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I luv the ATO's attitude at Syracuse
The Daily Orange
Syracuse University
February 18, 2004
Undercover brothers: Unrecognized fraternities concern university officials
By Katy Stech
Jethro Monetti's mother was upset when she found out that her son was pledging Alpha Tau Omega, one of four unrecognized fraternities at Syracuse University.
She called the Office of Greek Life and Experiential Learning, where officials told her of the fraternity's poor reputation with the university.
Monetti's father, though, was careful not to pass judgment too quickly. He called Chancellor Kenneth A. Shaw and Department of Public Safety officials, both of whom had no problems with ATO.
"He got a completely different story than what he got at (the office of) greek life," said Monetti, now a junior biology major and vice president of the organization.
Syracuse University officials are currently investigating the threat that unrecognized fraternities pose to the campus, citing recent complaints that some unrecognized fraternities are violating the university's student code of conduct, said Joe Oravecz, the dean of students in OGLEL.
Oravecz explains that three groups, which include university officials, fraternity alumni and national organizations, all support recognized fraternities.
"It's a significant concern that there's a third piece of a three-prong approach is missing (with unrecognized fraternities), which is the university's positive intervention," said Oravecz. "With everything that our professional staff does to assist in setting up chapters for success, those unrecognized groups don't have that at all."
Oravecz and Marlene Blumin, a professor in the School of Education, have served on a committee since November to investigate the impact unrecognized fraternities have on greek rush and recruitment, social policies, academics and public relations, Oravecz said. They will make initial recommendations to the Chancellor's Commission on Substance Abuse Prevention and Campus Security Greek subcommittee Thursday, Blumin said.
Matt Goodman, a junior newspaper major, is the vice president of communications for the Interfraternity Council, the governing body for all university recognized fraternities.
Unrecognized fraternities don't participate in formal rush in both the fall and spring, he said. They aren't allowed to take part in greek events, such as Greek Week or Homecoming Week. Also, they aren't allowed to publicize their events on campus.
The main difference, though, is in how the fraternity is treated by judicial affairs when members are involved in incidents.
"If you're in an unrecognized fraternity, you're going straight to the cops," Goodman said. Recognized fraternities, meanwhile, work within the framework of judicial affairs when an incident occurs.
"The difference is subtle, but it's valuable," he said.
University recognition does not automatically mean no affiliation at all. Two of the four unrecognized fraternities on campus are recognized by their national fraternal associations. But some are skeptical as to how closely those fraternity members follow their national rules and regulations.
"If they do affiliate with their national, it's very loose," Goodman said. "No national chapter would want one of their chapters being unrecognized for academic or social problems."
Although these technical differences distinguish the recognized from unrecognized, both Goodman and Monetti agree there is not a tell-tale attitude that can be tagged on brothers from any chapter, no matter what their standing.
"As far as guys go, they aren't that different," Goodman said. "You can't really stereotype."
"We should be thought of as a fraternity," Monetti said. "We're just a great group of guys having the best time of our lives, hanging out with each other, having fun, and getting good grades."
University officials acknowledge four unrecognized fraternities on campus, including ATO. On Jan. 26, they re-recognized Alpha Chi Rho to bring the total of recognized fraternities to 19.
CROW earned unrecognized status in spring of 2000 after a fight with brothers of Zeta Psi resulted in a student's hospitalization after he was hit in the head with a billiard ball in a sock.
Altercations like this are the cause of a fraternity's de-recognition.
"The chapters are unrecognized because of being in trouble around alcohol, hazing, physical abuse and sexual abuse," said Dessa Bergen-Cico, an associate dean of students.
Bergen-Cico works closely with the SU's R.A.P.E. Center and said she sees a direct correlation between unrecognized fraternities and reported rapes.
Nine reported rape incidents, occurring in fall 2002, spring 2003 or fall 2003, included fraternity involvement, according the SU's R.A.P.E. Center statistics. Six incidents occurred at unrecognized fraternity houses, and two incidents occurred at recognized fraternity houses, according to the rape center's statistics. The identity of the fraternity involved with one of the nine rapes is unknown.
Members of ATO are currently demanding an apology from the university, though, regarding a rape that allegedly occurred at their house this past fall.
"We proved that it didn't happen at our fraternity," said Steven Chamberlain, a professor of bioengineering and neuroscience and ATO's chapter advisor. The victim was at a big fraternity party that night and couldn't recall the exact location of the incident, Chamberlain said.
In a meeting with a national ATO representative, Oravecz refused to repeal the university's claim or formally apologize. The lack of apology, though, might have come from another university official above Oravecz that has a questionable history with ATO, Chamberlain said.
The fraternity first lost university recognition in spring of 2000, after university officials filed 43 charges of violating the student code against them. The owner of a hotel where the brothers stayed for a formal claimed that several rooms were damaged.
Every charge against the university was eventually dropped, but Anastasia Urtz, then the head of judicial affairs, still refused the chapter's recognition.
"They had struggled for a year to be recognized," Chamberlain said. "They jumped through every hoop imaginable, and just like that, they pulled the plug on them."
Another incident that university officials use against ATO involved a threat from a brother to a woman who was participating in a rape awareness march. The incident was later proved false in a judicial affairs hearing, Chamberlain said.
"We later found out that the woman was encouraged to fabricate the story by university officials," Chamberlain said. "It was a chance to get fraternity guys accused of insensitivity. Student affairs overreacted and got caught overreacting."
ATO members aren't against the idea of being recognized but aren't comfortable rejoining the university community with current administrators still in office.
"Right now, Urtz can't do anything to them. Once they are recognized, she can go after them again as a fraternity, and they're afraid," Chamberlain said.
In an e-mail, Urtz said she has had "no interaction of any kind with the members or representatives of the former Alpha Tau Omega fraternity within the last few years" and therefore couldn't comprehensively comment on the fraternity.
"Until the university promises to stop harassing the chapter, and until they apologize for allegation of sexual assault at chapter, we have no intentions of becoming recognized," Chamberlain said. "We'll probably be independent for a long time."
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