Paving the way for the possible derecognition of Zeta Psi fraternity, the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council met last night to condemn the house for publishing a sexist and threatening newsletter.
The CFSC's action came only hours after the fraternity learned that it is under College investigation, and it marks the beginning of the Greek Judicial Committee's deliberations about how to respond to the revelations.
"The [Council] was appalled by these allegations," said CFSC president, Shihwan Chung '02. "This kind of behavior has no part in our system. We will not support any organization that fosters such behavior."
The decision about whether or not the College derecognizes Zeta Psi, thereby sounding the death knell to the 48-member organization, will ultimately be decided by the Office of Residential Life. But the Greek JC usually plays an important advisory role in ORL's decision-making process, and that group plans to meet throughout the next week to hear Zeta Psi's case.
Zeta Psi president Gene Boyle '02 said he does not want to see his fraternity derecognized but he supports the judicial process already underway.
"Obviously, as a Zete, I want to see our house still here. But I'm willing to work to make changes," he said. "I hope the outcome is fair and justly viewed by all parties."
The CFSC did not inform Zeta Psi that it planned to address the publication in last night's meeting, and Boyle said he only learned of the brewing upset during the day yesterday.
Members of the CFSC who attended last night's meeting all said they had no stance on Zete's possible derecognition pending the conclusion of the investigation, and that they saw no place for such behavior in a Greek system that they say is working to reform itself. Some also said they could never permit the existence of a CFSC organization that sponsors anti-women attitudes.
The controversy over Zete's publication comes in the immediate aftermath of sanctions filed against Psi Upsilon fraternity for allegedly sexist and racist remarks shouted from its property. Together, the allegations have become test cases for how the SLI, which promised to hold Greek houses to historically high standards, will affect administrative decisions.
The three councils that make up the CFSC -- those representing fraternities, sororities, and coed houses -- all took a united stance against Zeta Psi's publication.
"The women who saw this were offended. Some people worry about their safety. We felt personally attacked," said Tasha Francis '02, president of the Panhellenic Council. "This directly devalues women, and it's not something we want to foster in the Greek system."
The Inter-Fraternity Council similarly denounced Zete's actions.
"Upon seeing the actual newsletter, I was absolutely disappointed that one of our organization's would find acceptable this kind of behavior on a group scale," said Eric Powers '02, president of the IFC.
Coed Council President Fred Hurley '01 concurred: "If these actions do prove true, we condemn them in the strongest form and will strongly support whatever decision is made by the JC."
According to people in attendance, the mood at last night's CFSC meeting was tense. Excerpts of the publication were shown on an overhead projector with the names and photographs of individuals removed, and everyone present was reportedly upset with what they saw.
"The women sitting in the room felt uncomfortable. There were a lot of frustrations," said Francis.
Greek leaders stressed that they hope the incident will be a catalyst for future change within the system's structure.
"It will cause people to rethink their behavior and the Greek system's behavior, though this is a very unfortunate way of broaching the subject," Chung said.
