Theta Tau executive director says SU chapter could be reorganized without university recognition
Dan Lyon | Staff Photographer
Theta Tau’s national organization could allow the engineering fraternity to return to Syracuse University in the future, even without university recognition.
Syracuse University permanently expelled its chapter of Theta Tau in April, but the executive director of the fraternity’s national organization says Theta Tau could return and rebuild a chapter in Syracuse without SU’s recognition.
SU permanently banned the fraternity from campus in April after videos surfaced showing people in the Greek organization’s house using racial and ethnic slurs and miming the sexual assault of a person with disabilities.
During a convention in August, the Theta Tau national organization suspended the SU chapter’s charter for at least two years, according to Theta Tau’s website.
But Michael Abraham, Theta Tau’s executive director, in an interview with The Daily Orange this week said Theta Tau’s expulsion from SU would not prevent the chapter from reorganizing in the future. Some Greek organizations operate on college campuses without university recognition, he said.
“That’s not the most desirable course or situation to be in,” Abraham said. “But, for any number of reasons, organizations find themselves in that situation and they carry on.”
In 2020, a representative of the SU chapter can present plans to Theta Tau’s governing body to have its charter reinstated.
Abraham acknowledged the videos released in April contained “hateful” and “despicable” language, but said he thought the fraternity’s permanent expulsion and the conduct of SU officials was “reckless and cruel.” He declined to elaborate to which specific conduct he was referring.
MORE COVERAGE:
- SU has no say over private Theta Tau fraternity housing
- Former Theta Tau vice regent granted appeal on SU suspension
- At least 2 students involved in Theta Tau videos enroll in SU classes despite conduct violations
- SU permanently expels Theta Tau chapter
SU students can be suspended or expelled for organizing or affiliating with unrecognized fraternities or sororities, according to the university’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. Greek organizations operating without SU recognition do not receive support from FASA and are not allowed to use campus facilities, according to FASA’s website. SU does not monitor unrecognized Greek organizations’ recruitment or new member activities.
Eleven Greek organizations, including Theta Tau, are currently banned from operating at SU, according to FASA.
Laura Williams-Sanders, FASA’s director, did not respond to The Daily Orange’s request for an interview to discuss how the university handles unrecognized Greek organizations. But Robert Hradsky, SU’s dean of students, said in a statement that the university can investigate unauthorized organizations and can hold students individually accountable for Code of Student Conduct violations.
Hradsky did not respond to a separate follow-up request for comment on this story.
SU suspended more than a dozen students for one or two years in connection to videos showing behavior Chancellor Kent Syverud has called “extremely racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic, sexist, and hostile to people with disabilities.” Theta Tau’s national organization banned about 20 individuals from “any form or class of membership” due to unacceptable conduct in connection to the videos, according to its website.
The chapter, in a statement in April, said the videos depicted a “satirical sketch.”
Students suspended by SU in connection to the videos are currently suing the university in two separate lawsuits over its handling of the controversy. The Theta Tau national organization is not a plaintiff in either suit.
Published on September 19, 2018 at 11:35 pm
Contact Jordan: jmulle01@syr.edu | @jordanmuller18
