Brother Phi,

Submitted 6/16/08

Your brothers in the bond and former brothers in the bond from the suspended Pennsylvania Theta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta at Penn State need your help. As you may have heard, the five members of our General Council suspended our charter and expelled all of our undergraduates along with myself, our Alumni Corporation President, because we planned to debate their Mandated Alcohol-Free Housing Policy at the 2008 General Convention this week.

First, we want to thank all who contacted us in support or at least made the effort to hear our side of the story. Many of you have shared the various things Rudy and the General Council are saying about us. For those who haven’t seen it, a copy of the e-mail Rudy sent out along with his Frequently Asked Questions can be found at:

   http://www.ProudToBeAPhi.com/Rudy_EmailAndFAQ.pdf

We created this document in response. An HTML version is below and a pdf version can be found at:

   http://www.ProudToBeAPhi.com/PATheta_Response.pdf

Rudy claims in his e-mail that he wants to "set the record straight". We agree and we want everyone to hear both sides so we respectfully ask Rudy to e-mail a copy of our response to every member of Phi Delta Theta since we don’t have access to the mailing list.

Please help by forwarding this document or a link to our website to every member of your chapter. We are also sending approximately twenty of our members to the General Convention this week. Please encourage as many of your members to attend as possible and make a point to meet us in person and hear our side of the story. We also invite the members of the General Council to openly debate this issue on the floor of the General Convention.

Formally Yours in the Bond,

Randy Thompson ’83  #1050
President, PA Theta Alumni Corporation

Why did our undergraduates file a lawsuit against Phi Delta Theta?

A lawsuit is the only way we can overturn the suspension of our charter and save our chapter – the General Council, Jesse Moyer, Bob Biggs, and Roy Cunningham (our Province President) admit this. When Rudy called on December 7, 2007 to advise  us that the General Council had suspended our charter, he told us “the decision is final and not open to appeal.” Jesse, Bob, and Roy also testified in court that there is no way to appeal the suspension of our charter. Jesse, Bob, and Roy also testified that even if our charter is returned to good standing at the next General Convention, the General Council will just immediately suspend it again without cause. Clearly, the lawsuit is our only option to save our chapter.

Why was the charter of Pennsylvania Theta suspended?

The General Council suspended our charter and expelled all our members to annihilate us when they learned we planned to question their Mandated Alcohol-Free Housing Policy at the 2008 convention. If you don’t believe this, send Rudy and e-mail and tell him that your chapter plans to question their Mandated Alcohol-Free Housing Policy at the convention this week and see how long it takes them to suspend your charter and expel all your members.

As usual, the General Council has done their best to demonize our chapter by claiming we had “numerous and repeated  Alcohol  violations  including violations of state law” without giving any specifics or the actual facts. Here are the facts…

1. Only two alcohol violations occurred while our ~50 expelled undergraduates were members. Each violation occurred on the day of the biggest home football game of the year – Michigan in 2006 and Ohio State in 2007. Each incident only involved a very small number of members acting on their own and was not sponsored by the chapter. In each case our undergraduate officers immediately investigated the incident and severely punished the few members responsible, usually by disaffiliating them.
2. We did have three other very minor alcohol violations at the beginning of our Return to Glory Campaign when our membership was very low, our chapter was in trouble, and we were forced to have boarders live in our house to cover expenses. Two of the incidents involved boarders and the other only involved one member who was immediately disaffiliated by our undergraduates. Again, these three very minor and isolated incidents happened before our ~50 expelled undergraduates were members so they clearly can’t be held responsible.
3. In August 2007, eight months after the Michigan incident was settled, the General Council suspended our operations and made us write a show cause letter to keep our charter. To this day, the General Council will not give us a reason for this action. Both Jesse Moyer and Roy Cunningham testified in court that even they don’t know why the General Council did this because we had no new alcohol violations.
   
   We submitted the show cause letter as requested on August 27 and asked for an immediate response so we could resume our operations. The General Council waited until September 17 to give us an answer which prohibited us from recruiting during the three most critical weeks of Rush at the beginning of the Fall 2007 semester.
   
