Hanging in place where the greek letters for Theta Chi once were are a new set of letters — BZ for “Beta Zeta.”
In the spring semester of 2014, the Beta Zeta chapter of Theta Chi fraternity had its charter revoked by its national board of directors for allegations of hazing.
Despite having the charter revoked, former brothers of the fraternity still live in the house, participate in philanthropy events and hold recruitment activities per their social media accounts.
But the fraternity is no longer recognized by Theta Chi or the Interfraternity Council at MSU, and is a registered student organization that goes by Beta Zeta.
Under the Department of Student Life, the IFC also has its own constitution and social policy which registered fraternities must follow.
Among those are registering social events, following bring-your-own-beverage guidelines and requiring sober hosts, according to the IFC Social Policy.
Geoff Sabourin , newly elected president of the IFC and food industry management senior, declined to comment on Beta Zeta’s impact on the IFC’s image or the potential safety concerns an unregistered fraternity could pose.
Michael Mayer, executive director of the Theta Chi international headquarters said as a part of the charter revocation, students are prohibited from representing the fraternity in any way.
“Theta Chi Fraternity does not in anyway support, endorse, or otherwise encourage the operation of an unrecognized local organization operating out of the property,” Mayer said in an email.
Mayer added that any students found to be participating in Beta Zeta would be barred from joining Theta Chi once it regroups on campus.
“Any individual who participated in an unrecognized local organization, such as the one currently operating out of 453 Abbot Road, will be ineligible to join or otherwise affiliate with Theta Chi Fraternity when it returns to campus in 2018,” Mayer said.
The former chapter house, which the brothers of Beta Zeta still live in, is owned by an organization filed as “Alumni Corporation of Beta Zeta,” according to records from the City of East Lansing.
A representative from the Planning, Building and Development department within East Lansing City Hall said there also current violations pending against the house.
Members of Beta Zeta did not reply to multiple requests seeking comment.
Editor's note: The State News erroneously stated that Beta Zeta Fraternity was an unregistered student organization, but has since been made aware that Beta Zeta Fraternity is indeed registered under MSU Student Life. After contacting Fred Watson, the assistant director of Student Life at MSU, it was understood that he gave the reporter false information. Watson said he was not looking at the facts in front of him when talking to the reporter. Beta Zeta Fraternity was registered as a student organization on September 29, 2014.
