Regardless of the new requirements, Zete expects to hold informational meetings for students in the spring. The alumni association formed an alumni rush committee in December, Weymouth said, which will formulate a "strategic plan" in the coming weeks for the pre-recruitment and recruitment processes.
"As soon as we get the green light, we'll meet with interested students," he said.
The College de-recognized Zete in 2001 after the fraternity published an internal newspaper that mentioned "patented date-rape techniques." In winter 2007, the chapter's alumni association and the College agreed on a set of terms for re-recognition. The terms included a "dark period," in which the physical plant had to be vacated and renovated to comply with building codes. Bringing the house up to code is one of the final steps preceding Zete's return to campus, Weymouth said, and the final step according to the terms of the agreement between Zete and the College.
Initially, Weymouth believed fulfilling the terms of that agreement would be sufficient grounds for resuming operations, he said, but after re-examining the general process for Greek letter organizations' re-recognition, Weymouth found that Zete will have to apply to the Office of Residential Life to renew its status. Weymouth sent an e-mail to Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman on Wednesday in hopes of scheduling a meeting to work out the details and timing of the re-recognition process, and Weymouth said he hopes to speak to Redman by the end of the week.
Redman expects that Zete will not begin the formal re-recognition process until Spring term, he said in an e-mail to The Dartmouth.
This timeline should not delay Zete's efforts to return, Weymouth said, adding that he expects the formal re-recognition to proceed quickly.
"My sense is that obviously we have to go through the ORL process, and we recognize it, but at the same time, given what is laid out in the agreement, it will be a straightforward and easy process to show what we've done and plan to do," he said.
Zete should have no problem going ahead with the spring information sessions, Weymouth said, given that Dartmouth recognized the importance of the sessions in its agreement with the fraternity.
"I don't envision this will be contentious," he said. "If there are legitimate reasons why we have to delay the meetings, certainly we would agree not to hold them, but my hope and expectation is that with everything we've done, once we formally present that to ORL, they will see we're in good shape and agree we should be allowed to hold info sessions."
Weymouth said the Zeta Psi national organization is "extremely supportive" of the chapter's ability to come to a mutually satisfactory agreement with the College. Dave Hunter, executive director of Zeta Psi national, agreed with Weymouth's description. All new Greek organizations must be affiliated with a national chapter, according to College policy.
"We had some 'political incorrectness' back in the early 2000s that caused a rift, and Zeta Psi didn't necessarily agree with the findings," Hunter said. "We never like to close a chapter, but the process under the circumstances was the best process that could have happened."
Reestablishing the Dartmouth chapter is the national organization's "number one" priority for the coming fall, Hunter said.
Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, unlike Zete, does not have the support of its national organization in its efforts to be re-recognized. Beta recruited new members for the first time this fall since it was de-recognized in 1996.
Beta Theta Pi national has never supported Beta's return to campus, according to Jud Horras, executive director of Beta Theta Pi.
When informed that another fraternity plans to be reinstated at Dartmouth with help from its national organization, Horras said he does not believe Dartmouth Beta should be re-recognized, but rather defined as an entirely new entity with no existing affiliation to the national fraternity.
"I just think that local alums have chosen to start the chapter outside the guidelines of our organization, so the decision was made that they were more than welcome to start a local organization, but it is in no way associated with or sanctioned by Beta Theta Pi," Horras said.
Two major additions to the Zete physical plant are close to completion, according to Sean Regan '91, chair of the alumni association's building committee.
The Zete alumni association chose to restore the original appearance of the house's traditional Georgian faade, Regan said. The back of the house, however, will be completely demolished and rebuilt in order to comply with building codes.
The roof on the western addition is complete, and the south-facing addition should be enclosed within the next two weeks, Regan said. At that point, Weymouth noted, work on the house will be able to continue regardless of the weather.
By May, the building's systems, including electrical, heating and cooling, should be installed, at which point only installation of dry wall will be left to complete, Regan said. At this pace, he added, the house will be ready for use by the coming fall, in time for recruitment.
