have never been publicized. I agree with you on that point.

However, since this has been made a public issue, show the rest of world that all Betas are not petty, vindictive people. Step back from your own opinion of the situation and write a good 5-10 page white paper that can be shared with all.

Hi Oldest Pledge,

It is impossible for me to provide the "other side" of the issue as I was not involved directly in any way.

However, I am happy to offer some observations based on what has been released- which at this point includes everything I was aware of.

I read the blog again and it just becomes even more clear to me that the real core issue here is strife within the chapter over how it should be managed.

This strife is most obvious to the outside observer by the fact that two groups of members felt compelled to establish "Beta houses" at separate addresses.

That in and of itself is not a big deal. It is quite common for groups of fraternity men to pitch in and get their own place at some point for a variety of obvious reasons. Living in a chapter house, even a dry one, has its own distractions. And Alpha is substance free- not just dry- meaning no tobacco products on site. So maybe a few guys like to smoke and wanted to live where they could do that. And of course if you are going to find a place of your own, naturally some of your fraternity brothers make ideal potential roommates much of the time.

But where things get different is in the fact that a party for the new pledge class took place at one of these properties and that in several comments all over the blog there are indications these properties were used as social centers for Beta activity. They were not places where active members happened to live- they appear to have been secured with the specific intent of frequent use for social events that, even if legal and acceptable to other chapters, were not acceptable to the Alpha chapter as a whole or its advisory team.

Add in the fact that some of the alleged incidents were reported by chapter members who did not live in these annex properties, and I think you have the basis for the core of the matter.


The disclosure on the internet is unfortunate, but I have been more concerned with the tone of the disclosure than the content. And, for the record, it would be nice if we had the old forum back at the Beta site. That would have been the perfect setting for this kind of discussion, and without that kind of forum I suppose it is inevitable that open internet discussions on matters such as these will pop up from time to time.

The specific content and facts presented in the most recent blog post seem reasonable to me. I have no idea how accurate they are, but they do not seem to be unrealistic. And they do not indicate to me inappropriate action was taken.

The difficulty however is in the tone and in the combative attitude about GF. This happened weeks ago, and these blog posts are exceptionally well written. They indicate a very deep sense of anger and resentment which goes well beyond the forgivable in-the-heat-of-the-moment comments of frustrated individuals.

Remember that the second annex property was named the "slippery slope" in honor of what the chapter advisor originally said about it when he learned of its existence.

This raises two key questions.

First, why was the chapter advisor even aware of or concerned about a few guys who happen to be Betas renting a house? The answer may be revealed in part by the fact the blog admits that getting the first annex house across the street was a "red flag" and that the second property would not create such a stir. This again suggests that there was a specific intent behind renting these properties to conduct chapter activities inconsistent with the chapter's own policies- and that the chapter advisor knew about it and at some point made the "slippery slope" comment.

Second question, given these early concerns were obviously raised- why name the house "slippery slope" and be proud of it? This may well be the "attitude problem" that the GF investigation seems so often to refer to. It is one thing to disagree with the advisor and rent the house anyway (which noone can prevent)- but to then use it as it was used and also openly and mockingly name it in reference to the chapter advisor takes away much potential for a reasonable future discourse. I know it seems a minor point, but just consider how disrespectful that was. In one of my companies, an employee with that kind of disrespect is gone- and it is the one circumstance when I almost enjoy firing somebody. There is just no reasoning with someone who resorts to immature cockiness over issues that affect a broad range of people.


And this brings us to the GF (AO is the term used in the blog) reaction to all of this. The words of the blog betray the fact that there was almost certainly a discourse about the wisdom of the annex houses early on. The words of the blog also indicate that the RM reports related to the annex houses came from within the chapter. The words of the blog also very clearly indicate that even weeks later there is zero contrition or understanding of why this happened by the suspended members. These guys just don't get it. This also suggests they were, in some part, existing outside the spirit of the rest of the chapter already. Hard to say for sure, but it sure looks that way.

How does an advisor or GF react to this? Given the language and tone used in this blog, would any of you have a discussion with a suspended member at this point in the process? I probably would not. What more can be said?

And note most especially that the blog indicates the suspensions were for all members living in the annex properties and one guy in the chapter house.

This is the final proof that I and many others removed from this matter have been right all along in our suspicions and analysis of what little info is out there. And the more that is disclosed, the more obvious it all becomes.

If the suspended members who were there and in the middle of all this cannot even begin to see what is so obvious to the outside world, I am not sure there is any reasonable discussion to have with them.

These guys are raising a big question, but they already have the answer. So that reduces any further disclosure, especially given the tone involved, to some kind of vengence or payback. I do not think that is the intent- surely these guys are still very upset and may need to time to sort it out. But once you go public, it is only natural that others are going to want to respond and try and sort out the real story.

LONG STORY SHORT,

1. There was strife within the chapter.

2. Some members, against advice and common sense, came up with a bad solution to that and chose to create a fractionalized set of environments for chapter activities.

3. Guidance from above to not do that was ignored and openly mocked.

4. Action was taken as RM reports started piling up.

5. Those suspended are no longer part of the debate. Yet they try to continue it in a very inappropriate forum and in a tone that suggests their suspension was justified. If they are this angry now, imagine how they were in the months leading up to the review.

6. In the aftermath there are a few items worth discussing for future direction, but not in places where non-Betas can read them. And most of that needs to happen within Alpha. These kinds of internal battles are just not to be found at other chapters to this extent. All the more reason this does not need to form the basis for future chapter vs GF resentment where there is no reason for it to exist.

