Help defend and advance the fraternal experience!

It was great to see so many of you at last month’s 168th Anniversary Convention in New Orleans!  We write to ask for your support in our ongoing efforts to advance the fraternal movement across the nation.

As we reported to you at last month’s Convention, this past February, University of Maryland administrators convened all fraternity and sorority leaders for an unscheduled meeting. Here, they demanded chapter representatives write on notecards any rumors they had heard about other fraternities and sororities on campus. Administrators warned the assembled students that those who failed to fully cooperate were risking their professional futures.

The following day, the university sent a letter to chapter presidents proclaiming a blanket prohibition on Greek Life activities, citing vague threats to the health and wellbeing of students yet giving chapters no notification of charges or specific allegations. In their decree, administrators issued a “no contact” order that prohibited members from speaking with each other, which included siblings, classmates, and friends. They shut down all social and pledging activities.

Despite repeated outreach to University of Maryland administrators requesting details on the accusations lodged against Greek Organizations and offering to assist in addressing any concerns, administrators consistently refused to share any information of substance.

Meanwhile, the University launched a dragnet investigation of all fraternities and sororities – requiring members of every Greek organization to submit to interrogations by university-hired attorneys. Any student declining to take part in the investigation would be subject to punishment from the school. Hundreds of students endured coercive interrogations performed by an outside law firm, where investigators asked intrusive and inappropriate questions on topics ranging from outlandish rumors to Ritual. Students were denied requests for attorney representation, and some were asked to allow investigators to search their cell phones and threatened with disciplinary action for “non-compliance” should they refuse.

Under protest, fraternity and sorority members, including Theta Chis, attended these interrogations.   The university’s investigation yielded no finding of wrongdoing on the part of Theta Chi and most every other fraternity and sorority on campus.   And, to date, none of the outrageous rumors of wrongdoing in the Maryland Greek System that had been circulating online and elsewhere have been found to be true.

This sweeping action against all Greeks and subsequent investigation not only violated the school’s stated policies, but it also infringed upon the constitutional rights of thousands of innocent students to due process, freedom of association, freedom of speech, and privacy.

After two weeks of bans and interrogations, decisive action was necessary to stand up for the rights of fraternity men and sorority women who had done nothing wrong.   In March, the Alpha Psi Chapter of Theta Chi, joined by our interfraternal friends at Alpha Tau Omega, Alpha Sigma Phi, and Kappa Alpha Order, along with several John Doe fraternity members, filed a lawsuit and request for a restraining order in the United States District Court of Maryland naming the University and several of its administrators as defendants.

Within 48 hours of the filing for a request for a temporary restraining order, University of Maryland officials lifted the suspensions of most Greek organizations, including Theta Chi.  In April, the Women of Kappa Alpha Theta filed their own lawsuit against the university citing the same unjust actions.

Despite widespread rebuke for their unlawful actions, university administrators continue to publicly brag about their unprecedented affront on fraternities and sororities, arguing that their approach should serve as a national model.  Because of this ongoing threat with far reaching implications, this litigation will continue with the aim of preventing Maryland and other universities from taking such sweeping, unconstitutional, and unjust actions in the future.

Your Grand Chapter and headquarters staff remain fully committed to pursuing a just outcome in this matter.   And while we are optimistic about our chances of a successful outcome in this lawsuit, we are committed to pursuing every avenue we can to protect the associational rights of Theta Chi’s Chapters and members.  This means we must not only respond to threats to our existence as they arise on individual campuses, but we must also engage in the policymaking process where express protections for the constitutional rights of students and student organizations are under consideration. In this context, we must proactively work to elect members of Congress who will support and defend the fraternal experience by advancing legislation that protects the rights of members and Chapters.

The Fraternity/Sorority Political Action Committee (FSPAC) is the largest PAC focused solely on higher education.   FSPAC is truly bipartisan and contributes to individual Congressional candidates, regardless of political party, who believe in the benefits and personal growth opportunities that fraternities and sororities offer collegiate men and women.

The fraternal community’s message to lawmakers and candidates emphasizes the following:

1. Preserving fraternities and sororities right to operate as single-sex organizations.

2. Demonstrating the value of the friendship, leadership, learning, and service experience that is unique to Greek organizations and their members – both collegians and alumni.

3. Improving campus safety and anti-hazing legislation.

4. Protecting students’ right to freedom of association by ensuring they can belong to any campus organization at the time of their choosing and without reprisal.

5. Ensuring due process rights for our student members and member organizations.

6. Providing tax parity for donations to build and/or improve fraternity and sorority housing.

Both of us, along with current and past Theta Chi leaders, have remained steadfast supporters of the FSPAC because we recognize that public policy formulated in Washington, DC will have far-reaching implications for the future of our Brotherhood.

For all these reasons and many more, we ask that consider joining us in making a contribution to the Fraternity/Sorority Political Action Committee.   Your contribution, whether it be $20, $200, or $2000, will go a long way to help support those candidates who believe in advancing the cause of all fraternities and sororities.

You can make your contribution by following this link and clicking on the “Donate” button - https://donate.fspac.org

Thank you for your consideration of this important cause.   We remain grateful for all you do for Theta Chi and the fraternal movement!

Fraternally,

Toby Roth                                  Mike Mayer

International President                Chief Executive Officer

Theta Chi Fraternity                    Theta Chi Fraternity