Recently, some members of University of Utah-affiliated Kappa Sigma fraternity had a regrettable display of bad behavior. According to reports, police were dispatched to the fraternity's house at 1435 E. Federal Way, where officers issued more than 50 alcohol-related citations to minors and adults for violations ranging from providing alcohol to minors to underage drinking.
Police also seized three beer kegs, reportedly purchased in Wyoming, and about $450 that fraternity members received from beer sales.
This alleged incident is deplorable in itself. But given the recent history of tense relations on Greek Row between fraternities and their Federal Heights neighbors, it takes on much greater significance. U. officials need to conduct a thorough investigation and hand down appropriate sanctions to the individuals involved.
Regular readers of this page know the Deseret News has no tolerance for illegal and reckless use of alcoholic beverages. It is particularly alarming when alcoholic beverages are made available to minors. Given the agreements the fraternities forged with the neighborhood last summer, it strains logic why any fraternity member would risk upsetting that fragile peace.
The fraternity, to its credit, has imposed internal sanctions, which include suspending all social activities and banning alcohol for the remainder of the school year. Fraternity members involved in the incident also could be suspended or expelled from fraternity membership as well as face academic and criminal sanctions.
Clearly, each governing body must take decisive action against the individuals involved in this incident. Moreover, the fraternity and the university need to use this incident as a teaching moment regarding the many dangers of alcohol abuse.
That said, the issue of whether to kick the Kappa Sigma fraternity off campus requires more deliberate consideration. U. officials have a wide range of alternatives, which include issuing a warning, placing the fraternity on probation or withdrawing the university's recognition of the fraternity. Given the history of this issue and apparent disregard for the neighbors, at the very least, probation should be imposed.
Reportedly, not all Kappa Sigma brothers were involved in the raucous weekend party. They deserve due consideration. Many Utah and national leaders are fraternity and sorority alums, which speaks to the positive mission of fraternities such as educational enhancement, the ideal of brotherhood, personal development, service to one's community and ethical behavior.
Ideally, fraternities at the University of Utah should take a page from U. sororities, which under national guidelines are alcohol free. Utah State University's board of trustees in 1995 ordered that its fraternities be substance free. The U. would do well to contemplate a similar policy, although the university's policy reach is complicated by the fact that the fraternities are private property, therefore not part of the U. premises.
Somehow, the U. and its respective governing bodies need to take a larger role in the supervision of Greek Row. Moreover, fraternities need to do a better job of policing themselves and focusing on lifting up the positive aspects of fraternal membership sans alcohol.