32 CommentsBwog’s been in touch with Student Affairs about last night’s news. Here’s what they had to say:
Bwog: What’s going to happen to the brownstones?
Student Affairs: The rooms in the brownstones will become part of general assignment for the 2011-2012 academic year, after the undergraduate housing lottery takes place. (In other words, the rooms will not be included in the housing lottery for the upcoming year. Beyond that, it’s simply too early to comment.)
They will not be left vacant, nor will they be reassigned to a fraternity, sorority, or special interest community for the coming academic year.
In the Fall of 2012, the University will consider accepting applications for the three brownstones from recognized fraternity and sorority chapters in good standing as well as special interest communities, for housing beginning with the 2013-2014 academic year.
What does it mean that the chapters are on ‘social suspension?’
Social suspension means the fraternities are prohibited from hosting parties, get-togethers, and events of a social nature. They are permitted and encouraged to conduct philanthropic and service activities, and will be allowed to continue recruitment and membership activities. The fraternities will be on social suspension until Fall 2011.
When are the three year plans due?
The three-year plans are due by April 1, 2011.
What’s going to happen to the IRC?
Regarding [Bwog’s] questions about the IRC, we [Student Affairs] will be happy to address those once students in that community have been officially informed of the results of the review process.
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32 Comments
@everyone knows columbia admins hate frats as much as some of the posters here do. they just took 3 months to decide to make it look like they were thoroughly examining things. this is nothing more than the war on fun.
@... actually i think both frats and IRC fall under her
@In Before any form of shitstorming about this: http://spectrum.columbiaspectator.com/spectrum/breaking-intercultural-resource-center-to-receive-no-sanctions
@Anonymous Bwog, perhaps you need to cover the fact that Dean Terry Martinez, the dean of Multicultural affairs, was given the task of reviewing these organizations and submitting a recommendation to dean Schollenberger. I find it a little odd that she singled out the fraternities involved but completely let her baby, the Intercultural Resource Center, off the hook. Sounds like someone is trying to cover her own ass….
http://spectrum.columbiaspectator.com/spectrum/breaking-intercultural-resource-center-to-receive-no-sanctions
@Anonymous I’m pretty sure that during the bust there was writing on a white board in the house about selling drugs. I’m pretty sure they thought this through before making this decision. They’ve had a lot of time.
@Anonymous What’s happening to all the people who were previously planning to live at the frat houses? Are they all being lumped into general selection now? If cutoffs go through the roof and I don’t get my suite because of them, shit’s going down…
@... wait, so if the rooms aren’t going into the housing lottery and they aren’t being left vacant, then who gets them??
if they turn them into admin offices there may be rioting.
@anon leftovers.
@and room mate/ floormate emergencies
@Anonymous i really think the IRC shud be getting some form of punishment as well.
@this Article is written as if ALL the fraternities at columbia should be vilified… and that is prejudiced and wrong. There were a number of societies that were innocent and continue to contribute a great deal to the fabric of our community…
@actually it’s nothing about the tone in which the article is written, it’s mainly that there aren’t any proper nouns in it and it sounds like the editor is making blanket statements about all frats. just thoughts of my journalistic red marker.
@actually actually ack, just checked spec, it’s written in Student Affairs’ words…. therefore it is Student Affairs that is biased and not bwog. FIGURES!
@Claire Sorry that wasn’t made clear! We sent an e-mail to Student Affairs with these questions and then posted their responses.
@The Frats They didn’t know about these. They really didn’t. There’s no proof at all that they did. It’s the basis of the accusations against them, and the best justification I’ve heard for it is “C’mon.”
C’mon isn’t a proof. It’s evidence of nothing but prejudice.
@Anonymous I’m pretty sure that during the bust there was writing on a white board in the house about selling drugs. The university probably thought this through before making this decision. They’ve had a lot of time.
@Anonymous That was one fraternity not all of them
@Psi U Brother The “whiteboard” you speak of was a handwritten addition to our agends for the previous minutes, and was not written by any brothers. It was written either by the DNAinfo reporter who trespassed into our house to go through our trash, or by one of the 40 cops chilling in our house that day, who found the whole situation quite amusing.