   The only reasonable explanation for this action was to harass us and begin their process to annihilate us because they learned in July 2007 that we planned to question their Mandated Alcohol-Free Housing policy at the 2008 General Convention. Again, we had no new alcohol violations so this is the only reasonable explanation for this action.
4. On October 27, 2007, the day of the Ohio State game, our Province President, Roy Cunningham stopped by the house around 4pm in the afternoon and witnessed some people drinking on the first floor. At the time, most of our Actives were at the stadium so many of the people he saw were Ohio State Phi’s on a road-trip to see the game. Our undergraduate officers immediately investigated the incident and moved to disaffiliate the three PA Theta members that were involved.
   
   Almost 6 weeks later, without any prior warning, Rudy called on December 7, 2007 to report that the General Council voted to suspend our charter, close our chapter, and terminate our liability insurance effective immediately. He also stated that the decision was final and not open to discussion or appeal. He also warned us that our Actives would now trash the house because that’s what happens when they do this to other chapters.
   
   Assuming this would result in the immediate closure and loss of our house leaving 45 of our Actives literally out-in-the-cold with nowhere to live just prior to finals week and Christmas, we asked Rudy what he expected our Actives to do now. Rudy replied, “That’s your problem.”

Why were the members of Pennsylvania Theta expelled?

The General Council expelled all of our actives along with our Alumni Corporation President in order to complete the annihilation of our chapter and to stop us from attending the business sessions of the 2008 convention and to stop us from reaching out to other chapters for support.

According to the Code of Phi Delta Theta, a charter suspension only lasts until the next General Convention. If the charter is not revoked by the General Convention which requires a 75% vote, the charter and all the members automatically go back to good standing. When our charter was suspended, we complied with all the rules of the suspension and planned to get our charter back at the 2008 General Convention which was only 6 months away.

In February 2008, we produced a 40 page booklet called United We Stand (available to download on our website) and mailed a copy to all our alumni and the parents of our undergraduates to try and explain how our charter got suspended after all we had accomplished in the first 3½ years of our 5-year Return to Glory Campaign. We also made GHQ aware of our plans to get our charter back at the next General Convention per the Code of Phi Delta Theta.

This is when the harassment began. GHQ had their lawyers threaten to sue all of our undergraduates and our Alumni Corporation along with our Alumni Corporation President and threatened to make us pay their legal fees. They claimed we were unwilling to cease operations and were illegally operating an active chapter of Phi Delta Theta and we were illegally using Phi Delta Theta trademarks.

At this point, the convention was only 4 months away so the only explanation for this action was to intimidate us and stop us from reaching out to our alumni and other chapters for support.

We never claimed to be, pretended to be, or tried to represent that we were an active chapter of Phi Delta Theta in any way. In fact, the opposite is true. We clearly informed everyone that our charter was suspended and our chapter was shut down and that now we are forced to operate as an independent student organization and prohibited from participating in Greek Life at Penn State. As an independent student organization, we have the right to hold meetings and recruit new members just like any other independent student organization at Penn State.

We also never illegally used Phi Delta Theta trademarks. Upon our suspension, GHQ notified us that all our actives had been moved to alumni status which means that they were alumni of the PA Theta Chapter of Phi Delta Theta just like the rest of our 1400 alumni. As alumni, we have the right to hold meetings, host a website, and send newsletters just like any other alumni from any other chapter.

Again, we complied with all the rules of the suspension and never claimed to be or tried to represent that we were an active chapter of Phi Delta Theta in any way. Our undergraduates even removed or covered up every mention of Phi Delta Theta in our house. They took down all our composites, covered up all the crests and plaques including those honoring our deceased members.

On  March 26, 2008, GHQ expelled all of our undergraduates along with our Alumni Corporation President. The reason given for terminating our brothers’ lifetime membership in Phi Delta Theta was…

“This action was taken because of the participation in and/or knowledge of and encouragement for the ongoing operations of the former Pennsylvania Theta Chapter, including Fraternity ceremonies, recruitment, social activities and campus events and for the continued unauthorized use by the group of the Phi Delta Theta name, marks and symbols in said activities, and publications.”

