Kicking us while we were down

Beta Theta, see you later. \nFraternity opponents were probably jumping for joy after hearing that yet another fraternity was removed from IU. It seemed imminent. Now that I am considered an alumni member of Beta Theta Pi, I feel a bit confused. I don't know how such an organization could be there one day, gone the next. \nOn July 27, at 2 a.m., there was a vote to disband the chapter 72-20. This group of 92 strapping young Men of Principle were comprised mostly of presidents at other Beta fraternities. Now I cannot argue with the facts. We had 30 incidents in the Pi Chapter file, four open risk management cases and one lawsuit. But I can wonder how a committee made up of mostly people our age would want to force us off of campus. I cannot understand it, even by putting myself into their shoes. \nIt was July 27! People were planning to move in as early as August 13. Seventy-nine people were forced to find a place to live in 16 days. These people already paid first installments that total about $160,000 to live in a place you cannot even walk around barefoot. But I loved that house. I have made friends there that I will have for a lifetime. \nI caught a better break than our younger guys. They will never understand what it's like to hold a position, stay up until sunrise, cheer on your bike team, and always have someone there to help you with your homework.\nWith the allegations against us, they forgot to mention the biggest party that we had. It was the Beta/Tri-Delt Weenie Roast. The place was packed wall to wall. Kevin Cochran was jamming from midnight until 4 a.m. We served up the Natty Lite as if there was no tomorrow. Oh wait, no we didn't. We served hot dogs. We charged $5 at the door. That helped us to raise more than $5,000 to help cystic fibrosis research. \nThat is what will hurt the most. I was one of the planners of this event. I was in charge of "blowin' up the Weenie Roast," as some of my brothers coined the phrase. I could still throw the event, but I will not be able to fit more than a thousand people in my new place. And now that I live off campus, I can throw parties where the booze is flowing freely.\nThat still doesn't mean I was perfect while I lived in Beta. I had a drink or two while I was there. After all, I was 21 my whole second semester junior year.\nBut I have been at parties off campus where gatherings have gotten really crazy. The problem is that they are not organized. At a Beta party, there were lists, tickets and people working the door and roaming through the house making sure that nothing got too crazy. \nThis type of structure is hard to come by. It was because everyone worked together as a group to make it happen. \nNow that structure is lost. Our house e-mail list has turned into someone blaming somebody else for something. Guess what, fellow alumni members. Do not blame anyone without blaming yourself. You can push the blame on anyone, but no one instance got us kicked off campus. In my opinion, it was a bad decision, no matter how the national fraternity tried to justify it.\nFor those of you who dislike fraternities, you got your wish. Three down, 23 to go. I hope you do not get your wish, and hope the best for every other fraternity. As I am writing this, they are boarding the windows of our old house. That closes a chapter of my life. If it were not for that house, I wouldn't have been able to write this in the first place.