ZBT nationals pulls chapter from U of M just after IFC lifted its suspension
This is the second time in the past four years the Eta colony has been kicked off campus
Founded in 1898, the world’s first Jewish fraternity- Zeta Beta Tau (ZBT) has played a pivotal role in abolishing pledging and all two-tier membership practices. A century after establishing its first chapter, the zionist fraternity ended the pledging process to avoid incidences of hazing.
However, the University of Michigan’s ZBT fraternity has, for the second time in less than a decade, been removed from campus for hazing their pledges.
After jointly conducting numerous investigations and exhaustive membership reviews with the University’s Office of Greek Life and Division of Student Life, ZBT’s governing body voted to remove recognition from the colony at the University of Michigan because its members were violating various fraternity policies, namely those which prohibit hazing.
An official statement from the national organization stated:
“The actions of the brothers of the Colony at the University of Michigan violated our policies and acted in ways antithetical to our mission and values.”
However, the Eta Colony, in particular, has had trouble in the past with adhering to the anti-hazing motto that their nationals established.
Troubles for ZBT began in 2000 when the the chapter was pulled after a pledge was burned by bleach. After being reinstated a year later, the fraternity was booted in 2006 for violating their probation. Six years later, ZBT was kicked off campus for the third time following their headquarters’ statements that the fraternity was an “unsafe environment” for the brothers.
Kim Broekhuizen, the Associate Director for Public Affairs at UMich stated: “The UM Dean of Students Office is offering assistance to the affected students. Considering ZBT, which has been a pioneer, being the first fraternity to end pledging as a safeguard against hazing- we can only hope the University of Michigan Chapter abides by the national motto and procedure, understanding the detrimental impact that practices such as hazing could pose for the members and community at large.”
Their removal was effective immediately, and the ZBT page has already been taken down from the University’s Greek life website.