Sunday, August 25, 1996
Fraternity prohibited from school-sponsored events; alcohol
violations citedBy Scott P. Stimson
Summer Bruin Contributor
On Tuesday, Aug. 20, UCLA officials announced their decision to
suspend the Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) fraternity’s charter during the
Fall 1996 quarter for violations of university alcohol policies
that occurred at ZBT’s weekender party in Palm Springs in early
June.
The suspension, one of the strongest actions that the university
can take, follows the recent decision of the Riverside District
Attorney to not file charges against three ZBT members suspected of
raping a UCLA sorority member at the party.
The conclusion of the alleged rape issue and the university’s
decision has allowed ZBT members to end their three-month silence
on the issue.
"From the first day it happened, all we wanted to do was to talk
and clear our names, but we couldn’t because there was a criminal
investigation going on," said Jason DeVries, vice president of the
UCLA chapter of ZBT.
In a press release distributed last Tuesday, the university
described the nature of the sanctions taken against ZBT for the
violation of alcohol policies at the party.
"ZBT will be suspended for the ’96 fall quarter … Under
suspension the fraternity may not participate in any
university-sponsored events except membership recruitment
(rush).
"This includes homecoming, chapter social functions, university
and Interfraternity Council intramural activities, etc." The
statement also said that ZBT will be on probation for the entire
academic year and that it must develop educational programs on
drugs and alcohol awareness and acquaintance rape and sexual
assault.
"These penalties imposed are in no way related to the purported
rape incident. This is a very severe set of penalties imposed on
the fraternity (ZBT) … They are the most severe imposed on any
fraternity or sorority in recent UCLA history," said ZBT advisor
and attorney Gary Schwartz.
"These penalties are focused on the violations of alcohol
policies only, and they (the university) never intended to do any
singling out of ZBT," he added.
The university pointed out that the pressure for tougher
penalties of alcohol rule violations stem from the federal
government and not solely from UCLA, said Director of the Center
for Student Programming Dr. Berky Nelson.
"Pressure applied by the federal government obliges the
university to report alcohol usage and to see that drinking laws
are enforced," Nelson said.
"For the past three or four years, colleges and universities
have been obligated to report to the government the usage of drugs
and alcohol and to give solutions," he said.
When asked why the university did not pursue the investigation
of the alleged rape, Nelson said that the university’s jurisdiction
does not extend to the activities of individual students.
The violation of alcohol policies and the presence of beer kegs,
however, is not what sparked the ire of some campus groups. It was
the allegations of forcible rape reportedly committed by the ZBT
members not one week after several campus women’s groups staged a
"Take Back The Night" rally and march in Westwood.
"Right after the alleged incident, before anything was really
known, (former Undergraduate Student Association Council Internal
Vice President) Barbara Brazil was handing out flyers printed on
UCLA letterhead with a picture of our fraternity and a phrase
saying, ‘Are rapists born? Or are they created?’" DeVries said.
In the days following the party and alleged rape, tensions
mounted between those who condemned the fraternity for the party
and alleged rape and some members of the Greek system.
Its culmination took the form of a June 5 protest and march of
200 students past the ZBT fraternity house calling for an increase
in rape awareness at UCLA. Fraternity members left the house before
protesters arrived in order to avoid a confrontation, DeVries
said.
In a press release distributed in early June, the anger of some
groups on campus toward the fraternity was evident. "This rally is
a protest of anger, of self-defense, of a campus community enraged
at the hard evidence that … rape is still alive and in our own
backyard," said Christina Gonzalez of UCLA Raza Women.
Other women wanted to highlight their perception that
fraternities are linked to rape. "We want people to know that this
(alleged occurrence) is not an isolated incident," Brazil said at
the protest.
While many women on campus directed their anger about the
alleged rape toward the UCLA fraternities and ZBT in particular,
fraternity members made their own assertions.
"The fraternity system is not a culture that perpetuates rape;
(rape) is an ungodly act and in no way, shape or form do (the
fraternities) encourage it," said Todd Doyle, president of Pi Kappa
Alpha.
DeVries also made clear ZBT’s perception of rape and those who
have accused his fraternity of being conducive to such behavior.
"The stuff the protesters were saying (regarding rape) I completely
agree with," he said.
"Only they (the rally members) were yelling at me; nothing had
been substantiated. It was only an allegation of rape and they (
the rally members) were calling for our heads!" said DeVries.
The coverage of the "weekender" party by the media and
television in particular was perceived as having serious biases by
many people on and off campus.
"Media coverage of the alleged rape was biased against the
fraternity, condemning it before a formal investigation had even
begun," Schwartz said.
"There was blatant misrepresentation by the TV media of what
took place in Palm Springs; what the press tried to portray is not
what took place," he added.
Throughout the entire ordeal, some felt that the campus remained
divided between Greek and non-Greek students. Nelson decried the
campus division, saying that the campus has been "polarized for
some time. We can take advantage of this opportunity to learn and
develop mutual respect for one another," he said.
"It is (students) that are the enlightened members of your
generation and if you as the intelligentia cannot learn how to work
problems out, then our whole society is programmed to failure,"
Nelson said.
PATRICK LAM/Daily Bruin
Jason DeVries, vice president of UCLA’s chapter of Zeta Beta
Tau, says that "From the first day it happened, all we wanted to do
was to talk and clear our names, but we couldn’t because there was
a criminal investigation going on."
Campus News Alert: UCLA Suspends Fraternity Chapter for Alcohol
Violations