On  March 31, 2008, our undergraduates filed their lawsuit as the only remedy to stop this harassment.

Did GHQ really try and stop you from attending the General Convention?

Yes. On April 29th, we reserved a block of rooms at Marriott’s Camelback Inn.

On May 28th, Marriott contacted us and said that they were directed by Phi Delta Theta to cancel our room reservations because we weren’t official members. We had to explain to Marriott that we were wrongly expelled from a lifetime membership in our fraternity and we were allowed, per the Code of Phi Delta Theta, to attend the General Convention to appeal our expulsions. Marriott accepted our answer and agreed to honor our room reservations.

On June 12th, Marriott contacted us and told us that they had received an e-mail from Bob Biggs directing them to remove our room reservations from the Phi Delta Theta room block which means we would have to pay the full rate of $260/night instead of the Phi Delt rate of $100/night. Marriott also told us that Biggs’ asked them to use the hotel security staff to prevent us from passing out any literature during the convention.

A few hours later, Marriott’s Director of Security called and advised us that they had canceled all of our room reservations and said the decision was final. He said we were banned from the property and threatened to arrest us for criminal trespass. He also said that he had already reported us to the local police.

We immediately sent an e-mail to all of our members and asked them to immediately contact GHQ and demand that they allow us to attend the General Convention as required by the Code of Phi Delta Theta. We also had our attorney prepare a letter to GHQ's attorney, a letter to the Marriott, and a motion for an emergency telephone hearing with the judge assigned to our case.

Jesse Moyer intervened the next morning and directed Marriott to restore our room reservations at the Phi Delt discounted price. He also assured us that we will have the opportunity to fairly present our case at the convention. Following is an e-mail sent to the General Council from one of our chapter’s heroes now serving in Iraq…

To: The General Council of Phi Delta Theta

I have been loosely following the drama of PA Theta unfold over the last few months from afar, as I have been deployed to Iraq and the Gulf region since shortly after 9/11.  I cannot understand the recent, seemingly strong-arm, tactics employed to keep this house from at least representing their side of the events at convention.  If you have any control over this situation, the latest blockade from the hotel and convention, for the sake of the honor and integrity that Phi Delta Theta stands for, please intervene and allow due process to take its course.  Have we strayed so far from enjoying life through the help and society of others that we should adopt 'crush all who oppose us, so that we might endure' as our motto?  I certainly hope not, nor can I believe that any of those in leadership positions at GHQ can feel this way. 

Right or wrong, these men of PA Theta have the right to be heard, unobstructed, as does General Council, actives and alumni delegates.  To deny that right dishonors all that I and my fellow soldiers have been fighting for in Iraq for the last seven years.  If their position is untenable, and completely without merit, then you should welcome them to speak and present at convention...then the whole of the fraternity will have the opportunity to see their fanaticism and the suspensions, expulsions and re-colonization will have moral and ethical validity.  If however, their position is reasonable, and perhaps the fraternity has acted impulsively, then the system will likewise have the opportunity to right itself, and no further questions will be left lingering.  Either way, all questions will be fairly put to rest, your legacy in the leadership of Phi Delta Theta remains intact, the fraternity survives without blemish and the system works.  It is the way the we have survived as a country for 232 years despite some of the most incredulous political missteps in social history.

What has happened that these men who shared the bond, men who had impressed you so much only a year ago, men who were molded by the values of Phi Delta Theta find themselves today, so despised by our council that they are barred from facing their accusers and denied their rights to appeal?

As a brother, and a man with whom I share the bond, with honor and integrity, I ask you to do the right thing.  Let not personal issues, or whatever vendettas may exist prevent this General Council from acting in the time honored traditions that make Phi Delta Theta great.

If a win is secured at the cost of violating all that we stand for, then what have we accomplished save for ensuring the expediency of our demise.  If, when this is over, and eventually it will be over, we can no longer issue the cry, "Proud to be a Phi," then we will have lost far more than a chapter in central Pennsylvania.

Yours in the Bond
Thomas Beirne
Lt Col, NY Air National Guard

Was the Alcohol-Free Housing Policy properly adopted and is it a valid and enforceable law that governs our fraternity?

