Friday, March 10, 2006

DKE lawsuit is dismissed by State Supreme Court judge 

 

          In a decision released today, New York State Supreme Court Judge Dennis K. McDermott dismissed a lawsuit filed by the Delta Kappa Epsilon (DKE) fraternity that sought to overturn Colgate’s withdrawal of the fraternity’s recognition.

 

          In his decision and judgment, McDermott emphasized that Colgate's Board of Trustees "has the authority to adopt resolutions and implement policies as it deems necessary to supervise and control its institution…Thus, allowing fraternities and sororities to retain their recognized status on campus on the condition that title to their houses be transferred to Colgate was a lawful exercise of the Board of Trustees' authority.”

 

          Further, McDermott wrote: “Similarly, the determination to withdraw recognition of DKE when the DKE Corporation declined to transfer title of the fraternity house was likewise within the Board's authority…Colgate's new residential education program was a restatement of the university's policy for continued recognition of the fraternities and sororities on campus."

          Colgate withdrew recognition from DKE’s undergraduate chapter in the summer of 2005 following the fraternity alumni corporation’s decision to not transfer ownership of its house to Colgate.

          University ownership of Greek-letter houses is required by Colgate’s residential education plan which was adopted and announced by the university’s trustees in 2003.

          While many DKE alumni expressed support for the chapter’s participation in the new residential program, negotiations with DKE alumni leadership were ultimately unsuccessful and the alumni organization decided to retain ownership of the chapter house.

          Since 2003, alumni of every active fraternity and sorority except for DKE have transferred their properties to Colgate. As part of the transition, three Greek-letter organizations that were not previously based in houses – Delta Delta Delta, Phi Kappa Tau, and Kappa Kappa Gamma – received university housing in the fall of 2005.

 

Read Judge McDermott's decision