By now you should have received letters from Theta Chi National and Dickinson College stating that the charter of Pi Chapter has been revoked. It would be easy to blame Dickinson or National – it would be easy to say Dickinson hates fraternities and has been trying to get rid of them for years; or National never cared about our chapter because they don’t understand our situation.  All sentiments I shared when I was in college.  All of which would be wrong today.

The past four years have been very hard on our Chapter, especially the past year.  Here is a brief chronology of events that have led us to where we are today:

• Spring 2008 - Chapter member arrested for distribution by a Carlisle narcotics officer
• Chapter accused of hazing
• Chapter leadership found responsible for the following acts:
• Providing alcohol to a minor (pledge brother)
• Plagiarism
• Multiple lies to the College, the National and the Alumni (including a clear statement that Alumni involvement in the Chapter was unnecessary and unwanted)
• Chapter leadership admitted to hazing:
• Sleep deprivation
• Personal servitude
• Drug use in the Chapter
• A Chapter Review was conducted by Alumni serving on the Probationary Committee formed by National. All members, including pledges, were interviewed. Nine were suspended and three of those were recommended for expulsion from Theta Chi – two of those expelled were top officers of the Chapter.
• Interviews revealed the following:

            *Disdain for Alumni involvement was initially understated and shared by the majority of the Chapter; the earlier theft of a paper and plagiarism, had gone unpunished by the Chapter; most did know about minor drug use and a few instances of heavier usage, but even those who opposed it, admitted that they did not feel they had the right to say or do anything about it; regular Sunday meeting were frequently cancelled or moved; only three Brothers had done any philanthropy work; most of the Actives had not paid dues.

• Based on the Chapter Review process, the Probationary Committee’s actions were recognized and supported by the college and our Chapter was only suspended for one year.
• Over the summer, a supportive Chapter Advisory Board (CAB) was formed including two capable recent graduates (former Chapter Presidents). This group identified several members who would be willing and able to lead the Chapter back onto the right path.
• By mid October, meetings were still not being held, dues were not paid, and assignments for the Chapter were not in process.
• New Chapter leadership finally got moving and seemed to be working with the CAB. Shortly thereafter, one of the new officers was arrested and removed himself from school.

As this officer was an important leader, this was the proverbial straw for the college. Dickinson, like us, was still waiting for a rough draft of any of the documents that were needed for moving forward. So, Dickinson formally asked National to consider revoking the Charter. It is important to note that Dickinson could have held its own hearing and had us thrown off campus if the malicious intent was there. However, the silver lining for me during this process is that we built a working and more open relationship with the college and National. Since we had shown before that we were able to step in and take action, they were affording us the opportunity to do so again. 

I spoke with National and requested a Show Cause Hearing conducted by the Standards Committee, made up of Theta Chi alumni who are volunteers and not members of National. This afforded the Actives the opportunity to show National they could get the work done and convince the college that it wasn’t necessary to revoke the charter. We had a couple more meetings where it was clearly spelled out that they needed to document how the Chapter was going to change habits and move forward. One month later, without consulting with the CAB, the Actives wrote a letter to National, stating that they had written a new member education plan, a code of conduct, a risk management program, and a self evaluation system. However, at the hearing, not a single document was shown. One member said they were done and another stated they were still in draft form; so, we asked that they email whatever they had immediately after the hearing. To date, we have only received the evaluation system document. Therefore, the Standards Committee voted unanimously to recommend revoking the charter. Still National and the Alumni told the Actives that since there was time between the recommendation and the Grand Chapter voting, they should produce the documents, get organized and prove us all wrong. The Actives came back one week after the hearing and told us that they voted not to fight the charter being revoked stating that it was not worth the effort.

I believe in Theta Chi…Anyone who received this letter has said those words. All of us believed the rest that followed to one degree or another. While I do primarily blame the Actives for what ultimately happened, I also blame myself, the alumni, the college and National for various reasons. While the standards and culture have changed for a fraternity to exist, all of us have fallen short in providing adequate support to allow for real success. I would like to see Pi Chapter return to Dickinson, but it needs to be different. The Actives and the programs they follow need to be different, but even more importantly, the Alumni need to be different. Alumni need to be willing to learn about the new culture and understand the new goals of fraternities and even fight to help shape those goals. I need help from Alumni who understand that our Chapter culture of thinking of ourselves as separate from National and Dickinson was ultimately a devastating mindset. I need help from Alumni to assist in organizing the Alumni Corporation and the Chapter Advisory Board and the alumni in general. I want to work with those men who see this as a creative and fascinating project to create something different while retaining the essence of what makes it the same. This summer I will hold a meeting to discuss the formation of committees and setting of goals during Alumni Weekend, June 12-14 at Dickinson College. Also, I will hold another one during the Alumni Corporation conference held by National each year, this year at Villanova. You may contact me at robrtbowen@aol.com or 415-595-4710, if you are interested in helping.

I hope this letter sets things in the proper light and helps to explain in more detail what led up to this sad event. I also hope it invigorates many of you to get involved. I am open to discussing anything and everything in this letter and I look forward to hearing from you.

Fraternally,

Robert Bowen
President
Theta Chi Pi Chapter Alumni Corporation