Remarkable Maturity...House Trashed...

[DeltAlum]

The Beta Kappa Chapter of Delta Tau Delta was huge at the University of Colorado. It was one of the very first Greek Letter Organizations West of the Mississippi. I can't give you the exact chronology because I wasn't part of the drama over the past however many years, but the chapter was suspended some years ago. They recolonized and were suspended again.

When recolonized yet again, local alums raised over $1.5 million dollars to refurbish the beautiful three story stone structure in one of the best locations on campus. I hear it had the Delt Crest inlaid in wood in the entryway, a spiral staircase -- even a grand piano. There was an open courtyard and a balcony with views of the nearby mountains. I have seen the Delt letters in stone above the front door, and in iron in the front sidewalk. They're still there.

Within months there had been so much damage that the Delt Central Office decided to revoke the charter again. Third strike and you're out? Probably. When the final suspension came, the brothers reportedly punched holes in the walls and totally vandalized the property and trashed what was left.

It left such a bad taste in the Fraternity that a former international president told me that we would probably never recolonize there. Even many older Beta Kappa alums say they wouldn't support another chapter there. What a shame to not have a presence at such a great university where we had been so strong in the past. Many of the "movers and shakers" in the Denver area are alumni of Beta Kappa, as well as Mercury Astronaut Scott Carpenter.

Today, the shelter belongs to the university and is the home of the Department of Continuing Education. When I taught at Colorado, it was in a building right across the street.

I have seen slides of the same kind of destruction at our house, I think at West Virginia. A total mess.

It is just so sad that a bunch of idiots can ruin such a good thing for all of the future.