[fratstarBETA]

I think that our nationals need to lighten up, this same thing hapened to our chapter. and we got turned in by our own advisors... that says nothing about brotherhood. I didnt join a fraternity to be told by some guys i dont know, or care to know, how to have fun. As long as noone gets hurt, and risk is managed in a reasonable way, i think nationals should back off. I sympathize heavily with the miami chapter. and cooramoor is right, in my opinion beta is going downhill. I have no interest in this new initiative, i believe it is all political. I think our elder brothers should afford us the same opportunities they had while in college. They can not say they didnt drink and party. An no times havnt changed. Thats and excuse to keep us down.

[Oldest_Pledge]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

It is impossible for me to provide the "other side" of the issue as I was not involved directly in any way.

I must disagree with you here. You can do anything you want if you apply yourself.

The fact that you are not directly involved with the situation coupled with your desire to see other issues handled in a more appropriate manner make you a highly qualified individual to share an objective report on the entire issue.

For what I have been ablet o read in the lbogs and here is that some brothers who did not live in the chapter house (reason not given) opted to rent a place to live. The fact that it near the chapter house and owned by a Beta Alum should have nothing to do with this. Then some activities took place at this "annex" that probably should not have.

Now, what is still confusing is the early converstation with the Advisors on this "annex." Since the Chapter and GF/AO have not published the minutes of the meetings, we do not know if they discussed this as a way to get around the dry rules or if they group that did get the "annex" announced they would be living there because they can not get a room in the chapter house.

If the chapter did discuss in official meetings ways to get around the dry house then it is possible that this reorganization is OK.

Maybe things regarding the GF/AO handling of the reorg could have been better. Maybe the Chapter Advisorory team should have been a little more determined in their efforts to get the chapter to operate better.

Just one brother's opinion from the outside looking in.

[EE-BO]

As long as details are being posted on the internet by the actives in question, I guess there is no harm in addressing them- and perhaps it will do some good.

It is my opinion that our General Fraternity's Risk Management Policy is a very fair one that allows chapters plenty of opportunity to self-govern while maintaining some important boundaries. Compared with the approach of several other fraternities to RM, I think we have struck an ideal balance.

Beyond that, chapters and alumni Housing Corporations may go a step further if they wish- for example a dry house. And that is their right.

The alumni who guarantee chapter house leases and/or purchase and maintain chapter houses are putting forth extraordinary amounts of money and/or putting significant personal assets at financial risks. $100s of thousands of dollars is not uncommon.

One stupid incident can bring all that crashing down. And when a chapter loses a charter and a house already paid for is sold, then it takes time and money to again get a new house years later (especially now with property values around campuses on the rise as many colleges expand.)

The "other house" was clearly a Beta house in all but legal name. A catastrophic event in that property would clearly have a major impact on the entire chapter, and thus also the real Beta House.

And by the admission of the young man who did the facebook post, the entire thing was set up to circumvent the policies in place for the chapter.

That is not initative and self-governance, that is a flagrant disregard for the guidance and wishes of those alumni and advisors who are making the financial and personal investments imperative for a chapter's success. If you don't like the rules, pledge somewhere else! It's real simple.

If enough alumni not currently involved don't like the dry house approach, then let them step up and pay the bills and do it their way. Again- real simple.

It doesn't matter if the keg was full or empty.

It doesn't matter if the people playing drinking games on the front porch were underage.

What matters is that Beta was being publicly displayed for all the world to see as a place to get drunk.

How hard is it to have social events indoors (or offsite in a dry house)? How hard is it to BYO and not have community alcohol?

Even more interesting, the person writing that facebook post said that this incident was the only charge- but then also openly states that this kind of thing goes on all the time.

Who is going to defend that? What alumni and brothers from other chapters are going to even try to defend this guy's position?

This is what I expected by the way- that as facts were revealed, it would become clear that the member review was not exactly unjustified.

Furmanbeta, your comments are well-taken and on the mark. There is clearly something not working- but when even the accused and removed members are admitting to incredibly inappropriate behavior and acting like it is no big deal, then it is hard to question these member reviews and suspensions.

More and more I wonder if this is perhaps a college culture issue? Greek Life in a dry house and under MPI standards just won't play at some schools. And I am not sure how we address that in the long term.

[Bob Dole]

We should all allow a couple of months to pass so enough information is released to where we can make valid assumptions. The members who were forced to alumni status by the general fraternity are accomplishing their goal of rallying support and sympathy. I of course regret when any ill happens to any member of our great fraternity, but for the moment I am withholding any emotions towards this instance. So far we have only heard one side of the story.

As an undergrad in the south, I have a love / hate relationship with nationals. Every southern fraternity feels the same way as my chapter (unless recently colonized; therefore they are biased). I could not imagine having big brother literally next door to me.

Playing drinking games with a keg next to the General Fraternity is like having a meth lab set up next to a police station. Not smart. If the house was occupied by Beta's, but not an official house, I don't see a problem. Does the GF say that members who are MOP are not allowed to consume alcohol as long as they are an undergraduate member?

No alcohol; what image are we trying to send out? I have a few peers who don't drink, but not many. Drinking alcohol goes hand in hand with social events. I understand the problem with underage drinking; it's against the law and should not happen. If to the public we send an image of Beta where its members do not consume alcohol, we would be lying.

Anyway; Lets give it some time. The Alpha chapter, unfortunately, is the testing ground for nationals. In the grand scheme of a bigger and better Beta, somebody is going to get fucked.


I hope everybody is having a good weekend