By Ken Termini ’87
The recent news from State College regarding IFC and the Greek system has not been positive. February’s tragic death of pledge Tim Piazza at Beta Theta Pi fraternity led to the University announcing a sweeping series of Greek Life regulations and restrictions. One of the mandates was “an immediate cessation of new member programs now underway in IFC chapters.” The University mandated each fraternity submit their “new member program” for review and stated no programs would be reinstated until “effective and credible plans” were “put in place to end hazing.”
Lambda Chi Alpha’s Associate Membership and Fraternity Education programs were introduced in the late ’70s. By the early ’80s, Zeta Chapter committed to join LXA’s effort to end pledging and eliminate hazing. The shift from pledging to fraternity education is not easy. Undergraduate commitment to a no-pledge, no-hazing environment has varied over the past 35 years, but the core concepts of new member respect were embedded and have endured. The bottom line is our chapter has a multi-decade jump on adopting a culture that is relatively “new” to most other PSU fraternities.
Zeta’s current “new member program” focuses on Fraternity Education as opposed to Associate Member education. It requires all members are treated with respect. It involves everyone from AM’s to alumni. It stresses the ideals of Lambda Chi Alpha, and has a zero-tolerance policy toward hazing. Simply put, it is the most inclusive and well defined fraternity education program our chapter has ever implemented.
The undergraduates had just documented their fraternity education program as part of the chapter’s remediation plan. On March 2, 2017, they became the first fraternity to meet with University officials. The presentation was well received, and Penn State approved our program that same day. The University recognizes Lambda Chi Alpha is uniquely prepared to lead the PSU Greek Community during this time of change, and our undergraduates are eager and willing to accept the challenge.
Some might say we are fortunate to be in such a position, but that marginalizes the efforts made by the current undergraduates and the multi-decade effort to adopt Fraternity Education at Zeta Chapter. It takes a long time to change deeply embedded culture; organizations who are unable to change will likely die. As we approach Zeta’s 105th anniversary this November, it is great to know our Chapter is uniquely positioned for success in an evolvingly complex Greek Life environment.