Letter from the Dean regarding the disciplinary charges against DKE

Yale College Dean Mary Miller sent the following message to the faculty and students of Yale College on May 17, 2011.

Regarding the Disciplinary Charges against DKE

I write to inform you of the Executive Committee’s actions concerning the October 2010 DKE (Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity) incident. Although it is unusual to send a memorandum regarding a particular Executive Committee decision to the Yale community, a wide range of community members have been affected by this incident. As a result, I have decided to share the Committee’s decisions regarding this case. It is my hope that this will not only shed some light on a matter of public concern but also provide notice of the outcomes to all those who may have been affected by sexual harassment and, accordingly, educate our community. I further hope that this information may help prevent future incidents of this kind.

Let me remind you first of the process by which the Executive Committee reaches a decision. The Committee must receive a specific complaint to initiate proceedings. In this instance, Marichal Gentry, Dean of Student Affairs, brought official allegations of “sexual harassment” and “imperiling the integrity and values of the University community.” The Committee then pursued those charges. The Fact Finder for the Committee interviewed a number of individuals with knowledge of the incident, including both those who had been charged and witnesses; he then submitted a report to the Committee. The Committee carefully considered all of the attested facts and circumstances in this incident.

After a full hearing, the Committee found that the DKE chapter, as an organization, one comprised of Yale students, had threatened and intimidated others, in violation of the Undergraduate Regulations of Yale College as they pertain to “harassment, coercion or intimidation” and “imperiling the integrity and values of the University community.” The Executive Committee further found several fraternity members had also, as individuals, violated the same regulations.

The Committee issued penalties to individual fraternity members. Because of confidentiality restrictions imposed by federal privacy law and by Yale’s own policies, I cannot provide further detail about charges or decisions with regard to individuals in this email.

I can report that the Committee imposed sanctions on the DKE chapter as an organization that prohibit it from conducting any fraternity activities on campus (including recruiting) for a period of five years, prevent it from communicating with Yale students by means of Yale bulletin boards or Yale email, and severely limit its use of the Yale name in connection with the DKE organization. The Committee also has also formally requested that the DKE national organization suspend the chapter for five years. If, after five years, the DKE chapter has observed all restrictions and agrees to pursue registration as an undergraduate organization, the Committee recommends that the Yale College Dean’s Office lift these sanctions.

Every member of our community has a legal and moral right to an educational environment free from harassment and intimidation. I would like to thank the members of the Executive Committee for their diligent efforts in enforcing the Yale University Undergraduate Regulations.