Deactivated from fraternity, former ATO members continue brotherhood

It was a typical Wednesday night for Alpha Tau Omega senior Joe Murphy.

He threw a small party at his apartment on Seventh and Lincoln. Many of his brothers were there and more would arrive shortly. The mood was relaxed as the men shared jokes, told stories about the week and made plans for the weekend.

But everyone at the party had been recently deactivated from the fraternity that brought them together.

ATO has been under close scrutiny by campus officials and its national headquarters for alcohol violations. Rumors of the chapter being kicked off campus swirled until a membership review panel was sent in to evaluate how the fraternity functioned and which members were in violation of rules and expectations.

The fraternity and its house on Third Street were saved, but many of the brothers were not.

“This last set of events, the way this last year has gone down, is really more of a disappointment than anything,” Murphy said. “But the way that a lot of the guys are sticking together is just an example of our brotherhood.”  

Sophomore Matt Kasik was ATO’s social chair until the review, and was one of the first members deactivated. He said the nature of his responsibilities brought him unnecessary attention. Because social chairs plan the parties, they are the ones blamed for the trouble that often arises.  

“It got to a point where we ran out of rope,” Kasik said. “A big aspect of the membership review was trying to get us to point fingers at other guys in the house.
There was definitely a sense of their trying to get us to throw each other under the bus, and that’s not what a brotherhood is.”

The review came late in the year, so it made finding alternative living accommodations difficult, Kasik said. But many of the men will room together and live in apartments and houses close to each other.

“Ideally, no one would have gotten kicked out and we all would have just moved forward,” Kasik said. “But as it is, no one will live in the house. And those who were kept in are not outcasts. There’s no animosity.”

For now, Kasik describes the restructuring process as “impossible.”  

“Everyone joined the house knowing there was a rep of getting in trouble,” Kasik said. “We always just kinda got away with it, and we can’t do that anymore. It’s hard, and I’ll miss waking up in the morning and having my friends all right there.”

Junior Clay Gordon was another casualty of the membership review and deactivated as well. He appealed that decision and was reinstated as an ATO alumnus, which means he is still considered a legitimate member but does not pay national dues and cannot go to ATO functions.

“I got kicked out, but I got back in,” Gordon said. “I just wanted to prove that I could get back in. It’s been pretty embarrassing, so it’s definitely good to still have that membership.”

All the seniors live out, but the rest of the members will live in their house through the end of the year. Remaining brothers do not have the numbers to keep the house full, so they said it probably will be leased to another organization. Regardless of where they end up, they said they will remain close.

“We’re brothers first,” Murphy said. “Taus for life.”