Steve Brauntuch: ZBT's punishment goes way too far

Like many of my colleagues at this newspaper, I haven't always seen eye to eye with the brothers of Zeta Beta Tau. They have previously broken the rules governing the Greek system, and I have previously been the first in line to call them on it. I have even taken some slight pleasure in demanding that a ZBT brother resign his position as president of the InterFraternity Council.

But now, I believe that members of ZBT -- specifically those who are unfortunate enough to live in the fraternity house -- are getting a raw deal. And on that, I believe we can put our past differences aside and find some common ground.

The backstory is complicated, because this particular fraternity has been placed under investigation and on probation so many times in the last few years that it's hard to keep track. Last spring, after a ZBT function sent a girl to the hospital with alcohol poisoning, the fraternity was remanded to colony status and placed on suspension, essentially a final warning to keep a low profile in order to stay on campus.

Then last month, after another event sent two more people to the hospital, the fraternity officially had its charter revoked, and the process of shutting it down began.

I've criticized the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs before for creating rules and then showing no power to enforce them. So I fully support the decision to shut down ZBT, because it sets a precedent that repeated violations of conduct codes won't be tolerated. This fraternity received way too many warnings before the camel's back finally broke, and the University should be applauded for showing some teeth.

My problem, though, lies in the University's methodology. In addition to the obvious bans on alcohol and other illicit paraphernalia, the house itself will now be under 24-hour supervision, with "program assistants" patrolling inside and out. The tenants will have what are essentially limited visitation hours, with exemptions made for academic and family purposes but never for a "social event." In fact, at some points during the day, each resident will be allowed only one visitor at a time.

But do they at least get one phone call before lockdown? And if they're good, will the warden let them keep their posters on the wall?

Yes, these students certainly broke the rules on more than one occasion. They're also being good sports about this because it would have been far worse for Penn if they all ripped up these new occupancy agreements and caused a stir. However, turning the old ZBT house into Shawshank isn't fair, and it's only going to cause more problems in the future.

For starters, only a small percentage of members actually live in the house itself. They are receiving the brunt of the attack while other members -- most likely upperclassmen -- are barely affected. Even if the violations occurred at the house, does anybody really believe that only the people who live there should be held accountable?

Restricting the number of visitors and the times of their visits also seems a little ridiculous. There's already a "program assistant" watching the house at all hours. If that person sees something he doesn't like, he can clear the place. Unless the University doesn't trust its own appointed security personnel, it seems unnecessary to rob these students of their social freedom (which, by the way, they can still have at other people's houses and apartments).

More important, though, is what happens next. If anybody at OFSA believes that these fraternity brothers are going to pack it in and call it a Greek career, they're out of their minds. By announcing this decision right in the middle of rushing and pledging season, they invited ZBT to recruit and take a brand new pledge class right before they got the boot. Just because the old ZBT no longer exists doesn't mean these guys will stop hanging out together or will can their new pledges.

In short, by forcing these restrictions on members of ZBT and announcing the decision at the wrong time, OFSA may very well have created the exact thing it hates the most -- another pseudo-Greek society.

Obviously, there's no way to prove this, and OFSA can't patrol the off-campus houses that belong to former ZBT brothers. But it's happened before on this campus, and it very well could be happening again. The question OFSA officials must now face is whether they went too far in honoring their word and punishing those responsible for these latest infractions.

Did ZBT deserve to lose its charter and be kicked off campus? Probably. Did the University need to impose such harsh restrictions on the students still living in the ZBT house? Probably not.

Was it worth it? That is the million-dollar question. If things follow the usual formula and another pseudo-Greek society develops, I bet Penn officials will have second thoughts about the way they handled the ZBT situation.

Steve Brauntuch is a senior communications major from Tenafly, N.J., and former editorial page editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian. Statler and Waldorf appears on Wednesdays.

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