Chi Heorot on the Brink

By Darren Thomas | Monday, April 30, 2001

Chi Heorot did not meet the College's Minimum Standards, a failing which could lead to probation or possibly derecognition. No house had failed minimum standards since Beta Theta Pi did in 1994.

The College is now in the midst of its annual inspection of Greek houses. Each house must pass six Minimum standards. Minimum Standards judge a Greek house on six different points: leadership, budget, programming, behavior, physical plant, and membership. The group which conducts the review of each frat is composed of two administrators from ORL (usually the Assistant Dean of Residential Life and the CFS Operations Administrator), a CFS Advisor/Corporation Officer, two presidents from other Greek houses, and a representative from outside of ORL.

The Physical Plant standard is the most stringent requirement. In the Minimum Standards guidelines there is a laundry list of requirements for a house to meet the physical plant standard. Nilanjan Banerjee, an ex-House Manager and Rush Chair at Bone Gate Fraternity, said, "The physical plant is far and away the most important minimum standard." The standard calls for fire extinguishers in a variety of places, clear egresses to fire escapes, and tile in the bathrooms to be "free of dirt and spots". Most houses usually take days to clean up for the physical standard, forgoing parties the night before the review. Heorot did not fail the Physical Plant Standard.

The College takes Programming standards quite seriously. A house must hold programming events for membership development, community involvement, and community service. Each year a house must hold four events for membership development. Also, houses must cover 'at least three different areas of the Wellness Wheel' with their events. The average attendance for the four events must equal sixty-five percent of the house's population. The house must also conduct community involvement programs, two of which are open to the community, and all of which are co-sponsored by another organization on campus. The house must participate in community service projects as a group. Heorot did not fail the Programming standard.

While most of the details are still sketchy, Chi Heorot did fail the Leadership standard. They did not release their list of officers on time. The Leadership Standard has generally been looked upon as a rubber-stamp. It involves mainly keeping a book of each officer's responsibilities and conducting occasional leadership retreats.

Heorot also failed the Budget Standard, in which the College peruses every house's financial records for the year to ensure that the house didn't write bad checks or illegally purchase kegs. Reportedly, Chi Heorot owed the College $5000. They had a debt of $22000 at the beginning of the year, and had paid back $17,000 during the fall and spring.

Whether the Office of Residential Life properly notified Chi Heorot of inspection is also in question. Administrators contacted Heorot shortly before their review was scheduled to take place and told them it was postponed. Later, they e-mailed President Scott Savanelli to tell him that the review would take place the following day. Scott, however, was in the hospital at the time. No house presidents witnessed the review as required.

Usually, the Office of Residential Life holds a pre-review meeting with the house during the term preceding the inspection. During the meeting, a CFS Operations Administrator tells the house manager what needs to be fixed to pass the Physical Plant standard.

Once the review has taken place and the results announced, the house has seven days to appeal. They must submit in writing why their case should be reheard. The Minimum Standards stresses, 'The purpose of this meeting is not to rehear the Minimum Standards presentation of the organization, but to hear new information from the organization.' The decision on the appeal is to be within made two weeks after its filing. Assistant Dean of Residential Life Cassie Barnhardt refused to comment on the matter saying, 'The review decisions are not completely done yet.'

Heorot will find out the results of its appeal on Friday, April 27.

Chi Heorot sits on the east end of campus, near the East Wheelock Cluster. Heorot neighbors the residence of Dean of Residential Life Marty Redman, the man who will adjudicate the matter. Needless to say, many brothers are suspicious.

Chi Heorot on the Brink

Article Tools

Related Articles