Ruling on Phi Sig may come this week

The national organization of the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity is expected within days to make a ruling on whether brothers of the University's house hazed a freshman, and the decision could come as soon as today, according to fraternity officials. Phi Sig's national Executive Vice President Tom Recker said last night a decision on the January 18 incident will be made either this week or early next week. "We continue to investigate," Recker said. "We've pretty much gathered the information. We're making a decision on where to go. We hope to have something by the end of the week. We want to make sure we have all the information." The president of the local chapter's alumni corporation, Tom Curtis, said a decision may be made as soon as tomorrow. "I would expect a recommendation for an action plan tomorrow," said Curtis. Bill Jaffe, president of the University's chapter, said last night he does not know exactly when a decision will be made. Recker's accounts of the progress of the investigation and Curtis' accounts have not matched over the past two days. Recker said yesterday that he, not Curtis, is overseeing the investigation. Recker said Curtis' statements are based on his own "line of thought." "[He] is not designated as a representative of the national organization," Recker said. Recker added that the fraternity's investigation into the incident is headed by himself and the director of member services. He said they are gathering information from the University's Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs, the undergraduate chapter and any other possible sources. He added that Curtis has been cooperating with the national office's investigation. Recker said a decision will be made by the national president and staff. Curtis' role in the decision-making process is to give input on behalf of the alumni, said Recker. According to Recker, the alumni corporation is primarily involved in housing, and members are not designated as national officers of the fraternity. Curtis, who has been president of the University's chapter's alumni corporation since 1972, said the alumni association is a volunteer group whose primary responsibility is the upkeep of the actual house. Curtis said that under the fraternity's charter, the national president can make any decision regarding sanctions on his own. The Executive Board of the national organization can vote on the decision, but Curtis said that it will probably not since this was not a "life-threatening incident." He added that a decision should be made soon. "It's not fair to let this thing hang out indefinitely," he said. Curtis also stood by his earlier assessment that the incident is minor and added that it has been "totally blown out of proportion." "I hope the university community is not totally oversensitive to an action like this," he added. The decision made by this national group is the "final word," he said.

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