After six years without College recognition, the Zeta Psi Fraternity Alumni Association agreed last month that its Dartmouth chapter will cease function and stop accepting new members until the fall of 2009 when it can be re-recognized by the College. The agreement stipulated that the Zete house on Webster Ave. close beginning Winter term.
Though de-recognized by the College in 2001 after its members published an in-house newspaper mentioning "patented date-rape techniques," Zete has carried out normal fraternity activities including rush and social events ever since, despite prohibitions against doing so.
T. Clark Weymouth '79, president of Zeta Psi's alumni association, said the negotiations with the College have topped the agenda of the house's alumni for a number of years.
"There is a large group of alumni with strong allegiances to both the College and to Zeta Psi," he said. "Many people are not happy with the fact that the College de-recognized Zete in 2001, and about 15 months ago we started thinking about it in earnest."Weymouth added that there are Zete alumni ranging from graduates of the 1930s to members from recent years who support the concessions the fraternity is making in order to regain its affiliation with the College.
He also said that despite differing opinions among alumni regarding the specific conditions of Zete's re-recognition, the College made it clear that a dark period would be a near-certain requirement.
Weymouth noted that during the dark period a number of changes will naturally occur.
"[The College has] told us that a dark period means the house needs to be closed and the current undergraduates are not supposed to engage in Zete-sponsored activity or recruit new members," he said.
Martin Redman, the dean of Residential Life, said that the dark period was necessary in order for the organization to fulfill a pledge to the College that it made when it was first de-recognized.
"We provided them with the opportunity to reorganize and come back under the same name but ultimately as a new organization," he said. "The dark period really is in deference to the sanction which was imposed in 2001 where basically the intent was they would close and they really haven't. Part of that was an agreement on their part to close a facility."
However, Weymouth added that alumni control only extends so far.
"We can't control and don't want to control what the undergraduates do, but we've explained to them the conditions that the College imposed," he said.
Another condition of the dark period is that the fraternity's physical plant -- which is on land owned by Zete's alumni association -- be brought up to building code. Without a consistently large number of members to pay dues, the Zete house has fallen into disrepair. Repairs will be made during the fraternity's hiatus and the opening will be delayed if they are not finished.
"As the conversations ensued, one of the things we have been concerned about is the fact that they are unrecognized and own a physical plant here in Hanover and as we understand there has been an organization functioning which had no interaction with the College," Redman said. "It's private property; if there was a problem we'd have to wait for Hanover to respond before we could offer assistance and that could get complicated."
The dark period remains controversial within Zete because current members, who were not enrolled at the College when the events leading to de-recognition took place, must suffer the consequences of the acts of past members, Weymouth said.
"Needless to say, they are not happy with the situation," he said. "They don't consider this to be a fair result because the acts that led to the house being de-recognized occurred before any of them were on campus. They also feel that they did not have an opportunity to participate fully with the discussions and negotiations with the College."
The first rush after the dark period will occur in fall 2009 and will be conducted by alumni, Weymouth said.
"Our goal is to work with the College and the national organization and the ISC to recolonize in the fall of 2009," he said. "I think everybody -- while there are some that feel bad about the dark period -- has come to a consensus that its a good thing that we are on the path towards re-recognition."
Redman added that the dark period is in sum a positive step towards a brighter future for Zete.
"At the end of the day, I think [the agreement] is positive," he said. "I think it closes a chapter and opens another chapter, certainly for the organization and I think for the College. Here is an opportunity for men to join a group and be part of, in essence, a recreation a brand new group."
