The Student Affairs Committee (SAC) plans to send the Phi Delta fraternity a letter this week specifying the minimum conditions they must satisfy to be re-chartered by the college. The SAC met on November 2 to consider a letter from Phi Delta president Dan Tan ’02 requesting reinstatement of the fraternity. This request follows two years of unofficial, off-campus existence for Phi Delta following the revocation of the fraternity’s charter in May 1999.

SAC member Michael Rush ’04 explained the purpose of the letter in a telephone interview this Wednesday. "We’re not going to let them in, piece-of-cake," Rush said, "We are definitely considering all of the previous grievances. Basically we are saying we want women in the frat. That would prevent things that have happened in the past from occurring again. We recommend that perhaps they try changing their name, because people definitely have some bad associations with that name. That was just a suggestion. We recommended that they find a new advisor. If they were ever allowed back on campus they would have to be monitored very carefully. It’s basically an issue of trust. We want to make sure that the frat makes a positive contribution to the community, not just any frat, but specifically Phi Delt. Basically what Phi Delt is telling us is that they’ve changed, but what we’re saying is, ‘prove this to us.’"

The strict requirements and recommendations in the letter stem from an attitude of caution among many SAC members toward a group with a history of disciplinary infractions going back almost a decade.

Dean of Student Affairs Ann Quinley remembers her first encounter with Phi Delta, "Phi Delt is a frat that over time has had really serious disciplinary violations. "My first encounter with Phi Delt was as an on-call Dean when I was called in because a student heard a sheep bleating in one of the rooms." This most infamous, and most widely exaggerated, incident of misconduct on the part of Phi Delta occurred in 1992. The terms under which their charter was first suspended as a result of this incident cited, "the inhumane treatment of a sheep on campus for use in initiation procedures." According to Quinley, pledges to Phi Delt were led to believe by members during initiation that they would be required to have intercourse with the animal as a final test for initiation, but were to be stopped by members long before any such act could take place. The sheep was found tethered to a keg in a member’s closet and was not brought to the initiation that year.

This bizarre practical joke was not tolerated by the SAC, which in an April, 1994 hearing suspended the fraternity’s charter on the basis of, "cruelty to animals, and hazing."

Other incidents of misconduct associated with Phi Delta initiation came before the SAC in 1995, resulting this time in the revocation of the Phi Delta charter. Stipulations for a possible new charter were outlined at that time, which the SAC would be willing to consider after one academic year.

The outline for a new charter included the presence of a faculty advisor at all functions, a standard of behavior for members and sanctions for unacceptable behavior, an intra-fraternity parliamentary process, and no alcohol at official fraternity functions (as distinct from social events).

The fraternity submitted a new charter in 1996, and was readmitted on a probationary basis.

The fraternity encountered no further difficulties until February of 1999, after which their probation had long ended. At that time a violation for unregistered kegs and violation of college quiet hours earned a fine for the fraternity and a small number of community service hours for each member.

It seemed as if the relationship between Phi Delta and the college was slowly improving, until the final revocation in May of 1999. A raft of charges was levied at this time against the organization including violation of many provisions of their charter, including hazing and initiation provisions.

In light of this history of contention between the SAC and Phi Delta, the approval of any new charter is far from certain.

SAC Chair and Professor of Biology Lenny Seligman summarized the concerns of the committee in an interview this Tuesday. "The group has a long history of problems. Each time the SAC had specific recommendations for changes to the charter, like that they’ve got to have an active advisor during events, and the admission of women to the fraternity. We’re trying to let them know that we’re paying attention to the past record and the recommendations of previous SAC’s. I think one of the things you have to worry about is, ‘is there a group memory?’ And since many of the guys involved in past incidents are now seniors, I think yes, you do have to worry about it," Seligman said.

Although some members of Phi Delta from those troubled days remain, including President Tan, the majority are new students who never took part in these activities.

Any charter to meet the requirements outlined in the letter would significantly change the nature of the fraternity, including one-third female membership by one year after admittance. Phi Delta is not likely to be chartered if it is unwilling to comply with this provision, according to Rush.