Even before members of Ohio University's Beta Theta Pi chapter were informed they would be kicked off campus, alumni were stripping pictures and plaques from the fraternity house and planning to re-launch the charter with new membership.
The 47 members of Beta Theta Pi were told Tuesday that the chapter was being shut down by its national office because of repeated alcohol violations. The university's oldest fraternity, OU's Beta chapter was originally founded in 1841.
Chapter leaders met with representatives from the national chapter and OU's Greek Life at 5 p.m. Tuesday, but an e-mail sent to alumni reveals that the chapter's fate had already been sealed.
We are done - for now
wrote chapter adviser Jeff Radomski in an e-mail sent to alumni Tuesday afternoon. We meet with exec board at 5 chapter at 6. While we're in this meeting we'll have a crew moving composites loving cup
trophies
etc. out.
The e-mail also states that alumni will begin renovating the 23 S. Congress St. house in two weeks and aim to have a reincarnation of the fraternity back on campus by fall 2012.
But those ambitions still have one major hurdle to clear.
OU Judiciaries will rule today on pending charges against the fraternity stemming from a Jan. 14 party held at the house. Chapter leaders have acknowledged that the party was a violation of the fraternity's probation and await sanctions from OU officials.
Because the most recent alcohol offense was a probation violation, OU could suspend the fraternity, said Dean of Students Ryan Lombardi.
But even if the chapter avoids suspension, re-launching the chapter less than two years after shutting it down raises a unique scenario because many of the fraternity's current members will still be on campus.
They'll be old Betas and new Betas
said Andrew Rising, an OU senior and the chapter's vice president.
The thing is
a lot of these guys are standup kids
and they'll want to be the Founding Fathers when the chapter is restarted
he said.
Freshman and sophomore members of Beta Theta Pi will be allowed to reapply to the fraternity but would have to go through a six-month interview process and then be re-initiated, Rising said.
Because of the lengthy re-application process, Rising isn't sure how many current members will re-join the fraternity if and when it is restarted.
I was almost in tears when we heard the news
Rising said. But what really upsets me the most is that the younger guys won't be able to experience the brotherhood that I really love.
And the fact that the suspension came from the national chapter and not OU was salt in the wound, Rising said. He, and other recent Beta Theta Pi alumni interviewed by The Post expressed frustration with the national chapter's decision to close the fraternity's doors.
Nationals told us we were being investigated but never presented any evidence
Rising said. That's what makes the wound sink even deeper.
This isn't the first time Beta Theta Pi's national office has removed its OU chapter.
OU Judicial records show the fraternity was removed from campus from 1995 to 1998 by its national board, Lombardi said.
In a statement announcing the most recent removal of the Beta Theta Pi chapter, national fraternity officials cited a lack of leadership and repeated probationary periods as their rationale for shutting down the chapter.
While there are no doubt outstanding young men who are members of Beta's chapter at Ohio University