@Wha? Are you kidding me? They knew. The bros talked about it right after the bust got pretty tight-lipped shortly there after.
@anon I’m sick and tired of all of you self-righteous brats shitting all over the frats. Yes, we’re aware that you “TOTALLY HAD A SOCIAL LIFE WITHOUT THEM,” and yes, we’re aware that you think they’re dens of degenerates drinking and smoking all the time. And yes, we’re aware that you think that there are soooo mannnyyyy more worthwhile issues to get upset over.
But these guys are having their identities ripped away for the actions of a few. The ONLY thing this will promote is for the current dealers on campus to be more vigilant and essentially sketchy. People are still going to smoke weed, binge drink, and do stupid shit. AND GUESS WHAT? You don’t even need to be associated with a frat to do these things!
Honestly, I think you all need to be a little more sympathetic to the fact that for these guys, their homes and fraternities made their time at Columbia what it is today. It shaped who they are, how they perceive friendships, and work through things that stress and tear away at as all, just like any other group of friends, support systems, or student clubs.
Have a bit of compassion. And fuck you, CU.
@Anonymous You make absolutely no sense.
If their brownstone or their life before being put on social suspension is what made up their “identities,” then that’s really sad. You would think that being in a fraternity would provide some sort of identity, not a house. Last time I checked, Columbia didn’t abolish the entire fraternity. They took away a house. Big deal. They’ll be living in dorms like the rest of us.
And don’t you think dealers should be more vigilant. Who wants to get caught? You make absolutely no sense.
Yeah, people are still going to smoke, drink, and do stupid shit. And you’re right you don’t need frats to do those things. So stop complaining! Did you even read (or think about) what you were writing about us, self-righteous brats.
I don’t need to be sympathetic to these frats. If it shaped who they are today and it meant so much to them, then maybe they should of thought about that before fostering an environment and being complacent with what the C5 were doing.
@anon Take a look at any bit of American pop culture with a frat reference in it and you’ll clearly find that houses and the fraternal societies themselves are pretty much interchangeable. The frats on campus without houses here find it next to impossible to recruit in large numbers. Take Delta Sig for an example and how far they’ve come after snatching that awesome brownstone.
This is even the case for a variety of undergraduate houses across the country. ____ house is who you identify with and gain a great deal of pride from.
And finally, by stating the fact that its “really sad,” if, “their brownstone or their life before being put on social suspension is what made up their “identities,” then you’re only proving my point. Go find another group of great guys to shit on.
I’d also like to point out the great comment below this “The Frats…” at 2:11pm. Prejudice. Plain and simple.
@CC'11 That’s unfortunate. Hopefully, however this will make frats on campus more vigilant about what goes on in their “sacred” homes.
@everyone knows delta sig bought their house via a nice “donation”
@... they were given houses and a mandate to self-supervise. they failed to look after their own and now there are kids facing the prospect of prison. as such they have proven themselves unfit to carry out their mandate to self-supervise and the houses go to others that will.
end of story.
@andddd this is why I will not give Columbia any more money. Absolute bullshit.
why don’t they go after actual problems, liking being a cool U and stuff
@Anonymous This is actually ridiculous. My heart goes out to all the brothers who are losing their house – good one Columbia. Way to fucking go.
@Anonymous I really don’t understand the people, especially the two comments above mine, who feel sorry for these three frats and who seem to think that frat life is the only way a university can be “cool” or that without them their social life has been shattered.
1. These frats knew about the illegal drug activity happening in their brownstones. Why would anyone feel pity for them? They obviously couldn’t manage themselves without some sort of authority and now they are paying for it. It’s not that the university is punishing these three frats SOLELY for what the C5 did. They’re punishing them for not doing anything about it.
2. Honestly, to the people who feel like their social lives have been ruined, you’re fucking retarded. You live in NYC. ‘Nuff said. Idiots.
@Hypocrisy It’s ok for the admins to take three months to conduct a review but give the frats three weeks to decide their next three years where one of those weeks is over break. That’s fair.
@Here's another one... I bet $50 that IRC get’s off scott-free.
@Here's another one... … No apostrophe… I hate being hung over….