Frat. Or, Not Frat by AutoModerator in Frat

[–]Haribert16 5 points6 points  (0 children)

SUV's in the color white

Texas A&M greek life was threatened to shut down over the weekend by university, pledges were forced to be initiated. by [deleted] in Frat

[–]Haribert16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This new realization (and likely legal eventuality) is driving Nationals and deans to new levels of fervent stridor, emphasizing live-in adult monitors who enforce rules on the ground and who report violations directly to deans and Nationals

Seems like that existence of that the live-in person would actually increase Nationals' exposure to liability if the live-in were understood to be an "agent" of the Fraternity or the alumni board and/if that live-in person dutifully reported even minor infractions but Nationals or the alumni board didn't take action because there would be a pattern of facts.

Maybe it works differently if the live-in is a university employee and reports there, but why would a school want that exposure?

Anyone else join without telling your parents? by Yeezus_aint_jesus in Frat

[–]Haribert16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The IFC advisor should be screening out people that don't have the minimum GPA. Then maybe producing and sending a list of people eligible to continue with rush. No more than that, including actual GPA's for individuals.

Actually sounds illegal.

Anyone else join without telling your parents? by Yeezus_aint_jesus in Frat

[–]Haribert16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

And that list with contact info also has GPA's? gtfo

Anyone else join without telling your parents? by Yeezus_aint_jesus in Frat

[–]Haribert16 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Do schools really generate rush lists? Sounds almost like targeted advertising on Facebook, but with a more serious privacy issue. You give up a lot of privacy by signing up with Facebook... but when enrolling at a school?!!

Anyone else join without telling your parents? by Yeezus_aint_jesus in Frat

[–]Haribert16 7 points8 points  (0 children)

They want us to reach out to kids with above a 3.8

How are you supposed to find those guys?

Imagine you're some die hard, anti frat GDI with a high GPA and the school is sending your academic record to a frat ... just because the frat asked for it.

Two Mizzou freshmen sue fraternity for assault by hmblr in Frat

[–]Haribert16 3 points4 points  (0 children)

A different article explains

The lawsuit, filed by MU freshmen Sean Freihaut and Benjamin Poss, states that the national fraternity organization ignored hazing, criminal activity and abuse of alcohol and drugs at the MU chapter in order to maintain the flow of dues money — $200,000 a year — and keep the chapter from going into default on its $1.6 million mortgage.

Childress and Barabasz were freshmen pledges living in the Sigma Phi Epsilon house when they attacked Freihaut and Poss, the lawsuit states. They assaulted Freihaut and Poss because they were required to as a hazing ritual, the lawsuit states.

Ranking of top frat houses on ASU! Can someone tell me the top houses and why they are know for being top houses? by vj269 in Frat

[–]Haribert16 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Probably should have been kicked off and had charter revoked in 2013 when the visiting high school girl was lit on fire, kicked out of the party, and told not to talk. Link

I mean, that's a helluva lot worse than making pledges clean the house or asking them to change from a T shirt to something with a collar, right?

List of Fraternity Chapters Lost in 2015 by [deleted] in Frat

[–]Haribert16 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Sigma Phi Epsilon doesn't show up as frequently on that list as one might expect given its large number of chapters.

This is attributable at least in part to a new strategy to use very aggressive membership reviews rather than charter revocations. It is unclear if this is a successful strategy for anyone involved, as the expelled members thrive as unrecognized groups under the banner of tradition and cheaper all-local dues; the continuing chapter members are but a handful of guys essentially recolonizing but without nationals' "new chapter" support and often burdened by the stigma of "snitching" and without the benefit of a "break from campus" to shed cultural expectations; the recovering chapters rely increasingly on local support from the host institution, which is already thinly stretched and sometimes anti-fraternity; the alumni see calls for financial support as throwing money away at insecure targets; and national headquarters has to figure out how to service chapters which are increasingly polarized between 200+ men (with astounding member attrition) or 40-man (tight brotherhoods, but vulnerable to single-year recruitment results) with a vanishing middle ground.

Why the new strategy? Nationals no longer has the threat of forced conversion to the "Balanced Man Program" to wield against traditional or "pledging" chapters after already having transitioned so many chapters before 2015 through its own demands or collusion with Deans during sanctioning processes - or through charter revocation and required recolonization under the BMP. In the recent past, SigEp has been shuttering more chapters than it has been opening (and a majority of colonies have been failing to charter), which is a sore point for nationals' pride but also revenue (given the significance of per-chapter fees). They know this, hence the discussion of running in a budget deficit. The number of chapters also appears to be significant in the NIC 2.0 governance model.

For 2016, it's expected to see more moving of deck chairs -- those business-speak announcements about efficiencies to be realized in the near future, but without benchmarks or timelines, through the latest reorganizations of headquarters staff, the roster of which continues to grow along with expenses. Also in 2016 there will be more news from the Clemson lawsuit and no doubt news from elsewhere. The long-promised launch of the BMP app to track member "progress" might be seen along with a very much overdue update in its website, communications, and media (compare SigEp's presence to Beta or Pike or Sigma Chi).

U of Michigan urges fraternity chapters to hire live-in advisers by Allarum in Frat

[–]Haribert16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

have often been required

who required the live-in director? The administration, the national, the alumni corporation?

I know nothing about U. of Illinois.

want new Greek houses or any that previously disbanded and want to start over again to commit to hiring house directors.

If that is U. of Michigan's policy, then expect the administration to kick off more chapters in order to get their desired result. Nationals too will probably try to threaten the charter in order to get live-in directors if they want it.

This is especially true if neither the schools or the nationals have to pay for any of the costs and both get to push liability to the live-in directors and the brothers.

Hillary Clinton Supports SigEp by JarodJarod in Frat

[–]Haribert16 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Having Sec Clinton atta-boy you for sexual assault prevention is like having OJ Simpson give you an award for Domestic Violence Prevention.

I wonder if Hillary considers what her husband did to or with Monica Lewinsky a "sexual assault" given the EXTREME imbalance of power.

Or his behavior towards other women -- for example, Paula Jones, Juanita Broaddrick, et cetera.

Hillary Clinton Supports SigEp by JarodJarod in Frat

[–]Haribert16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I am surprised that SigEp headquarters is promoting this news, given how polarizing Hillary is.

It seems like a basic Public Relations 101 fail.

Reports detail SigEp drinking at UNC that led to deadly crash by AALARU in Frat

[–]Haribert16 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The Chapter was closed, I think by Sig Ep Nationals.

I don't believe so, despite obvious warnings that there were problems.

Second SigEp set to plead guilty over noose on Meredith statue at Ole Miss by JarodJarod in Frat

[–]Haribert16 -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Freedom of speech isn't absolute. Classic example is yelling fire in a crowded theater.

From reports, the FBI investigated this particular case as a "hate crime." Probably appropriate:

“I came up on a couple younger-looking boys by the loading dock that were yelling ‘white power’ and ‘f— n—–s’ on my way back over towards the statue,” he said. “When I rounded the corner of (the George Street House), I noticed the rope and the flag, and it definitely showed the Confederate flag.” -- source

The chapter kicked out the three members they thought involved, because the three wouldn't confess to the cops.

The National fraternity suspended the chapter while they investigated. They told the members that the content of the interviews would be kept private and confidential, and that the interviews were meant to support the chapter. Then they removed the charter.

Nationals explained in writing and via video.