No. The following is the actual text from GHQ’s website. As you can see, they can’t even answer their own question. The question is when was it adopted and their answer only tells when it was announced and implemented because it was never adopted.

The of rules of Phi Delta Theta are clear. Phi Delta Theta is governed by the Code of Phi Delta Theta which contains our Constitution and the General Statues.  These are the laws that govern Phi Delta Theta.

Our Constitution can only be amended by a 75% vote of two consecutive General Conventions. The General Statutes, which must be in accordance with our Constitution, can only be amended by a 75% vote of one General Convention.

Our Constitution is clear, the General Convention has supreme legislative and judicial powers and only the General Convention can make the laws that govern the fraternity. The General Council can only interpret and administer the laws made by the General Convention. The General Council can make Policies to promote the fraternity but cannot make Laws that Govern the fraternity.

Policies to promote are clearly different than Laws that Govern. Alcohol‐Free Housing is clearly a law that governs the fraternity. They even call it a “paradigm shift” because it changes everything. It is now the primary law used to govern our fraternity and the General Council has used it to annihilate  ~35 chapters of Phi Delta Theta including PA Theta. Our last Leadership Consultant even claimed that Dry-Housing is now the fourth cardinal principle of Phi Delta Theta.

For such a “paradigm shift” to be valid and enforceable, it must be an amendment to our Constitution which requires a 75% vote by two successive General Conventions. This didn’t happen. At a minimum, it must at least be approved as a Statute which requires a vote of 75% of one General Convention. This also didn’t happen.

Alcohol-Free Housing is not in our Constitution or the General Statues and therefore is not a valid and enforceable law that governs our fraternity.

So how does GHQ explain the Alcohol-Free Housing Policy?

The General Council  intentionally circumvented our Constitution by claiming it is a policy since they have the right to make policies to promote the fraternity. As they know, this is clearly not the intent of the Constitution because it would make the General Convention irrelevant.

Again, our Constitution is absolutely clear, the General Convention has supreme legislative and judicial powers and only the General Convention can make the laws that govern the fraternity by amending our Constitution or the General Statutes.

The following letter was sent directly to our attorney by a Phi who was a General Officer in 1997 that explains exactly what the General Council did. We are protecting his identity to save him and his chapter from the wrath of the General Council…

I read with interest your filing on behalf of the six men at Penn Theta.  Unfortunately, the situation is all too common in our Fraternity; on both sides of the issue.

Without commenting on the merits either way, your contention that Risk Management Policies regarding alcohol were intended to circumvent the requirements of the Code (Constitution and General Statutes) is exactly correct.  When we voted on this matter in 1998 (I think it was ’98) we discussed at length and argued vehemently about this specific point.  Ultimately the consensus, and vote, was to endorse the drastic change in “policy” because we (General Officers) all knew the General Convention would never approve the necessary changes to the Code.  And, even if we were lucky enough to get it approved once, it would never happen twice, as you correctly point out is necessary.

It is important to understand that we were, and still do, face significant challenges in our chapters regarding alcohol consumption and abuse.  Having witnessed significant increases in our insurance costs, damage to property and human suffering (injuries, sexual crimes, etc.) we felt it necessary to endorse the policy and take a leadership position in the Fraternity world.  I believe it was the right thing to do, but it has also created unintended consequences, and I believe these are evident in your present situation.

By circumventing the Code with “Risk Management Policy” we created a situation without checks or balances, which was never intended by our Founders or the Code.  Our chapters now find themselves at the mercy of the “Risk Management Policies” without appropriate recourse and completely unchecked by the processes outlined in the Code.  If an instance arises, as in the case of Penn Theta, a “Show Cause” letter is sent to the chapter, telling them in essence, “You are guilty until you prove otherwise”.  There is virtually no due process, investigation or “just cause” underlying decisions following such situations.  This is a major problem and needs to be rectified.  And, as it relates to this specific and narrow issue, I fully agree and endorse your position.

I wish the young men well and hope that a resolution in the courts will provide a basis for reconsideration of the present course of governance.

