Dean of the College James Larimore has rejected Phi Delta Alpha fraternity's appeal for clemency, upholding the decision to suspend College recognition of the house until at least the fall of 2002.
"I've denied that request," Larimore said, of the clemency appeal, "and let stand the sanctions that Dean [of Residential Life, Martin] Redman had imposed." Larimore announced his decision yesterday in a letter addressed to Matt K. Nelson '00, former president of Phi Delt.
Larimore told The Dartmouth that he considered the appeal for clemency carefully and arrived at the decision that Redman's sanctions -- to suspend College recognition --were both "appropriate and reasonable."
Current President of Phi Delt Bradford Crevier '01, who was off last term, seemed disappointed with Larimore's decision -- one that was made more than a month after the original appeal was filed.
"Personally I thought we would get the clemency appeal," Crevier said. "A two-and-half year suspension of recognition is effectively a complete derecognition."
Crevier pointed out that the fraternity members had at least hoped that suspension would be shortened to fall of 2001 -- making sure that at least the '02s, who are currently members of Phi Delt, would be present on-campus to conduct rush.
Crevier said his next step will be to contact the Phi Delt Corporation to determine what he should do next. Currently the house is not College-owned, instead is under the ownership of the corporation. All members are expected to vacate the physical plant by June 12.
In his decision letter to Phi Delt, Larimore said he appreciated the "soul-searching conversations" the brothers have had these past few weeks, reflecting on their misconduct.
While he has not had an opportunity to speak with Nelson after sending out his letter, Larimore said that although he expects the fraternity members to be disappointed at the moment, "there are reasons to feel optimistic about the future of Phi Delt at Dartmouth."
Larimore said the organization will be able to reapply for recognition in the fall of 2002 at the earliest.
According to Larimore, when the request for recognition is made, the administration will consider the viability of the organization to reestablish itself before granting its request.
Earlier, Redman had rejected the Phi Delt appeal filed on the basis of new information and procedural errors, saying that they did not merit a new hearing, but had asked Larimore to handle the clemency appeal.
As Hearing Officer of the College, Redman had decided to indefinitely suspend recognition of the fraternity in March, following charges that Phi Delt was serving alcohol to underage students, tolerating drug use, practicing "dirty" rushing, providing false information to the College and using techniques of peer pressure and coercion during pledge period.
Phi Delt was also charged with failing to take action against four of its members, who broke into Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity, stole property and started a fire last December.
