February 18, 2010
Amherst bans student membership in Psi Upsilon
Yesterday, the Amherst administration took action against one of the off-campus fraternities that count Amherst students among its members. Amherst students are now forbidden from joining Psi Upsilon, effective immediately.
Amherst had already kicked its fraternities off-campus in the mid 1980s and converted the houses into upperclassman residences. Fraternities were not abolished, however: A handful of fraternities have survived and continued from that point up the present day, with the understanding that their activities must not occur on the Amherst campus. Now, the administration has taken a further step against Psi Upsilon, which we believe is an unprecedented action, at least since the early 1990s when we began arriving on campus.
We’ve received a copy of an e-mail to the Amherst student body from Tony Marx, which we’ve reproduced below. We don’t have any other information and have not heard if the national office of Psi Upsilon has issued a reaction (assuming that Amherst’s Gamma chapter was currently affiliated with the national organization at the time of Marx’s announcement). We’ll keep you posted as we get more information. You can also contact us at amerst@gmail.com
——Original Message——
From: President’s Office [mailto:president@amherst.edu]
Sent: Wed 2/17/2010 8:22 AM
To: all-students
Cc: Allen Hart
Subject: Ban on Membership in Psi Upsilon
To the Amherst College Student Body:
The Trustees’ Resolution on Fraternities mandates that no College
facilities shall be used by fraternities or sororities; there can be no
such activities on campus. The Board established this rule to help
ensure that our community lives up to its ideals of inclusivity and
equality of opportunity. The Student Handbook clearly states that
fraternities and sororities that conduct activities on campus, as well
as students who participate in these activities, will be judged in
violation of this resolution.
As a result of a serious violation involving the leadership and members
of the off-campus fraternity Psi Upsilon, and on the advice of the
College Council, the College now prohibits all students from joining
this organization. This ban is effective immediately. The College will
take disciplinary action against any student who is found to be a member
of or participating in any activities sponsored by Psi Upsilon, whether
those activities are held on or off campus. Disciplinary sanctions in
such cases may include suspension or expulsion from the College.
The College may review this decision after a period of at least four
years. In light of recent events, members of other off-campus
fraternities and sororities should be aware that the College will be
monitoring their compliance with the Trustees’ resolution, and that any
violations may result in the prohibition on membership being extended to
all off-campus fraternities and sororities.
Yours,
Tony Marx
Dave Nardolillo '98 | February 18, 2010 12:54 PM | Student Life
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