Indiana University Tri Delta Closed

[PhilTau]

The facts behind all this have not been disclosed. So these moms have a right to be pissed off. Keep in mind that several years of membership in this organization represents a significant financial investment totaling thousands of dollars-- dues, initiation fees, house charges, fines, assessments, clothes, etc. At the very least, they deserve from the national organization an accurate explanation of what happened. The people most damaged are the newest members, who joined without knowing that the chapter was about to end.

[AZTheta]

Originally Posted by PhilTau

The facts behind all this have not been disclosed. So these moms have a right to be pissed off. Keep in mind that several years of membership in this organization represents a significant financial investment totaling thousands of dollars-- dues, initiation fees, house charges, fines, assessments, clothes, etc. At the very least, they deserve from the national organization an accurate explanation of what happened. The people most damaged are the newest members, who joined without knowing that the chapter was about to end.

I disagree strongly with your opinion.

The moms don't have any "rights" to be anything here, nor do they "deserve an accurate explanation of what happened" because that is chapter business. 18 is the legal age of majority in Indiana. That means at that age, a person is considered to be an adult, regardless of who is footing the bill, period. Parents may be paying dues (or what have you); however, that does not entitle them to know any of the private workings of a private organization. Universities don't discuss students with their parents. There's no "right to know" based on dollars spent. End of discussion.

As for your assertion that "the facts behind all this have not been disclosed", I ask you: why should Tri Delta or any other private membership organization have any obligation to make disciplinary matters public? Membership is voluntary. It comes with significant responsibilities and obligations. No one in any chapter is being held hostage, to the best of my knowledge.

Further, I don't see it reported anywhere that the actives have lost their membership in Tri Delta. The new members have been released, not having been initiated.

[Kevin]

Originally Posted by PhilTau

The facts behind all this have not been disclosed. So these moms have a right to be pissed off. Keep in mind that several years of membership in this organization represents a significant financial investment totaling thousands of dollars-- dues, initiation fees, house charges, fines, assessments, clothes, etc. At the very least, they deserve from the national organization an accurate explanation of what happened. The people most damaged are the newest members, who joined without knowing that the chapter was about to end.

From an alumni-adviser's standpoint, you couldn't be more wrong. I've not yet had a member's parent contact me regarding anything. The only time I've had direct contact with parents was a few years back when we had an active member pass away.

Chapter members are likely completely aware of why their chapter was shut down. There was probably some sort of process and notification as to what facts the organization was relying on to shutter the chapter.. or there might not have been and it's no one's business but the members of the organization.

If my job description included dealing with parents, they'd have to give me a salary to do it.

[shadokat]

These moms should educate themselves on sorority membership. Nobody is guaranteed anything. There's no contract. As for their significant financial investment, well, if these women can afford to hire an attorney because their sorority chapter closed, I'm not all that concerned with their level of financial stability. Moral of this whole story is that chapter can claim ignorance all they want, but they were already on probation until 2019, and you can only push so far before your national pushes back.

Originally Posted by PhilTau

The facts behind all this have not been disclosed. So these moms have a right to be pissed off. Keep in mind that several years of membership in this organization represents a significant financial investment totaling thousands of dollars-- dues, initiation fees, house charges, fines, assessments, clothes, etc. At the very least, they deserve from the national organization an accurate explanation of what happened. The people most damaged are the newest members, who joined without knowing that the chapter was about to end.

[DeltaEmi88]

Originally Posted by PhilTau

The facts behind all this have not been disclosed. So these moms have a right to be pissed off. Keep in mind that several years of membership in this organization represents a significant financial investment totaling thousands of dollars-- dues, initiation fees, house charges, fines, assessments, clothes, etc. At the very least, they deserve from the national organization an accurate explanation of what happened. The people most damaged are the newest members, who joined without knowing that the chapter was about to end.

Okay, I have read through all of your posts, and I have to just say that as an alumna of the organization in question, I disagree with nearly everything you have said. First of all, chapter business is just that: chapter business. The women who are/were members of the chapter very clearly know what is wrong, since they were placed on probation. Our Executive Office is good at communicating with chapters, and if there is something that needs to be corrected, then they will tell them to correct it. Also, chapter business is NOT the business of the mothers of the members. The mothers are not active members of the chapter, and they most likely do not know about the internal affairs, policies, and bylaws of the chapter.

Second, the women of the chapter know what they are getting into when they join. I'm not going to go into it because it is chapter business, but the expectations for every member is clearly laid out. The new members have not been initiated, so it is not as if they were initiated and are now stuck on campus without a chapter. They are free to join another sorority.

And third, what occurred within the chapter is between the chapter and Executive Office. No one is owed an explanation of why the chapter was shut down, and furthermore, our EO did provide an explanation. Just because it is not detailed does not mean that it isn't an explanation. Private chapter business is just that-private. No mother is owed an explanation, same as alumni that were not involved. It is between the chapter members and EO.

[Kevin]

Anyone can sue for anything. If one of those parents wants to pay a lawyer to conduct some pre-suit discovery, I suppose, power to 'em. That's tens of thousands of dollars for nothing. Fraternal organizations are structured with multiple layers and semi-independent structures for good cause. The chapter itself in Indiana is inactive and probably has no assets.

