Beta Theta Pi - University of Missouri

BETA THETA PI 3 Holden Ave St. Louis, Mo. Will Bower Columbia, Mo. Jacob Brase Cincinnati, Ohio Hugh Brennan Chicago, Ill. Tommy Briner St. Louis, Mo. Jack Buehring St. Louis, Mo. Jack Burgess Bentonville, Ark. Clark Cytron St. Louis, Mo. Alex Danzo Kansas City, Mo. Mike Dart St. Louis, Mo. Caleb Dunafon Columbia, Mo. Chris Durocher Westfield, N.J. Caden Eggeling Austin, Texas Adam Floretta St. Louis, Mo. Michael Gambino Eden Prairie, Minn. Jeff Garlich St. Louis, Mo. Tripp Gatch St. Louis, Mo. Gabe Harmon Platte City, Mo. Daniel Hartanagel St. Louis, Mo. Alex Hughes St. Louis, Mo. Jason Jiang Kansas City, Kan. Dylan Kay Springfield, Mo. Kyle Krumm Kansas City, Kan. Eddie Lester Kansas City, Mo. Brett Lewis Marion, Ill. Joey Morris Springfield, Mo. Fletcher Orr Columbia, Mo. Nick Politte St. Louis, Mo. Max Powers St. Louis, Mo. Tristan Stefanos Chicago, Ill. Hunter Suntrup St. Louis, Mo. Joseph Thomas Kansas City, Mo. Clayton Thompson Carthage, Mo. Alex Venturella St. Louis, Mo. Ethan Wilkins St. Louis, Mo. Max Williams Kansas City, Mo. Welcome, New Members While there was relatively good news on how COVID impacted us, not all went well. On the day before classes started in the fall, police noticed a gathering on our parking lot where social distancing was not being practiced. Our chapter, along with eight other Greek houses, was cited for lack of social distancing and were placed on temporary suspension. It became clear that the University was serious in enforcing their rules. Our president got an early opportunity to meet with the Office of Greek Life over the incident. Before we received the official letter of reprimand from the University, there was another more serious incident. The sophomores in the annex held a party in September. To avoid getting caught, they covered the windows with black trash bags to hide what was going on. However, the loud music gave them away. The incident was reported by police to the Office of Greek Life and the chapter president reported it to the Beta General Fraternity. While most advisors were not pleased with the fact there had been a party in the annex, they were more concerned about the lack of judgment and general feeling of apathy among many members about the whole matter. At this point, we speculate that MU and Beta National began to seek measures against us. The advisory group, and certain undergraduates, had a call with Beta National. In response to some of their questions, the undergraduate responses were not the most mature or objective. We then received a letter from the General Fraternity saying we were being placed on probation. A few days later, the University issued a letter placing us on disciplinary probation until September 1, 2021. The University's letter referenced the letter of probation from the General Fraternity. The only positive thing that can be said about the University's action is that it did not cite us for alcohol policy violations, which is extremely important with regard to freshmen living in the house. What does seem clear is that any further violation of University or General Fraternity rules could result in the closing of the Zeta Phi Chapter for an extended period of time, as has happened to many other fraternities in recent years. While the advisory team does not necessarily agree with all the University's or General Fraternity's policies, up to this point, both organizations have been more than fair and helpful in dealing with our recent issues. There was discussion among the advisors as to whether to protest MU's sanctions. Many felt that rather than disciplining the entire chapter, the University should only discipline the individuals involved — which was most of the sophomore class. When several of us had meetings with the University about two years ago on their new rules, we were promised that discipline would be individually handed out, not group-based. Two alumni, Bob Selsor '82 and John Philips '68, had a good conversation with President Choi about individual versus group discipline, and we think that may help going forward. In summary, Zeta Phi finds itself in a precarious position, and the advisory team is disappointed it has to report this kind of news to our alumni. Granted we have been on social or disciplinary probation before, but this time it is more serious as there appears to have been an erosion of some basic Zeta Phi values. While this article depicts a chapter with room for improvement, we are encouraged by the positive steps the chapter leaders have taken in recent months. The executive group appears to be working as a team to address the chapter's shortcomings. Based on this activity we are confident that things are now moving in the right direction. Yours in _kai_, John Hillhouse '69 Secretary Zeta Phi House Corporation hillhouse@drlb.net BETA THETA PI

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