“By not confronting inappropriate behavior, chapter members are essentially condoning it.”
Greek Council Adviser Lori McDonald has a small plaque featuring that quotation.
It’s McDonald’s job to counsel the U’s Greek Council officers as well as meet with chapter presidents on a regular basis.
One of those presidents was newly elected Reed Sutton of Kappa Sigma, serving his first semester in the position.
Sutton was out of town when fraternity brothers threw the party of the semester at the Kappa Sigma house on Jan. 19, 2001.
About 200 people came to the gathering that night and 52 of them left with alcohol citations.
The citations eventually resulted in Kappa Sigma losing its status as a fraternity at the U, but Kappa Sigs weren’t the only ones attending the party. Members from other fraternities and sororities?including at least one sorority president?came and drank.
Though all the U’s fraternities and sororities felt the loss, no others took on any blame.
About one month later, the U Greek Judiciary Council placed the fraternity on a one-year probation period and fined them $8,150.
At the request of Dean of Students Stayner Landward, the national organization decided to revoke the U chapter’s charter outright. The U Kappa Sigma was one of five chapters nationwide to lose its charter in March.
As a result of losing its charter, Kappa Sigma was forced to watch the festivities of the recently held Greek Week from the sidelines this year. Last year, they won Greek Week.
“It was a slap in the face by not allowing us to participate in Greek Week,” said one member of Kappa Sigma. “We had to call Lori [McDonald] to find out we weren’t invited, the administration didn’t even call us?they don’t know us on a personal level, and they don’t care.
“The difference between our parties and every other party on Greek Row is that we draw the crowds,” he continued.
Landward said his request against Kappa Sigma was based not just the January party, but on inappropriate behavior over the previous six years.
Kappa Sigma President Reed Sutton says the image of his fraternity as raucous partiers is unjust and untrue.
“We don’t party hard. People may think we do, but that’s just not how it is,” he said.
According to Sutton, on a given night, members can be found watching television, studying or reading. With a library in the house, “students can confine themselves and study,” said Michael Dalebout, the alumni adviser for Kappa Sigma.
For the entire greek system, the idea of brotherhood or sisterhood is paramount to anything else. Loyalty to a chapter, to other members and to the greek system overall defines the character of life in a fraternity or sorority.
Interfraternity Council president Cory Peterson says that for members of Greek Council, loyalty to the organization supersedes anything else.
“Your devotion goes first and foremost to the greek organization and secondarily to your house,” he said.
Although sorority members were in attendance at the Kappa Sigma party, every sorority house that belongs to Greek Row is dry, or alcohol free.
“It’s always been that way, at least as long as I can remember,” Panhellenic Council President Rebecca McAdams said.
“The sororities don’t really have a problem with alcohol?I don’t think girls in general are as wild as the boys, and sororities are a lot different than fraternities in terms of their ideals,” McAdams said.
The Alcohol and Drug Education Center deals with more student violations from the residence halls than Greek Row, according to Annie Nebeker, associate dean of students. More than 2,000 students live in the residence halls, while about 900 call themselves greek.
Nebeker also said that this year was an anomaly, since there were 52 alcohol-related citations brought against Greek Row in “one fell swoop.”
Since the decision to revoke Kappa Sigma’s charter came from the national organization, no amount of support would have saved the fraternity, said Dalebout, the adviser. He also said he understands why others on Greek Row didn’t show more support, and the tenuous situation that would result from another chapter claiming its members were at the party.
For Sutton, the end of the 74-year-old chapter does not mean the end of friendships made with members of other chapters.
“The friendships you form with people in other houses aren’t gonna end just because a house shuts down,” he said.
Peterson said that although the house has been shut down, the members of Kappa Sigma still have friends throughout the greek organization.
“We still support them as friends and still call them up and hang out with them,” Peterson said. As president of the IFC, Peterson said the loss of Kappa Sigma was like a death in the family and, “it’s just something nobody can prepare for.”