The Alpha Tau Omega house at 3596 Midland Ave. stands boarded up after the Memphis chapter was suspended for five years. It will be up to the national organization to organize a return to campus in five years.
The University of Memphis chapter of Alpha Tau Omega has been sentenced to a five-year suspension after an audit revealed the fraternity had not been meeting its required standards.
Justin Lawhead, dean of students, confirmed the chapter would be shut down for five years “for violating the student code of rights and responsibilities.†The suspended group now cannot host activities or actively participate in university programs.
“Their future beyond that is a discussion item between them and their national headquarters,†Lawhead said.
This decision was finalized by U of M administration at a pre-hearing on Oct. 18, ATO executive members said. The president and vice president of the ATO chapter met with the school to hear the fate of their chapter.
The ATO president, who asked not to be named and had just been elected two months prior to the incident, agrees with the university suspending the fraternity for five years.
“We agree that it needs change,†the ATO president said. “There were problems we were trying to fix. It was not surprising at all when campus saw those problems…I don’t blame them for taking this seriously.â€
The five-year suspension will not be official until the final hearing — which has not yet been given a date, the ATO president said.
“It’s rough because [ATO] was really a project for me and the rest of [the executive board] to improve … it was fun to try to fix the chapter, but when it comes to serious legal stuff, we were all concerned about our well-being as students,†he said. “Fraternities are great, but what really matters is character and graduating.â€
For the next five years, ATO has terms it must meet in order to be reinstated and get its charter back. Once they come back to the U of M campus after the suspension, the administration and the ATO national board will have systems in place for the University of Memphis chapter to uphold.
The ATO president said the chapter hopes responsibly return to campus in five years. He also said he and his fraternity take responsibility for how they handled the issue and hope to set systems in place to resolve these issues when they are allowed back on campus.
The Daily Helmsman is currently investigating the issue and will post updates as they are available. ATO national said they would have a response in the next week.
