Alcohol incident shocks campus Xi Chapter of Zeta Beta Tau fraternity suspended following brothers' drinking incident last weekend
By Mindy Wiggins and
Greg Scherrer
The office of the Dean of Students announced Wednesday that the Xi chapter of Zeta Beta Tau has been suspended as a result of the alcohol-related incident involving some of their brothers which took place on Friday night.
Under the guidelines of the suspension, which was handed down by Lee Wilcox, vice president of Student Affairs, the brothers are not allowed to engage in any type of organizational activity other than housing and meal plan operations. Chapter meetings are also permitted, but only for the purpose of communicating with members.
Use of campus space, Interfraternity Council participation, and participation in off-campus activities as an organization are strictly prohibited by the guidelines of the suspension.
The fraternity has not been subjected to any alcohol restrictions that lie beyond those of the Georgia Tech Policy on Student Alcohol and Illegal Drug Use.
An investigation of Friday night's incident is underway, and the judiciary process, which will determine what type of disciplinary action will be taken, has just begun.
"This suspension is an interim statement. The incident was so blatant and dangerous that it was important to make a statement now about how unacceptable this behavior is. However, it does not judge what the outcome of the judiciary process will be," said Wilcox.
The Georgia Tech Police, the Interfraternity Council Judicial Board, the Zeta Beta Tau local Alumni Board of Trustees, the Zeta Beta Tau national organization, and Student Affairs are all presently working together to determine the proper course of disciplinary action for the fraternity.
The chapter faces charges relating to specific violations of the Fraternity Conduct Code. This Conduct Code is a document that all new members of the Greek system must sign. The chapter could also face charges which address violations of the Georgia Tech Alcohol Policy.
However, no criminal charges are being filed against the brothers.
"It will be referred through Student Affairs and they will deal with it through that process," commented Georgia Tech Police Chief Jack Vickery.
"The judicial process at the national level is running somewhat in parallel with Georgia Tech. Obviously, Tech, ZBT National, and our Trustee organization are cooperating. It may be that we come out of this with the same result," said Doug Bodner, President of the Zeta Beta Tau Alumni Board of Trustees.
The brothers of Zeta Beta Tau are cooperating with Student Affairs on this matter.
"The Xi Chapter of Zeta Beta Tau has decided to stop all chapter operations until the completion of the investigation. We are cooperating fully with Student Affairs and the authorities to bring the investigation to a speedy and equitable conclusion," noted Trace Hitt, President of the ZBT chapter, in a prepared statement. The chapter has declined further comment pending the outcome of the investigation.
The occurrence of this incident follows news reports from other colleges. Similar incidents recently took place at Louisiana State University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. However, these two incidents involved deaths of the fraternity brothers who were involved.
"If anyone had any doubts about us being immune, this certainly took care of that," remarked Wilcox.
According to Wilcox, this situation almost resulted in a fatality. The blood alcohol level of the victim was .301. In order to be considered legally drunk in the state of Georgia, a blood alcohol level of .08 must be reached. In the average person, a loss of consciousness occurs when the blood alcohol level reaches .3. A level of .4 is usually accompanied by the onset of coma and the possibility of death due to respiratory arrest.
"It is disappointing, given everything that has been in the news about the risks of excessive drinking, that this would happen," said Dean of Students Gail DiSabatino.
"I think that we need to take an Institute-wide approach to looking at our alcohol policy," added DiSabatino.
"The first priority is that we have more education for the incoming students. Perhaps we need an increase in the Counseling Center to promote awareness and have more resources on campus; perhaps we need education of not just the freshmen but also the senior students and even some faculty on the dangers of alcohol," said Andy Earnest, Interfraternity Council President.
Another concern is the long-term image of Tech and the Greek system. "The public is not going to remember which letters. A few days later, they won't be able to name the fraternity involved. Their perception will be generalized to 'A Tech Fraternity,' and that's something we're going to have to deal with....Alcohol is not a Greek issue. It's not a campus issue--it's really a societal issue," said Bill Barnes, assistant dean of students and coordinator of Greek affairs.
"Alcohol is not a Greek issue. It's not a campus issue--it's really a societal issue."
--Bill Barnes
Coordinator of
Greek Affairs
