10/30/95
By Pete Pepinsky (pepinpr@mail.auburn.edu)
KAPPA ALPHA FRATERNITY LOSES RECOGNITION AT AUBURN
AUBURN -- Hazing activities have led Auburn University to withdraw recognition of the Kappa Alpha fraternity chapter for a minimum of three years and order the members out of their leased fraternity house by Dec. 11.
The 112-year-old fraternity which had about 70 members was suspended Oct. 9 following pledge hazing activities AU staff observed Oct. 8.
"No semblance of Kappa Alpha Order or any para-group should be identified with Auburn University," Bettye Burkhalter, interim vice president for student affairs, wrote to the Kappa Alpha Order national headquarters today, adding that "failure to provide leadership...will seriously jeopardize any possibility for return" of the chapter's recognition.
AU President William V. Muse underscored Burkhalter's message.
"Fraternities have great potential for social and leadership development of students, but when a fraternity abuses its privileges, Auburn University will show little tolerance," Muse said. "As in this case, we follow due process but the penalty for proven abuses can be swift and severe."
Burkhalter's decision followed the recommendations of the University Committee on Fraternities and Sororities, a 12-member group of students, faculty and staff, which met Oct. 26 to review the Kappa Alpha case.
The committee also recommended, and Burkhalter agreed, that the nearly three dozen current Kappa Alpha pledges could not be initiated "at any time" into Kappa Alpha at Auburn. The pledges are now free to pledge other fraternities.
Hazing is defined by the National Interfraternity Conference as "any action taken or situation created, intentionally, whether on or off fraternity premises, to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule."
"We saw clear abuses of the hazing regulations," said Grant Davis, director of student life, who walked into a Kappa Alpha session between members and pledges Oct. 8. "We saw pledges lined up, yelled at and ordered to do demeaning things while firecrackers popped around them."
Davis added, "Clearly, we have communicated to our chapters and national fraternity offices that hazing is not acceptable. We provide our students with information with which, we hope, they make wise individual and group decisions. The Kappa Alphas didn't make wise decisions."
Currently, AU recognizes the charters of 28 fraternity chapters.
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