How has the General Council been able to get away with this for so long?

As clearly evident in our case, they immediately move to annihilate any chapter who dares to question them without regard to our Bond, Constitution, or human decency all while claiming we are a “values based” organization.

So you just want to drink in your house, is that it?

No. Greek life at Penn State is very competitive. We have over 50 fraternities and 30 sororities. We want to be the top fraternity on the Penn State campus.  We want to be known as the leaders on campus, not the “Dry Delts”. We want to compete on an even playing field with the other fraternities without the perceived advantage or disadvantage of being the only dry fraternity on campus.

Believe it or not, in court, GHQ’s lawyer made a point to claim that we are not the only dry fraternity on campus because the sororities at Penn State are also dry and technically sororities are women’s fraternities. We understand and support that other chapters at other schools want to be dry, however, at Penn State we want to be in the same league as the men on campus, not the women.

GHQ says that our alumni are against the Mandated Alcohol-Free Housing Policy just because they were allowed to drink when they were in school – is this true?

Absolutely not. Just four years ago, our chapter was in serious trouble. We were bankrupt with no alumni support. We were facing a set of problems so overwhelming that our previous Board of Directors gave up all hope and sold our house and property to Penn State and planned to shut us down.

Fortunately our actives wouldn’t accept this fate and convinced a small group of alumni to get involved and help save our chapter. We immediately launched an aggressive 5-year Return to Glory Campaign to not only save our chapter, but to make PA Theta the top fraternity in the country and a model for all others to follow. In just 3 years, our alumni watched and supported our actives as they worked their hearts out and did the impossible to return our chapter to her former glory and one of the top fraternities on the Penn State campus.

Then our alumni watched in shock and disbelief as the five members of our General Council, who have never met us or visited our chapter, suspended our charter and expelled all of our actives along with our Alumni Corporation President and then threatened to sue all of our undergraduates and our Alumni Corporation President individually along with our Alumni Corporation because a few college students made a mistake and had a drink in our house at a few very isolated instances.

Clearly, there is a problem with the Mandated Alcohol-Free Housing Policy if this is what it takes to enforce it. One of the stated goals of our Return to Glory Campaign was to create a fraternity that our members would want their sons to join. Why would you let your son or anyone join an organization that does this to its members?

GHQ claims that our alumni have misled our undergraduates and that our undergraduates support Mandated Alcohol-Free Housing - is this true?

Approximately twelve of our undergraduates will be attending the General Convention. Please ask them this question.

GHQ has claimed that 95% of our members are under the legal drinking age – Is this true?   

Not even close. As part of our Chapter Management Plan, we only rush freshmen – a minimum of 20 new Freshmen each year, every year.  This assures that our membership is always equally distributed across all classes. Members pledge as freshmen and then live in the house as sophomores, juniors, and seniors.

A core component of our Leadership Initiative is our Learn, Improve, Teach Program that requires our older members to train and mentor our younger members. The success of this program depends on our  juniors and seniors living in the house to train, mentor and act as role models for the younger members. During spring semester, it’s typical to have over half the members living in the house of legal drinking age.

GHQ has claimed that our members have harassed and threatened them – is this true?

Our alumni are outraged at the way the General Council has treated our undergraduates and have flooded GHQ with letters and e-mails telling them so. Our alumni also know the facts and know who is doing the harassing and the threatening. Following is a typical example of a letter sent to the General Council by our alumni in support of our chapter…

I have been the wife of Bruce E Ross ‘47 PA Theta for 54 years, and the sister-in-law of Donald B Ross ‘35. Donald is deceased and Bruce is alive and well, but unable to write. Both of them dearly loved Phi Delta Theta and their brothers, in fact Bruce continues to wear his ring today. I feel the need to voice what I know they would say to you. Do Not Close Down PA Theta!

As a psychologist, I am very aware of college behavior. I have worked for the past 15 years as a volunteer counselor at Planned Parenthood, where the bulk of our patients are college students. I am totally up on the tremendous amount of binge drinking - it is a standard question I always asked. I have also done volunteer counseling for 15 years for women affected by domestic abuse. Although I am 74 years old, I am "current".