Generally, the real and personal property are owned by a house corporation which acts independently of the chapter.

I cannot think of a plausible cause of action under any set of facts against a sorority by a member or the parent of a member for ceasing operations at a particular facility for good cause or bad cause.

I guess I could see a potential claim of bad faith against the chapter or against the officers individually in the chapter if they deceived pledges into initiating into an organization they knew would be shut down... but 1) how do you quantify damages and 2) would you want to ruin your reputation by bringing a law suit which would probably be picked up and distributed for national media consumption by the tort reform activists?

[PhilTau]

The following is general discussion using hypothetical facts. It is not a discussion about any particular person or organization.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Anyone can sue for anything. If one of those parents wants to pay a lawyer to conduct some pre-suit discovery, I suppose, power to 'em. That's tens of thousands of dollars for nothing. Fraternal organizations are structured with multiple layers and semi-independent structures for good cause. The chapter itself in Indiana is inactive and probably has no assets.

Unfortunately, there are some very wealthy people who pay attorney fees with the same degree of pain that we pay our Starbucks bill. For something like this, the multi-layering would likely be ignored.

Originally Posted by Kevin

Generally, the real and personal property are owned by a house corporation which acts independently of the chapter.

And sometimes it is owned by the college.

Originally Posted by Kevin

I cannot think of a plausible cause of action under any set of facts against a sorority by a member or the parent of a member for ceasing operations at a particular facility for good cause or bad cause.

Here's one (and there are others): A fact pattern establishing estoppel. In this example, the party against whom estoppel is claimed must do or say something calculated or intended to induce another party to believe that certain facts exists and induces the other party to act on that belief and change his position in reliance on those facts, thereby, incurring some injury. Possible hypothetical fact pattern could be that a national organization places a chapter on probation and mandates that the chapter follow its rehabilitation plan and if completed successfully, the chapter would be in good standing and off probation. Chapter works hard and completes the plan successfully, then the chapter is shut down anyway. Possible cause of action for estoppel. May or may not be successful, but it is a cause of action.

Originally Posted by Kevin

I guess I could see a potential claim of bad faith against the chapter or against the officers individually in the chapter if they deceived pledges into initiating into an organization they knew would be shut down... but 1) how do you quantify damages and 2) would you want to ruin your reputation by bringing a law suit which would probably be picked up and distributed for national media consumption by the tort reform activists?

That's why an attorney would bring a pre-suit discovery action. They would drop the case prior to filing suit (avoiding sanctions for frivolous filing) if they could not develop facts to support a plausible claim. The action would probably not be brought in tort or law, but likely brought in equity so that the court would be empowered to grant equitable relief (e.g., injunction, specific performance or court ordering the national organization to do something). In other words, the goal would not be to get money damages, but to get the court to order the national to undo what it did.

[elicampbell]

After reading most of the comments on petition, one comment stood out was -"Work with the house and help the girls make it better. Best bet is to model proper conflict resolution." At the end of the day, Tri Delta is a private organization and if HQ pulled the charter, the reasons are valid.

[AGDee]

And those of us who have been in involved beyond college know that no NPC organization is going to close a chapter at Indiana University without very good reasons. It is a huge financial hit to lose a chapter of that size. It can be a reputational hit to not be on a campus like IU. There are thousands of upset alumnae when a chapter of this caliber is closed. The risks have to outweigh the benefits for a chapter to be closed and the benefits of chapters at IU are huge.

Without having any idea what led to the closing, I know it had to be major.

[Sister Havana]

Originally Posted by AGDee

And those of us who have been in involved beyond college know that no NPC organization is going to close a chapter at Indiana University without very good reasons. It is a huge financial hit to lose a chapter of that size. It can be a reputational hit to not be on a campus like IU. There are thousands of upset alumnae when a chapter of this caliber is closed. The risks have to outweigh the benefits for a chapter to be closed and the benefits of chapters at IU are huge.

Without having any idea what led to the closing, I know it had to be major.

Especially since the chapter would have been celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.

[GratefulGramma]

That is an absolutely gorgeous house (I guess most of them are, I'm just not familiar with that area)! The girls who have not been initiated hadn't move into the house, right? I'm shuddering at the thought of however many young women having to hustle to find housing (at this time of year, weatherwise) when that campus has everybody live in the houses. BG's house was smaller and she always had an apartment.

[FSUZeta]

I would wager that making the young women move out has to do with insurance and liability issues. An important lesson of decisions having consequences.

[IndianaSigKap]

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

I would wager that making the young women move out has to do with insurance and liability issues. An important lesson of decisions having consequences.

The new member classes at IU do not move in chapter houses until the following fall. Over the past few years, when a fraternity at IU has been closed they have had to move out of their house within 30 days or less. I do not know if the Tri Delta women were given until the rest of the semester, I have not heard for sure one way or the other.

[ladybug12]

TriDeltaSallie,

You summed this up perfectly! Thanks for your comments.

[FSUZeta]

Hear, hear Sallie!