[Sciencewoman]

Originally Posted by breathesgelatin

I'm a little late on this, but many of you will remember the tale of Kappa Delta at Washington and Lee disaffiliating and becoming a local group called Delta Society.

Apparently there is now a local fraternity at Washington and Lee as well, formed in Spring 2018.
https://www.wlu.edu/student-life/stu...-organizations

I guess it's the former Phi Delta Theta chapter, which disaffiliated.
http://ringtumphi.org/3849/news/form...al-fraternity/

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

Can you explain the general mindset reported in the last link? For instance, the president of the local fraternity cited PDT's high dues, and followed up later with the statement that since becoming local their dues had reduced "some", which makes me think the dues are an excuse, not the main reason.The local sorority president made it sound as if a big grievance was Nationals "interfering" with them. Is she inferring that the chapter was under some sort of double secret probation, or that the chapter didn't like having to fill out reports and comply with national by-laws?

And how are you? Great to see you on the boards again.

For the win on that assumption, FSUZeta. W&L has always posted costs of membership. Check out this year's cost chart:

https://www.wlu.edu/document/fratern...al-obligations

I think this is all about the "dry house" policy. The national fees have been offset by a huge social fee, leaving the new local as the second most expensive fraternity on campus.

W&L has a history of taking a very liberal view toward alcohol. Beer and wine were served for free during the receptions after all of my daughter's choir concerts during Parents' Weekends, IDs are never checked at fraternity parties, IFC-approved parties are openly held in university-owned fraternity housing, there is a university shuttle bus that ferries students around to off-campus fraternity parties on W, F, and Saturdays, etc. Parents' Weekend is a heavy-duty social event, with many parents and students socializing/drinking together. This culture doesn't jive with some of the national group policies, so there is backlash, and these localizations seem to have been supported by the institution.

Obviously, we are in an era where national organizations are attempting to navigate responses to tragedies, negative PR and press, etc. and this has resulted in stricter policies that aim to prevent additional tragedies. And, this particular group said, "no thanks, we like things the way they are here, so we're going local." And the university supports that.

I'm not making any judgment calls -- these are difficult times as we all navigate these issues.