OCR::/Vol_093/WLURG39_RTP_19940322/WLURG39_RTP_19940322_001.2.txt By MICHELLE BRIEN Phi News Editor The Student Affairs Commit- tee voted Monday to uphold the suspension of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. SAC voted on recommenda- tions made by President John D. Wilson after his consideration of FIJI’s appeals. The decision was decided by a 10 to 1 vote, with one member absent. In his letter to SAC, Wilson stated: “I am convinced that SAC’s fixed suspension of Phi Gamma Delta fraternity through the 1994- 1995 academic year is war- ranted.” SAC Monday confirmed four resolutions in response to FIJI’s appeal. ° FIJI is suspended through the 1994-95 school year and will not be permitted to participate in the fall 1994 Interfratemity Coun- cil Rush. ' The House Corporation will be invited to submit an action plan to SAC by May 1, 1994 concerning the future of FIJI. ° Contingent upon a construc- tive and workable House Corpo- ration action plan, SAC will sup- port the members of this year’s FIJI pledge class living in the fraternity house beginning in the fall term 1994. ° SAC will review and assess the progress of FIJI in January 1995. Dean of Students and SAC Chair David Howison said SAC deliberated the case over the weekend before making the deci- sion Monday afternoon. “A clear consensus emerged," Howison said. “Each member came by individually and re- 0 WASHINGTON AND LEE UNIVERSITY viewed other documents. Then each member individually voted.” Recommendations to SAC were based on the original IFC indefinite suspension ofall pledge and house activities,Wilson said. “My first intention was to see if the IFC and SAC proceedings had something in common. The IFC proposed suspension of pledge and house activities for the indefinite future. The SAC thought hazing incidents were so blatant that [probation] would be much too light. Yet we wanted to give the house a fighting chance to survive.” Wilson said he also consid- ered the position of the FIJI pledges in his decision. “There were seven pledges who wanted to have a fraternity experience. We can ‘t restore that. The [suspension] can’t focus en- tirely on them. That was a con- sideration," he said. Wilson said the provision for a review of the fraternity‘s progress in January 1995 may give FIJI a chance to become active again before the official June 1995 end ofthe suspension. FIJI President Ralph “Moke" Wolfe saidthe decision came asa surprise to the FIJI members and the house corporation. “Right now they’re kind of stunned, as are we," Wolfe said. “Jack Nordberg was under the impression that it [the appeal] would go very favorably. It has become apparent that he [Presi- dent Wilson] has taken the word of one pledge over the word of seven other students. He has made the contention that we are cir- cling our wagons to protect the fraternity. That’s untrue. " Nordberg, ’79, is FIJI's new LEXINGTON, VA. house corporation president. Wolfesaid FIJIwillworkwith the house corporation to develop the action plan recommended by SAC by the May 1 deadline. Wolfe said the seven mem- bers of FlJI’s pledge class have rejected SAC’s offer of letting the pledges live in FIJI’s frater- nity house on Preston Street. “They think it’s a slap in the face," Wolfe said. Although the university does not define any method for further appealofthedecision,Wolfe said, the fraternity “will explore other avenues” of reversing the sus- pension decision. Nordberg said the university has departed from its own written policy in the handling ofthe FIJI case. “The university has refused to comply with its own statements and policies in the student hand- book,” Nordberg said. ”SAC has acted outside its authority as a governing body.” “The house corporation has conducted an extensive review ofalluniversity documentswhich discuss hazing —— in the White Book, The Student Handbook— there is only one mention of haz- ing,” Nordberg said. “There is no definition and no sanction. What is clear is that suspension can only occur if a chapter was on critical probation or if the inci- dent was so serious that it threat- ened physical harm, damage of property, or death.“ TheStuderztHandbookdefines the punishments SAC may im- pose on a fraternity or sorority for violations of PanHellenic, Inter- fratemity Council, or University policies and guidelines. SAC has four options after a MARCH 22, 1994 FIJI appeal fails hearing acase ofa possible viola- tion. They can take no further action, place the fraternit_v/soror- ity on critical probation for a pe- riod not exceeding one calendar year, suspend the t‘raternit_v/so- rority for a period not exceeding five years or expel the fraternity/ sorority from the university. The Student Handbook de- scribesthe university‘sand lFC’s policy and definition of hazing. By-Law VII oftheIFC consti- tution states in Section 3: “All forms of hazing are strictly pro- hibited. A serious incident, even as a first reported offense, may be grounds for suspension or expul- sion of the chapter." Section 4 ofthe by-law states: “No initiation or pledge training activity shallconstitute any physi- cal or emotional hazard to the individual. Such potential haz- ards include: alcohol abuse, dan- gerous physical exertion or ex- haustion. physical or emotional violence, paddling or other types of abuse. No chapter will exer- cise jurisdiction over pledges when such activity will hinder the pledges academic work in any manner. Section 6 states: “No pledg- ing activities are to take place in or around the freshman dormito- ries or after 8 p.m. Pledging ac- tivities are restricted to one night only during the academic week." “There is no conclusive evi- dence that hazing took place," Nordberg said. “The only guide- line the fraternity believes was broken is the IFC guideline not to meet after 8 p.m. It is the house corporations statement that this issue goes much deeper than a fraternity of 30 or so gentlemen being suspended."