Four fraternities suspended over ineligible new members
Four SUNY Geneseo fraternities were recently suspended due to the admission of ineligible new members. Delta Kappa Tau (DK), Omega Beta Psi (Omega), Phi Kappa Chi (Phi Kap), and Sigma Nu Chi (Sig Nu) are currently on interim suspensions until a pending investigation into the admission of their new members is completed.
According to Dean of Students Leonard Sancilio, the fraternities violated college policy on admitting new members. The college has a deferred-joining policy under which students are not allowed to join Greek organizations until after their first complete semester of classes. In addition, new members of Greek organizations are required to have above a 2.0 grade point average (GPA) and must adhere to the college code of conduct.
Sancilio said that, while the admission of ineligible new members may have been on accident, the violation is still comparably severe since Geneseo places such an emphasis on academics over other aspects of college life.
“Students come to Geneseo first and foremost for academic reasons,” said Sancilio. “So we want to set them up for success and one of the ways we do that is giving them the opportunity to adjust to college life academically and socially. And I think the COVID days have really reinforced that need. The transition from high school to college has been even more challenging for students academically and we want to give them the best chance to be successful. And we’re trying to balance the social aspect of it too. Trying to find the balance between the academic and the social is important, but I think we really have to err on the side of the academic success. I would say that taking undergrounds [members without the approval of the college]… is a serious offense which caused us to take action immediately on an interim basis.”
The fraternities are currently under an interim suspension, meaning that their suspension will only last as long as the college’s investigation into their recruitment. The suspended fraternities will have a chance to defend themselves and explain their actions before a final decision is made on the length and conditions of their suspensions.
Sancilio said that, depending on the nature of the fraternities’ actions, the suspension could last anywhere from a month to multiple years.
He said, “If they’re found responsible, then the conduct board would reach that the answer to the question, ‘How long does the suspension last? Is it a semester, is it a year, or could it be longer than that?’ So there’s no hard and fast rule of how that’s determined—it depends on the allegations and what the evidence shows. If the violation is related to the new member process, oftentimes, what would be removed would be the opportunity to take a class for at least a semester, so that they can get their processes in place. Then we give them the opportunity after a semester to take new members again.”
Sancilio said that, while these fraternities will likely receive a one-month suspension and be allowed to take a new pledge class next semester, other fraternities that have faced much more serious allegations have been suspended for much longer. For egregious violations and criminal activities, past Greek organizations have been suspended for several years.
“We have some groups that have been suspended for three or four years, but those were different types of violations not necessarily related to eligibility,” Sancilio said.
Sancilio said that these policies on Greek life conduct are not unique to Geneseo, but that Greek life culture varies greatly from college to college.
“There are different rules at different colleges. I’d say many, many colleges have a deferred-joining policy, but not everybody; many allow first semester students to join. If you look at, say the SEC [Southeastern Conference] down south, you know Alabama or Auburn, LSU, the big schools, many of them allow first semester joining. And they even do it where they bring the first-year students to campus a week or two early and go through a whole process before school even starts. That’s their system, [and] maybe it works for them. I don’t think that would work for us,” he said.
According to Interim Coordinator of Fraternal Life Gina Wittek, there are several ways that Greek organizations can work to improve their image and standing with the college in order to make up for violating the college code of conduct or dispel negative stereotypes about Greek life.
“I have talked to a lot of Greek leaders who had expressed that concern—‘Hey, we don't have the best reputation right now. What can we do to improve it?’” said Wittek. “Make it clear what you guys are about. Set your values, set boundaries. Maybe there’s an incident in a group where a person’s violating diversity and inclusion standards. Make it clear that it’s a no-tolerance zone, especially in terms of the harder topics, such as racism, sexual assault, and other things that may go on.”
“I have encouraged everybody in Greek life to act appropriately and to not give anyone anything bad to talk about. That should be the standard to go by. One thing I say to everybody is that you’re always wearing your Greek letters, which means even if you don’t have the literal Greek letters on your shirt, whatever you do and say reflects your organization because you are a member,” said Wittek.
According to Wittek, it is important that Greek organizations know the code of conduct, guidelines for admitting new members, and the rules surrounding Greek life. She said that the suspensions faced by DK, Omega, Phi Kap, and Sig Nu were all very preventable had the fraternities known their new members were ineligible.
“They were all so avoidable. So again, education and just doing better in the future and rectifying the issue is all we can do,” she said.
