Behavioral issues caused four fraternities to fail Residential Council's fall review, which was enhanced this year in an effort to hold program houses and fraternities more accountable for their behavior in residence halls. The review, which was conducted in November, is also intended to make members of fraternities and program houses more mindful of independents living nearby, according to Tal Itzkovich '06, chair of ResCouncil's Program House Committee.
Phi Kappa Psi was cited for poor treatment of independents and hazing; Theta Delta Chi had $11,000 in water damage, 12 illegal air conditioners, offensive graffiti, a broken fire extinguisher, excessive trash on the patio and complaints from Harambee House members; Delta Phi had issues with independents and acts of arson; and Sigma Chi failed due to complaints from the Student Activities Office about parties, flooding issues, excessive trash and damage to an electrical panel due to beer spillage.
All houses that failed the fall review will have to appear at a spring review, which will be held sometime between Spring Weekend and the beginning of reading period, Itzkovich said. If issues are not resolved by the spring review, ResCouncil will set probations, the nature of which will depend on the severity of the offenses. Punishments could include issuing a letter of apology, a semester-long ban on activities or a loss of recognition by the Office of Residential Life.
Itzkovich said last fall's review process was more stringent than in years past. Previously, he said ResCouncil had merely asked program and Greek house heads if they had good relations with independents, but last fall the council checked with other offices, such as ResLife, the Office of Student Life and the Department of Public Safety, to compile behavioral details. Itzkovich said he is confident the tougher review process will result in improved behavior.
"This is the first time ResCouncil has really stepped up and notified the program houses that they were doing things wrong," he said. "There's a process now where they know that we're actually going to be checking, and they're going to start being more considerate. I doubt we'll see the same number of problems next year."
Senior Associate Dean of Residential Life Richard Bova agreed the beefed-up review process has led Greek houses to understand the validity of the concerns.
But Aaron Telch '07, president of Delta Phi, said he did not consider the fall review to be "very transparent or publicized." Though members of the fraternity have felt subject to closer scrutiny this year than in the past, Telch said the majority of fraternity members did not know about the details of the report or why Delta Phi failed. He said that since Sex Power God, there has been a general sense that administrators have been setting stricter guidelines for parties and general behavior. Telch added that he hopes Delta Phi members will abide by these rules in order to pass the spring review.
Bova said the majority of issues with fraternities, such as complaints about noise and trash, are resolved quickly. He emphasized that such issues are not unique to fraternities, adding that they appear throughout the residential system.
"To put it in perspective, to say that independents who are living between two program houses suffer more than any other student or are happier than any other student is not the case," Bova said.
Bryant Mairs '08 disagreed. Mairs, a transfer student, was placed in Goddard House, which contains Delta Phi, but moved out in November because of the behavior of fraternity members. In addition to noise levels, Mairs said Delta Phi members did not clean up after parties and kept residents up at night by smashing glass bottles on the patio. He said that after one party, a few Delta Phi members threw up in the basement and set their vomit on fire. At another party, Mairs said two strippers were hired and led around the house naked. He estimated that eight or nine independents have moved out of Goddard over the course of the year.
Telch denied claims that fraternity members set vomit on fire. He said he hadn't heard about the stripper incident, either.
Andrew Aziz '07, also a transfer, shared a room with Mairs in Goddard and moved out in February. He echoed Mairs' complaints.
"These people are so unbelievably noisy, and it seems like they never went to sleep," Aziz said. "The building smelled awful, and they never cleaned up. It was just unsightly."
Aziz said fraternities should be subject to investigation after parties in order to ensure that they clean up. He said if fraternities are not held to a stricter code of conduct, they will continue to commit offenses.
Itzkovich, on the other hand, said ResLife now looks at program housing as more of a privilege than a right, adding that as a result fraternities will begin to take their behavior more seriously.
"Program houses haven't been punished for a lot of things they've done in the past, so they've thought that they have the right to live there and no one would take it away from them," he said. "But now they're realizing that they have a privilege and they have to contribute back to the community through standards that we set."