I am the one who keeps up with the PA Theta house. I have been very impressed with the brothers of PA Theta who have shown incredible maturity by voluntarily accepting responsibility of a physically and emotionally declining chapter, that I thought surely was going down the drain. These actives have done a wonderful job in the last 3 years to bring back an ailing house to its former glory.

Therefore I was aghast when I read that you were unable to recognize their efforts, and in effect, chose to punish them rather than reward them for their diligence. Personally, I think responsible drinking should be taught, and your aim for the fraternity in general should be that, rather than a 100% dry house. And while I’m at it, I also think that you should encourage your fraternity to learn that power and control ---this goes for you at headquarters as well as fraternity brothers--- is something that should be recognized and shared- rather than be one sided. That comes from my long time work with domestic abuse, which is all about power and control. Most people think that abuse occurs only within the home, and that it takes bruises and broken arms. Indeed it occurs in all segments of our society. I think your are abusing your power and control, and need to do a little compromising. I hope you will rethink your options.

Sincerely,
Nancy W Ross

GHQ claims that there have been many improvements since 1997 attributed to the Alcohol-Free Housing  Policy – is this true?

In all the metrics used to show the progress since 1997, GHQ always leaves out the number of chapters that have been annihilated and priceless personal Greek college experiences that were forever ruined to protect their Mandated Alcohol-Free Housing policy.

However, we do agree there have been significant measurable improvements since 1997, but this only demonstrates one of the main problems with the Mandated Alcohol-Free Housing  Policy. We’re tired of talking about alcohol. We should be talking about Leadership and Life-Skills training, not alcohol. Not only do they blame all the problems on alcohol, now they have to attribute all the successes to the Alcohol-Free Housing policy. The real shame of the Alcohol-Free Housing policy is now they can’t even give the credit to the people who deserve it – a clear violation of one of the basic principles of leadership.

The problem with our failing chapters was, and will always be the lack of leadership, not the misuse of alcohol. The misuse of alcohol is only a symptom of the problem, not the problem. In 1997 Phi Delta Theta was an out of control, mismanaged, dysfunctional mess.

The credit for the improvement needs to go to Jesse Moyer, the leadership consultants, and the General Headquarters Staff who are clearly doing a much better job running the organization now than was done in 1997. Just imagine what they could do with real leaders on the General Council empowering, training, and supporting them.

Is an Exemption Option to the Alcohol-Free Housing Policy the answer?

No, we actually agree with GHQ on this. After researching this option with other fraternities, we agree that an exemption option just adds another level of bureaucracy and makes the problem worse.

The best solution is already in our General Statutes so nothing needs to be changed – we just need to follow our own rules. Our General  Statutes allow a chapter to make its own rules as long as they conform to the rules of their university.

This is the optimum solution because it works for all chapters. Those who want to be dry have every right to do as they wish. Those who don’t, also have the right to do as they wish as long as they comply with the rules of their university.

Where do we go from here?

Our six founders got it right. We need to return to our founding principles of friendship, sound learning and moral rectitude. It’s time we work together once again in the spirit of our great fraternity and exemplify the teachings of our bond. We need to elect General Council members who understand these principles, live by them, and set the proper example for our undergraduates. We need General Council members with the leadership skills and expertise required to empower, train, and support Jesse and the General Headquarters Staff to make Phi Delta Theta the best run fraternity in the world and a model for all others to follow. Leadership is the answer.

If you will not fight for the right when you can easily win without bloodshed;  if you will not fight when your victory will be sure and not too costly;  you may come to the moment when you will have to fight with all the odds against you and only a small chance of survival.  There may even be a worse case: you may have to fight when there is no hope of victory, because it is better to perish than to live as slaves. -- Thomas Jefferson

Contact:	Please e-mail us at info@ProudToBeAPhi.com with any questions or to receive a printed copy of United We Stand.
Website:	www.ProudToBeAPhi.com
Downloads:	Rudy's E-mail and FAQ (pdf) PA Theta Response (pdf) United We Stand Booklet (pdf 8.5M)