UCF good/bad news

[hoosier]

Highest GPA award to suspended fraternity

Phi Delt may close due to lack of money if suspension continues
By Heidi A. De Vries
Published: Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Phi Delta Theta - voted by Future editors last spring as "most likely to prove group stupidity" after a member was found tied to a tree - was recognized by Greek Affairs for having the highest GPA among UCF fraternities.

The occasion makes the second consecutive time Phi Delta Theta has earned the award and the first time in the history of UCF that a suspended fraternity has won.
PDT's consistently high grades, its No. 1 standing for points in intramural sports and its being named a Chapter of Excellence by Greek Affairs may be key to having the organization reinstated for the fall semester.

"If we don't get off suspension, it's pretty much going to be the end of the fraternity," member David Rosenthal said. Rosenthal, the executive vice president of PDT, said he hopes these awards and the fraternity members' willingness to complete the prescribed disciplinary sanctions early will be considered by the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities during a formal review in August.

The only official blemish on PDT's record occurred when Sean Pierce, a two-year member of the fraternity, decided to give his sorority girlfriend a charm with his Greek letter on it - a gesture known as "lavaliering."

In his official statement concerning the incident, Pierce said that to complete his sign of devotion he volunteered to submit to an embarrassing act involving plastic wrap and shaving cream. The stunt was intended to show that he was willing to go to great lengths for his girlfriend.

Pierce - without the permission or official acknowledgment from PDT, according to officers of the fraternity - invited close friends to attend the event. The group included nine PDT members, several suspended fraternity members, some sorority members and several people who don't attend UCF.

"Their presence at the event shows this wasn't a ritual we perform," said Sean Lavin, the vice president of external relations for PDT. "If it were, people not in the fraternity wouldn't be allowed."

Pierce's twin brother, who attends Rollins College, wrapped him to a tree using plastic wrap and decorated him with marshmallows, chocolate syrup and vegetable oil. "None of our brothers had a part in tying him up or applying anything," Lavin said. "No pledges were in attendance."

The UCF Police Department caught most of the escapades on camera and reported the fraternity to the Office of Student Rights and Responsibilities. The entire fraternity was subsequently suspended for hazing. The incident received national attention, being aired on FOX News Network and making its way to the Drudge Report, an online news page. "It shouldn't have happened because it gave the university a black eye," Lavin said. "We're disappointed any members were involved in it, because that's not what Phi Delta Theta is about. We're building men and leaders for the future."

Rosenthal said being left suspended through the fall semester would be devastating for the fraternity. "It would be like starting all over," he said. "It would not help UCF's name. We haven't been in trouble once for the close to 23 years we've been at UCF and they're going to try and kill us for it," he added.

Lavin explained that continued suspension could bankrupt the fraternity by preventing needed income regularly gained during fall rush and with the acceptance of new members. During suspension, an organization can't participate in any university-related or fraternity-related activities, including socials, intramural sports, recruitment and homecoming.
"As of now, we're going to be extinct," Lavin said. "[But] we don't think the university is going to destroy something that's going so well."

In addition to not being able to formally participate in most university activities, the fraternity was sanctioned to complete an educational presentation on the dangers of hazing and have any members present during the incident write a reflective essay.
All nine of the PDT members that were present turned in their essays within two weeks of getting the sanctions - about three months before they were due. ""We're hoping to show how seriously we're taking this," Lavin said.

The fraternity is also taking its presentation very seriously. "We could do something as simple as a PowerPoint presentation, but we want to actually make something that could make a difference," Lavin said.

The group is planning a documentary-style interview video with Rita Saucier, the mother of a man who was killed during a hazing incident at Auburn University in 1993. _

Saucier is the founder of CHAD - Cease Hazing Activities and Death - based in Mobile, Ala. She has already agreed to be part of the video production, which Lavin hopes to show "not just in university Greek life, but other university organizations that could be subject to hazing activities," such as bands and ROTC. "Hopefully this will be sent to other schools as a resource. We expect this to have a positive impact on UCF," he said.
Rosenthal agreed, saying that the video would "shed a light on what some people go through for recruitment."

Lavin said members of the fraternity have used the incident as a group enhancer. "This really was the ultimate team-building activity," he said. "We all learned what the fraternity means to us and what we mean to each other ... we want to come out of this a more effective chapter."

Alpha Delta Pi, the sorority with the highest GPA, joins Phi Delta Theta. The two had a UCF average of 2.864 and 3.225, respectively for the spring semester. The averages are higher than the average UCF GPA, which was a 2.817 for the spring semester.