It is too late for remorse and regret. Condemnation of this act on my part would have rightfully come at the end of Fall term when I depledged Zeta Psi fraternity (I am mentioned in the Sigma Report -- a weekly paper that documented the sexual exploits of the brothers -- in relation to my unfortunate Dog Day audition). However, when I read the comments of Zeta Psi President Gene Boyle '02 in yesterday's issue of The Dartmouth, I felt the compulsion to speak out.
His statements are pure lies, and the seeming innocence with which he makes them only exacerbate the situation. The first of these is the most egregious: "Obviously we don't condone this kind of behavior." This is simply untrue, and I beg anyone to tell me otherwise. As a Zeta Psi brother for two terms, I witnessed how the Sigma Report was often the centerpiece of weekly house meetings. Published by the secretary of the fraternity, and torn up and discarded immediately after its reading, it is of a paramount importance, and the Sigma is often elected on the basis of his projected humor and lewdness. Furthermore, it is a tradition held in the greatest esteem, and the denial of its centrality to Zetehood is ludicrous. In fact, one of the "great" Zeta Psi bequests is a similar newsletter from the 80s which earned the house probation. I know that Boyle was fully aware of this, which makes his statement particularly abhorrent -- the whole house is guilty in the production of this newsletter. It reflects the attitudes of an entire fraternity and often shapes them.
Although I attended meetings sparsely in the summer, I do remember the Sigma Report was terminated for some time after there was the possibility of exposure. However, no reformation in thought was possible, and none is possible at the present moment. Instead, the then-Zeta Psi President secured a promise from Melissa Heaton '02 (one of the female students who discovered the first sex paper) that the Report (which she had obtained from a Zeta Psi who had kept and shown the reports to her in a state of extreme inebriation) would not be published. I believe that the Sigma Report returned later in the term, but in much tamer form. In either case, no change in attitude toward women occurred. In fact, it may have worsened in the face of castigation, as lowly convictions often do.
I was involved in Zeta Psi very sparsely in the fall, but was aware of a Sigma Report being disseminated again at meetings. But these reports were much more subdued, probably because the returning 2001 Sigma (the officer in charge of the report) was simply not as "funny." However, Melissa had the instinct that it was still being published, especially since the attitude toward her in the house (apparently) persisted to be crude beyond any standards of civility. She approached me in the Winter with the possibility of revealing the report to the administration, and I agreed to come forth with a statement (of which this is essentially a distillation). However, it was not until a group of students (Melissa included) found "The Zetemouth" following fraternity meetings that her convictions had sufficient impetus to be revealed publicly. I have since given a statement of Zeta Psi's guilt to Parkhurst Hall.
I would like to point out the courage that it took for Melissa to come forward. A whole fraternity's wrongdoings will be revealed by her brave actions. I hope that leaders Greek and unaffiliated alike will rally behind her and call for derecognition. I hope to have sufficiently shown that no reform is possible in the prurient, immature behavior of this fraternity. Though there are many fine individuals in the house, this incident demonstrates that they are not able to function collectively as a social institution. After all, one of the women involved was told by a Zeta Psi that the Report "will always be published, it's an institution." There is no reformation and change is inherently reviled. Degradation of women is one of the basic aspects of this arcane system of "fraternity" and attempts to eradicate this facet will only drive it deeper underground. Thus, I firmly believe that derecognition is necessary.
