Following a month-long investigation, the Delta Tau Delta (DTD) fraternity has accepted responsibility for three disciplinary charges and has agreed to be alcohol-free until the end of the 2004-05 school year.
In discussions last Thursday and Friday with the judicial subcommittee of the Committee on Fraternities and Sororities (CFS-J), DTD admitted to providing alcohol to minors on multiple occasions, having kegs in the house, and committing drinking game violations.
According to the negotiated settlement, DTD will be allowed "to hold meetings, to recruit new members, to hold social events, and to conduct rush, but all of these activities must be completely alcohol free."
A fourth charge, involving rush violations, was dropped by the CFS-J. "It was not possible to make a decision on that," CFS-J Chair Barbara Rubel said. "We need to firm up some of the regulations on rush."
DTD was on social probation this past fall semester, which prohibited the fraternity from holding social events. That punishment was to span for the entire 2003-04 school year but was shortened for good behavior.
At last week's discussions, the fraternity was represented by DTD President Matt Senko and Treasurer Mahmoud Hatamleh.
The executive board of the fraternity did not consult DTD's national organization prior to the settlement discussions, Senko said. "We made them aware of the situation, but they didn't really advise us what to do," he said.
The CFS-J is comprised of Rubel, Judicial Affairs Officer Veronica Carter, Alumni Council representative Steve Chandler, Tufts University Police Department (TUPD) Captain Mark Keith, Director of Student Activities Jodie Nealley, and Director of Risk Management David Slater.
The student members of the subcommittee are Tufts Community Union Senate representative Dave Baumwoll, Inter-Greek Council President Joe Bornstein, Panhellenic Council President Illena Elman, and Interfraternity Council President Joe Mead.
The investigation, carried out by TUPD, was in response to an e-mail circulated in mid-February to The Tufts Daily and administrators by a student claiming to be a former DTD pledge.
The e-mail included an invitation from DTD Rush Chair Ethan Schwartz encouraging potential rushees to a Beirut tournament with "a couple kegs." The sender of the e-mail also accused DTD brothers of pressuring a female freshman to retract her story to Tufts Emergency Medical Services that she had been drinking at DTD.
Rubel said the three charges ultimately stemmed solely from the investigation and did not rely on the e-mail for evidence.
DTD initially proposed its own settlement, which was turned down by the CFS-J as insufficient because of the fraternity's recent social probation.
According to the final settlement, "the CFS-J felt that there was sufficient culpability to suspend the chapter's recognition at this time" but chose instead to propose a dry house.
DTD accepted the CFS-J's counter-proposal. "What we were trying to avoid was total social probation," Senko said.
The punishment runs until Commencement day in 2005, but the CFS-J agreed to evaluate DTD's compliance at the end of the Fall 2004 semester. "The result of that review could be an alteration, termination, or continuation of the sanction," the settlement read.
The CFS-J ruling applies during the summer as well as during next school year. According to Senko, the fraternity plans on housing several summer residents.
Because the fraternity's prior social probation was considered when the CFS-J made its decision, DTD's disciplinary record will not be considered again during next fall's review. "We took their recent probationary status into account," Rubel said. "We won't be looking back at that."
