Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, March 28, 1991 TAG: 9103280424
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B4 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: CHARLOTTESVILLE LENGTH: Medium
"We have some influence on the fraternities, but no control over them," Associate Dean of Students Ronald Stump said. "My own opinion is that we should not have more control over them."
Stump was responding to Gov. Douglas Wilder's instructions Tuesday that state college and university presidents take more control of their campuses, including fraternities and sororities.
Wilder's instructions came in the wake of federal marshals' seizure March 21 of the Delta Upsilon, Phi Epsilon and Tau Kappa Epsilon houses in connection with drug charges against 12 UVa students.
"We understand the governor's concern and absolutely agree there is no place on campus for illegal drugs, date rape or assaults," UVa spokeswoman Louise Dudley said. "We're looking at all of our policies and have to see if we can improve them to prevent illegal activities."
Ernest Ern, UVa's vice president for student affairs, said the university has not held the discussions it needs to hold in response to the arrests.
"The university has never had control over fraternities," he said. "There needs to be a clearer understanding that these are private clubs or corporations. What's the difference between a group of students living in University Heights apartments and students living in fraternity houses? We don't have jurisdiction out there."
The university has ties with many of the school's 38 fraternities. Six fraternities lease the land their houses are on from the university, paying $1 rent per year. The university's Real Estate Foundation acts as the landlord for alumni corporations that own 16 fraternities. The three fraternities seized were not on university land or tied to the Real Estate Foundation.
The university also gives the Inter-Fraternity Council an office in Newcomb Hall, and UVa administrators often discuss policies and ideas with fraternity leaders.
Although the university is involved with fraternities, it has disavowed itself from any official relationship since 1987 by requiring all student organizations to sign a contracted independent organization agreement.
Under the agreement, student leaders acknowledge the university is willing "to provide certain benefits to certain organizations," but those benefits do not grant those groups standing as part of the university, nor do they place the groups under the school's control. The contract relieves the university of any responsibility for organization contracts and the university claims no approval of any organization's goals or activities.
"A lot of people have said we washed our hands of the fraternities, but we do a lot of leadership development with their members," Stump said. "I think what we're doing now is pretty successful."
City Council members disagreed.
Someone ought to have direct authority over the fraternities, council members say. Since the contract arrangement, some fraternity members act as if they are under no rules at all, they said.
Council member Elizabeth Waters said one of the difficulties the contract agreement created "was the notion that the fraternities were completely independent from the university, and I don't think that's completely realistic."
The university should wield its ultimate power over fraternity members: Obey rules or be expelled, she said.
by CNB