On Dec. 9, the Iota Tau chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha (PIKE) at Hopkins notified the University of its decision to forfeit its charter. The chapter, which has retained a charter for 22 years, informed its international fraternity of this decision on Jan. 26.
This decision comes months after the chapter was initially put on probation by the University in January of 2013, on interim suspension in mid-April and then on formal suspension for the 2014-2015 school year on May 17.
According to several students, however, PIKE has violated the terms of its suspension this past semester, as well as University policy and directives, since the forfeiture of its charter. These violations include hosting social events, establishing PIKE satellite houses, holding rush events and inducting pledges.
The suspensions were issued following allegations against PIKE brothers participating in a gang rape in March of 2013 and the stabbing of a PIKE brother during a party on Jan. 19, 2014; but the University formally suspended the chapter for “underage drinking and the provision of alcohol to minors, unsafe behavior, failure to comply with University and police directives, and disturbance of neighbors,” according to a March 17 email to the University community from Vice Provost for Student Affairs Kevin G. Shollenberger.
“There also have been other significant complaints and allegations made regarding the PIKE fraternity. The sanctions we are announcing today, however, are predicated on conduct described in this message for which the group has been found responsible by the University,” Shollenberger wrote.
According to Shollenberger and Dean of Student Life Terry Martinez, per the terms of its formal suspension, PIKE was barred from any activities not pre-approved by the University as part of an agreed-upon improvement plan.
“The PIKE chapter must be inactive and can sponsor no social gatherings or meetings of its members, no new member recruitment and no activities of any sort other than those approved by the University in advance as part of a chapter improvement plan,” Shollenberger wrote at the time.
Drafting a chapter improvement plan was also a mandate of the suspension.
“PIKE leadership and its national organization must submit for approval by the University a chapter improvement plan detailing how the chapter will realize PIKE’s stated mission to develop ‘men of integrity, intellect and high moral character.’ The plan must include a review of the current membership and requirements for new members and initiation. It must also include ongoing training,” Shollenberger wrote.
A spokesman for PIKE’s general fraternity, W. Brent Phillips, explained the nature of this plan.
“Prior to the surrender, the Fraternity worked with Iota Tau to establish an action plan to help the chapter improve its overall performance. Action plans typically involve assessment and recommendations of all areas of chapter programming, to include recruitment, member education, exceeding academic standards and meeting financial obligations,” Phillips said.
Martinez elaborated on the fraternity’s obligations following the suspensions.
“They were supposed to do, for example, a leadership workshop, a hazing workshop, or something like that, as part of their improvement plan. They could gather for them, but not for social things, and those had to be approved in advance,” Martinez said.
PIKE members were also instructed to vacate their fraternity house on N. Charles Street and were forbidden from creating any new fraternity houses.
“In light of the health, safety and conduct issues arising from the chapter’s residential arrangements, PIKE members must vacate and disperse from 3203 N. Charles St. by May 31. They must not create similar shared housing arrangements elsewhere,” Shollenberger wrote.
Martinez explained that PIKE members were informed that the prohibition on “similar shared housing arrangements” meant that they could not establish any locations as PIKE residences.
“It said they must not create similar shared housing arrangements. I’m sure that there were people living together, but it wasn’t supposed to be classified as a PIKE house somewhere else. You can live with individuals, but you can’t be functioning as an organization,” Martinez said.
Several students divulged that PIKE had not complied with the terms of its suspension this past semester, particularly those prohibiting hosting social events and establishing PIKE houses and apartments.
“It’s one of those things that everyone knows about but no one will talk about. Basically, PIKE has just gone underground, like everyone said it was going to last year,” one student, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of social retribution, said.
The student said that he or she attended PIKE social events during the chapter’s suspension.
“I went to only two PIKE parties last semester, but I have friends who went a lot. The first party was during O-Week at a row house. The second one was in Wyman, where I think a lot of the guys live now. There was tequila,” the student said.
The student noted a shift in the atmosphere of PIKE’s social events during its suspension.
“I feel like the recent parties have been much more tame, for PIKE standards at least, now that they’re in an apartment or row house instead of the old PIKE house, which was massive and obviously unsafe, considering the things that happened there,” the student said. “It’s less likely that something awful like a stabbing or sexual assault would happen in a more confined space, but there’s still a risk, and I feel like that risk is greater now that they’re underground because they have no liability to the University or [headquarters]. I can see how this would be a very hard situation for the administration to deal with, because regardless of if PIKE is a recognized fraternity or not, they’re still going to throw parties.”
Another student, a freshman who wished to remain anonymous for fear of social retribution and potential University disciplinary action, also described attending what was thought to be a PIKE social event.
“The party was very chill. I stayed for like five minutes, because we were on the way to another party. There were just people sitting and chatting and playing beer pong,” the freshman wrote in an email to The News-Letter.
The freshman explained that, while not personally knowing the hosts of the party, the freshman believed it to be a PIKE party.
A different freshman, who wished to remain anonymous due to similar concerns, confirmed that PIKE held numerous social events during its suspension. In addition to being friends with PIKE brothers, the freshman also claimed to have attended several different types of social events, including “formals, date parties [and] birthday parties, late fall semester and early this semester.”
The freshman said that these social events occurred in PIKE satellite houses and that these events were clearly PIKE-sponsored events.
Additionally, the freshman stated that PIKE threw rush events and inducted pledges after surrendering its charter which — as Martinez explained — violated University policy.
