Month: May 2011

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Excerpt

According to The New York Times , 16 students and alumni filed a complaint with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) after members of the Yale Delta Kappa Epsilon chapter shouted sexist chants that encouraged rape in a residential courtyard. The spectacle was recorded and went viral on YouTube.

As the Yale Daily News reported, the complainants argued that the university violated Title IX regulations–a federal law that prohibits gender discrimination at institutions that receive federal funding–by inadequately responding to public sexual harassment, therefore, allowing for a hostile sexual environment on campus. On March 13, the complainants reported that the OCR would investigate the university’s policies on sexual harassment. The Wall Street Journal estimated that if the university was found to be in violation, it could potentially lose half a billion dollars in federal funding.

On Tuesday, May 17, Dean Miller sent an email to the university community announcing that the Executive Committee, the school’s disciplinary board, would take disciplinary action against the DKE chapter, reported the Yale Daily News.

“After a full hearing, the Committee found that the DKE chapter, as an organization, one comprised of Yale students, had threatened and intimidated others, in violation of the Undergraduate Regulations of Yale College as they pertain to ‘harassment, coercion or intimidation’ and ‘imperiling the integrity and values of the University community’,” wrote Dean Miller.

As a result the Yale DKE chapter is now prohibited from conducting fraternity activities, including recruiting, for a period of five years. Additionally, the chapter can no longer communicate with Yale students via the Yale bulletin boards or Yale email and will have limited use of the university’s name.

Executive director of Delta Kappa Epsilon International Fraternity, Doug Lanpher, told The New York Times that the Committee’s restrictions were excessive and pointed out that the chapter was put on probation after the incident occurred.

“We suspended their pledging activities for six weeks so we could review their activities with them. Clearly, the chanting was inappropriate and in poor taste, but does it warrant a five-year suspension?” he said.

The Yale Daily News, however, noted that the suspension was lifted less than one month after it had been imposed.

Complainants praised the university for taking a stance against sexual harassment and for Dean Miller’s transparency regarding the Committee’s decision.

“If the suspension does create a serious disturbance to the fraternity’s activities, then a message will be sent that sexual harassment will not be tolerated on this campus,” said complainant Alexandra Brodsky.

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ITHACA, N.Y. — Prosecutors say it was a mock kidnapping, part of a fraternity tradition, that led to the death of 19-year old George Desdunes.

On Thursday, four defendants stood before a judge, all former pledges of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at Cornell University. EJ Williams, Max Haskin and Ben Mann, all 19, are charged with first degree hazing and unlawfully dealing with a child. Williams is also charged with criminal nuisance. A fourth defendant who is under the age of 19 was also charged, but his name has not been released.

Prosecutors say the four took a complicit Desdunes and another frat brother to a campus apartment around 1 a.m. February 25th after Desdunes called a designated driver for a ride home from a bar. Investigators say the pledges bound Desdunes’ hands and feet with zip ties and duct tape and quizzed him on the history of the fraternity. When Desdunes answered incorrectly, prosecutors say the pledges gave him water, flavored syrups, sugar or vodka and made him do exercises, such as sit-ups.

Desdunes passed out on the way home around 5 a.m. and the pledges left him on a couch in the library of the frat house. That is where a custodian found him later that morning.

Desdunes was taken to Cayuga Medical Center and pronounced dead. His blood alcohol content was .35 percent.

“The grand jury has reviewed this case very carefully, has lodged misdemeanor offenses against these young men, but certainly has made very clear that they are not responsible for the death of Mr. Desdunes,” say Ray Schlather, Haskin’s attorney.

A representative from Cornell University said none of the students are currently enrolled. The Sigma Alpha Epsilon house has been suspended and vacated.

The three named defendants pleaded not guilty to all of the charges.

“He certainly intends to fight this and clear his name and it is expected that when the dust finally settles, that’s exactly what will happen,” Schlather said of his client.

All of these charges are misdemeanors and carry a maximum punishment of one year incarceration. It’s not yet known whether the case will go to trial.

Attorneys for Mann and Williams declined to comment. Representatives of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity did not appear in court, and prosecutors say a corporate summons will be issued.