Having recently been placed on probation by its international organization, Dartmouth's Zeta Psi chapter announced yesterday its decision not to have the Coed Fraternity Sorority Council's Judicial Committee preside over its impending hearings.
Zeta Psi faces College charges for a series of offensive newsletters attributed to the house and will soon undergo judicial hearings. While cases involving Greek houses are, by college policy, heard by a group of administrative officials, it is left up to the individual house to decide whether or not the student Judicial Council may also participate in the process.
It is ultimately the administration's responsibility to determine what sanctions, if any, are placed upon a Greek house found guilty of misconduct. When the Judicial Council presides over hearings, however, it makes its own recommendations and often influences the College's final decision.
Zeta Psi requested that an administrative hearing take place "without the JC serving in an advisory capacity," Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman said.
Zeta Psi President Gene Boyle '02 could not be reached for comment.
According to Judicial Committee chair Lauren Lafaro '02, Zeta Psi's choice to exclude the Judicial Committee from the proceedings was unusual.
Greek houses generally prefer to have the JC present at the hearings, she said because, " ... as peers we add a perspective that the administration may not necessarily see."
Lafaro was not inclined to conclude that the Zeta Psi decision had anything to do with the relatively hard-line stance that the CFSC has taken against the fraternity.
"Although the JC is a committee of the CFSC, the members of the JC are asked to refrain from any sort of public discussion or comment before the hearing ... any previous statements made by the CFSC should not affect Zeta Psi's decision [whether or not to allow the participation of the Judicial Council]," she explained.
Prior to Zeta Psi's announcement, Lafaro stepped down as the Council chair, citing a potential conflict of interest: Melissa Heaton '02, Lafaro's roommate, was one of two females who brought Zeta Psi's controversial newsletters to the attention of the College. Heaton, herself, was mentioned in at least one of the papers.
"I was worried that because Melissa is my roommate, that people would think that I don't have the ability to be objective," Lafaro said. "While I don't specifically [find that to be true], I didn't want to leave a gray area that would later on raise questions in the case."
In addition to hearings held by the College, Zeta Psi must also contend with an investigation being launched by its overarching international organization -- Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America -- which recently announced that it has placed the fraternity on probation.
The executive committee of the Zeta Psi Fraternity of North America found that the charges alleged by the College against its Psi Epsilon chapter were sufficient basis for major disciplinary action, according to a press release issued by the international organization.
"We regard even potential violations very seriously," Richard Breeswine, Executive Director for the international fraternity, said in the press statement. "Probation is one step removed from suspending a chapter's charter."
Breeswine was not available for further comment.
