News

Administrative pressure leads to cancellation of Beta three day bash

The seventeenth annual three-day Beta party was recently cancelled because of a former Student Judicial Board (SJB) decision and pressure
from the Administration.

Brothers of the Beta Theta Pi Fraternity (Beta) said they held a party in the fall without obtaining a permit and an SJB decision put the fraternity
on probation.

Dean of Student Services Michael Whaley said that complex and confidential issues were involved in the decision, but he was unavailable for further comment.

Beta brothers added that the fraternity received the probation because their former president, Greg Lewis ’01, did not cooperate with the SJB
and failed to communicate with the Administration.

"The way we got on probation was that we had a president last semester who basically was an empty figure-head and when we had trouble
with an un-manned keg, which was something very small, he was called [by administrators] and never called back," Fisher said.

Lewis did agree that his lack of communication led to Beta’s probation.

"The probation in the fall was because we didn’t have a permit," Lewis said. "I wasn’t even there that weekend, but there were a couple of
different things we got in trouble for in the fall. It was definitely some of my fault that I didn’t communicate with the Administration."

The brothers said they did not expect the probation to continue through the spring semester, even after Lewis had moved out of the fraternity
house.

"This semester we found out that we were put on probation for the rest of the semester," said Vice President of Beta Jon Brandt ’01. "So we
couldn’t host any parties, but for Mardi Gras we had individuals sponsor one. [Administration] said we could do that and we did."

Beta planned to have other individuals sponsor the three-day event, according to Brandt, but the permit was not approved.

Members of the fraternity argued that this decision is detrimental to the University’s social life.

"Three-day is a tradition," said Aaron Fisher ’00, a Beta brother. "People who won’t go to fraternity parties go to three-day. The University just
doesn’t understand that."

"They said that if there was a party at Beta, whether sponsored by Beta or by anyone else, every Beta brother on campus would be placed on
academic suspension," Brandt said.

According to Dean of the College Freddye Hill, if a particular group is found to be in violation of the code of conduct in regard to party policies,
it is not permitted to have parties.

Aware of this probation policy, Beta held its annual Mardi Gras party in February but had it sponsored by an individual, according to Brandt.

Three individuals then applied for permits to have parties on three consecutive nights for the annual three-day bash.

"We offered to hire a security team coming out of our pockets," Brandt said. "All of the proper precautions were placed, but they still said no."

According to Hill, Beta then had an alumni of the fraternity meet with her to discuss the party.

The alum explained that Beta owns its own property, would hire security for a party, and said that Beta would be holding the party regardless of
the consequences, according to Aaron Fisher, a Beta brother.

"I told him the next step would be suspension," Hill said. "What I said to them was that if Beta violated any of the terms of probation
established by the Student Judicial Board they would be in violation of the honor codes and would receive suspension from the University,"
Hill continued.

Brandt said that the brothers thought Hill’s ultimatum was overly harsh.

"It is just plain fascist," Fisher said. "It’s ridiculous that they would go to such extreme meaures to cancel a party."

Brandt agreed that the decision was extreme.

"She’s trying to ruin the social life on the Wesleyan campus," he said. "We want to provide for the social life on campus and she’s taking away
from that."

However, Dean Hill said she did not think the decision was unusual.

"I just think that other organizations including fraternities have been on probation and they have not been permitted to have events," she said.

The brothers of Beta stressed that the cancellation of the party was not just punishment for the fraternity, but for the whole campus.

"It’s a shame. Beta parties are always really well attended," Fisher said. "And with three-day, people were really looking forward to it. There’s
always live music. "

"I think the University is making steps towards downsizing the fraternity presence on campus, if not the party presence on campus," Fisher
continued. "There’s a lot less [partying] going on and the Administration is definitely to blame."