The Hopkins PIKE chapter forfeited its charter mid-suspension, Martinez said. She declined to offer a theory on what led the chapter to surrender its charter, instead deferring to Luke Jenusaitis, PIKE’s president prior to the chapter’s forfeiture of its charter and the only individual from the PIKE chapter with whom the University has been dealing.
“I think Luke will share with you. I’ll let him tell you why from his perspective,” Martinez said.
Jenusaitis did not respond to several requests for comment on PIKE’s behalf for this piece.
Phillips explained that chapters can close down for different reasons.
“On mutual agreement with the Fraternity and the University, the Iota Tau chapter surrendered their charter,” Phillips said. “There are several factors considered when a chapter surrenders their charter, including overall effectiveness of fraternity programming, including the ability to meet all financial obligations.”
Phillips said that all of the members of PIKE’s Hopkins chapter were granted early alumni status after a review by the general fraternity.
Martinez clarified that now that PIKE has surrendered its charter, it is no longer a recognized student group, nor is it recognized by the general PIKE Fraternity.
“They’re not recognized as an organization on campus anymore. That means that they cannot use, from a national perspective, PIKE’s name or logo, that they are not insured or covered by PIKE’s national insurance,” Martinez said.
The general fraternity confirmed the consequences for the chapter’s surrender of its charter.
“Once the charter is surrendered, the Chapter and its advisors are no longer a named insured on our blanket liability insurance program. Additionally, the Chapter is no longer exempt from the payment of federal income tax and applicable state taxes,” Phillips said.
Martinez also explained that if PIKE were to continue to function as an organization following the forfeiture of its charter, such activity would be in violation of University policy — particularly policies against “failure to comply with a disciplinary sanction” and “failure to comply with a University directive.”
“From the institutional perspective, they’re no longer a recognized student organization, so they can’t use any institutional resources, physical, financial or otherwise. They can’t reserve spaces on campus, and they’re not supposed to be doing any recruitment. They’re not supposed to be gathering as an organization,” Martinez said.
She clarified that PIKE has been made aware that it is prohibited from continuing chapter activities, including holding social events, recruiting new members, collecting dues, establishing PIKE residences or other features of an organization, now that it does not have a charter and is unrecognized by both the University and its general fraternity.
“It’s a hard distinction, right, because if you’re off campus, I can’t tell you who you can or cannot live with. But what we can say is that you are not to be living together as a functioning organization, meaning that you shouldn’t be holding chapter meetings, you shouldn’t be holding social events under the name of PIKE, you shouldn’t be collecting any dues, you shouldn’t be members into the non-existent organization,” Martinez said. “Those are the kinds of things that would distinguish whether or not they were functioning as an organization. So for us, we can’t go knocking on doors, but if we hear that there’s recruitment, then we’ll call those individuals in and we’ll have those conversations; if we hear that they’re holding functions under the name of PIKE, then we’ll call them in; if we hear that there’s some other illegal activities, hazing or something like that, then we’ll call them in and lead an investigation.”
Martinez clarified that hosting rush events, inducting pledges, throwing parties and mixing with sororities would all violate University policy.
“I would caution sororities, and they know that from their own national expectations, they should not be having mixers with unrecognized organizations. It puts them in jeopardy as well,” Martinez said.
She explained that, while the group PIKE no longer exists and thus could not be held accountable as an organization for its activities, individual members could be.
“Typically, when those things happen, if we find out they are and we have evidence, we call them in and we do an investigation. Because they’re not a group, we can’t hold a group accountable, but we can hold individuals accountable for policy violations,” Martinez said.
Several students recounted attending PIKE social events after its forfeiture of its charter and acknowledged that PIKE held rush events and inducted pledges after being expressly forbidden from doing so.
“I have friends that have attended PIKE events during rush and know some of their pledges,” one freshman, who wished to remain anonymous for fear of social retribution, said.
Martinez stated that she has not yet been made aware of any violations of University policy by the former members of PIKE, but she explained that, should students come forward with evidence, or should Student/Community Liaison Jon Walter happen to receive complaints about a PIKE party, her office would investigate such claims.
She also stressed the benefits of participating in a recognized organization.
“The benefits of the formal support that organizations get from their nationals — the leadership development, the opportunity for networking — [are important]. If organizations are doing truly what they’re set out to do, then it’s not just about the parties. That’s a great part of it, but there are so many other things that you can do through your philanthropy, through your service, your leadership development. And if it’s just about the parties, you’re not actually meeting the organization’s intent and mission,” Martinez said.
Martinez discouraged members of established Greek organizations from interacting with any unofficial or underground group led by former PIKE members.
“One of the things that I think is important is that members of legitimate fraternities and sororities should make sure that their legitimacy is validated by not partnering with unregistered, underground, whatever we want to call it, organizations, because then it just devaluates the value of your organization and all the things that you do to keep it intact, legit and honorable,” she added.
Martinez also expressed her concerns that PIKE will go underground and partake in the activities it has been instructed to forgo— as students told The News-Letter it already has.
“I’m always concerned that any organization is going to go underground, because then you have no control over things that might cause harm to other students: risky behaviors, individuals putting themselves at risk,” Martinez said. “So that’s always a concern, which is why if we see any activity, if we see any posters, if we hear anything, we’ll follow up with them. It’s important for members of the organization to know and their families to know that if they function and something happens, that they’re personally held liable. They don’t have the coverage or the insurance from the national organization or from the institution, so that becomes a personal liability.”
When asked how worried she was of PIKE going underground, Martinez spoke bluntly.
“I’m concerned. I think that’s a real concern,” she said.
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