Fines for frats.
Five Boulder fraternities are facing more than $ 10,000 in penalties after gatherings violated COVID- 19 public health protocols.
Five Boulder fraternities now face more than $ 10,000 in fines among them and condemnation from a fellow fraternity brother who presides over the chapters following a weekend of parties and gatherings that violated COVID- 19 public health protocols.
New fines against four fraternities, in addition to those levied against another chapter last week, were detailed in an email the president of Boulder’s Interfraternity Council on the Hill sent to the presidents and alumni advisers of all 22 member chapters.
“The behavior of your fraternities over the last two weeks has been nothing short of outrageous,” wrote Adam Wenzlaff, a member of the Sigma Nu fraternity and president of IFC on the Hill. “It is my responsibility to ensure that our community is represented in the most positive light possible. Your lack of control over the members of your chapters makes it nearly impossible to accomplish that goal. The actions that have been displayed by a majority of our member chapters are completely indefensible. I am at a loss for words as to how to further communicate to all of you the severity of our situation.
“People are dying all around the country. Over 183,000 people in the United States have died from
COVD- 19. We truly find ourselves in a life and death situation. You have failed your chapters and you have failed our community. WE MUST DO BETTER.”
Last week, The Denver Post reported the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity in Boulder was the first to be fined for a gathering that drew 120 students to the organization’s house on University Hill, flouting Boulder County’s COVID- 19 health protocols.
Sigma Alpha Epsilon received a $ 1,610 fine for the gathering in which scores of young men met for a pre- rush event that lacked social distancing and masks.
The additional chapters fined after weekend parities and gatherings:
• Phi Kappa Psi is being fined $ 1,610
• Tau Kappa Epsilon is being fined $ 1,860
• Theta Xi receiving is being fined $ 1,500
• Phi Kappa Tau is being fined $ 4,470
Marc Stine, who oversees IFC on the Hill, said Phi Kappa Tau is facing a higher fine because the chapter held two gatherings that violated COVID19 rules. One Phi Kappa Tau party was partially captured on video shared on social media. The footage shows a large group of unmasked young men chanting and pumping their fists. Eventually, one of them leaps onto a table, breaking it.
The new violations all happened after Thursday evening, when IFC on the Hill fraternity members were told about the potential fines and consequences they could face for breaking public health rules in the midst of a pandemic, Stine said.
Chana Goussetis, spokeswoman for Boulder County Public Health, said gatherings should be limited to 10 people with social distancing, mask wearing and hygiene guidance being followed if the people attending do not live in the same household.
COVID- 19 cases spiked in Boulder County in June, especially among collegeaged people, in a surge partially blamed on parties.
It isn’t entirely clear how many COVID- 19 cases the University of Colorado has confirmed through its testing because the school does not yet report cumulative case counts, though it has said it plans to revamp its online dashboard following complaints.
Boulder County has seen more than 2,300 positive COVID- 19 cases since March with nearly 200 people hospitalized due to the contagious respiratory illness, according to the county.
CU, along with other colleges, has been adamant about placing responsibility for a safe and successful in- person semester on its students, asking them to alter their behavior in the face of the pandemic or face consequences. The fines for these five fraternity chapters will be donated to Clinica, a local health care organization, Wenzlaff wrote in his email.
“In case it is not already clear to you, I am disgusted with the lack of leadership that many of you have displayed,” Wenzlaff wrote. “As presidents, you are the sole individual responsible for the behavior of your chapter. That means that the school can hold you accountable for their violations. YOU CAN BE EXPELLED.
“At your chapter meetings this week, you need to light a fire under your men. Wear your masks, practice social distancing, and keep groups to ten or under. These are not suggestions; they are requirements. We all need to step up and start acting like men, not boys.”