Judge Lets Colgate Buy Greek Homes

[annice22]

JUDGE LETS COLGATE BUY GREEK HOMES;
RULING REJECTS FRATERNITY'S STANCE THAT PURCHASES VIOLATE FEDERAL ANTITRUST LAWS.

By Glenn Coin Staff writer

"A federal judge on Thursday refused to halt Colgate University's plans to buy fraternity and sorority houses near campus.
U.S. District Judge Gary Sharpe rejected arguments by Delta Kappa Epsilon that Colgate was violating federal antitrust laws and free speech laws by taking over the Greek houses.
Colgate spokesman Jim Leach said the ruling lets Colgate move forward with its residential life plan, which includes running the fraternity and sorority houses as university housing.
"I think this confirms what we felt going in to it when we made the announcement in July 2003," Leach said. "The important thing for us is it's not only a case of owning the fraternity and sorority houses, but it's about improving the quality of residential life for Colgate students going into the future."
DKE representatives could not be reached for comment Thursday. The fraternity filed the lawsuit last month.
Seven fraternity and sorority houses have agreed to sell to the university, and another has agreed to donate its house. All of the sales are subject to votes by the alumni groups that run the houses. So far, members of two fraternities and one sorority have ratified the sales.
DKE, Kappa Delta Rho and Alpha Tau Omega have refused to sell.
DKE had asked the court for a temporary restraining order because Colgate has set a Tuesday deadline for the sale of all Greek houses to be approved. Any fraternity or sorority that hasn't sold by then won't be recognized by the college next fall, meaning students won't be able to live in those houses.
The Greek organizations are in the midst of recruiting new members for next fall.
In its lawsuit, DKE argues that students will have to pay more to live in the houses if Colgate takes over. But room and board at DKE and Colgate are nearly identical. Colgate charges $7,620, and DKE charges $7,720.
Tuition at Colgate is $31,230.
In addition to buying the DKE house, Colgate has insisted it must have access to the DKE temple, or library, next door to the fraternity. DKE leaders say fraternity members should be allowed to meet in the building without interference from Colgate.
But in legal papers, Colgate President Rebecca Chopp said the university needs to have access to the temple to help rid fraternities of discipline problems.
"The DKE temple has historically been used for secret activities and has been a focus of controversy and disciplinary action," Chopp said in an affidavit filed Wednesday.
Chopp said the university's takeover of the houses was the only way to solve the problems afflicting Greek houses.
"The Colgate community has been affected by increasing problems with the fraternity and sorority system in recent years, leading to a strong sense that the status quo was not working," Chopp said in her affidavit. "A number of houses have been subjected to sanctions or closed for disciplinary problems including violations of alcohol policies, sexual misconduct, hazing and fighting."
Several Colgate fraternities have been disciplined in the last few years for a variety of offenses.
DKE was shut down for a year for serving alcohol to the driver in a November 2000 car crash that killed four people. Alpha Tau Omega was suspended for four years after a brawl in 2000. Kappa Delta Rho was suspended indefinitely in 2003 after members admitted to several incidents of hazing."

I think that we should be able to run our own houses and that the University should not step in and decide to run them. I understand that most universities and colleges want to protect their students but the fraternity and sorority houses should be "policed" by the organization's Nationals. Just my two cent about this article.