By James MacGeorge
Arizona Daily Wildcat
Thursday February 20, 2003
This guest commentary is in response to article printed on Feb. 13 regarding Delta Tau Delta and the sanctions we received. Unfortunately at the time the article on Delta Tau Delta was printed, the chapter had yet to receive official notification from the University of Arizona of the sanctions resulting from the hazing incident. Accuracy is very important to us, and without the Dean of Students' written notification, the fraternity felt that a comment would be inappropriate at the time. We now have received the formal document and can be confident in our response.
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We plan on presenting new ideas and activities to the greek community so that hazing becomes a thing of the past.
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We believe that the sanctions determined by the university, our international fraternity ÷ as well as our own chapter ÷ were responsible, mature and fair. We realize that what occurred with our members was wrong and also know that the sanctions from the university and our fraternity could have been much more severe. However, as a self-governed and responsible organization, immediate action was taken in order to respond and resolve the allegations involving our chapter.
We will use this incident not only to make sure that nothing like this will happen again, but also as an experience that we and the greek community as a whole can grow from. We plan on presenting new ideas and activities to the greek community so that hazing becomes a thing of the past. Delta Tau Delta also hopes that other organizations use our situation and our proactive response as an example of how to deal with incidents that they may come across in the future.
In conclusion, the greek community's main purpose is to help men and women to succeed in life socially, academically and professionally. It shapes the leaders of the future and helps the community around it. I hope that others understand this and that we are not judged solely by the recent negative incidents. These incidents do not compare to the amount of positive aspects of the greek community and should not be used as a depiction of how greek life really is and what it stands for.
James MacGeorge is an undeclared junior and president of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity. He can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.
