This afternoon, President Michael Roth ’78 sent out an email informing the campus community that DKE has won its lawsuit against the University. The trial, which was public, began on June 6th, and President Roth testified on June 7th.
The original suit was filed by DKE and Kent Literary Society, which is DKE’s alumni chapter. DKE accused the University of discrimination and deceptive practices in its handling of DKE after the decision that all fraternities on campus must be co-educated. DKE had submitted plans for co-education that did not meet the University’s requirements.
The University has not said what will happen with DKE’s house, or whether it will re-achieve program housing status. Roth states that the University is searching for further legal avenues to pursue, and the University must also decide what to do in terms of its plans for coeducation.
The full text of the email is below:
In September 2014, we announced that all residential fraternities would be required to become fully co-educational over the following three years. This decision was based on consultation with the Board of Trustees and input from the Wesleyan community, including support from students and the WSA, on how to make Wesleyan a more equitable and inclusive campus. DKE/Kent Literary Club chose not to comply with this process and, instead, sued the university.
Today a Middletown jury accepted the fraternity’s claims. Though we disagree with the decision, we appreciate the judge and jury’s time and consideration. In the days and weeks ahead, we will explore the university’s legal options.
Wesleyan believes very strongly in the principle of coeducation. We will continue to support the successfully operating co-educational residential societies on campus, Psi Upsilon and Alpha Delta Phi, as well as the myriad other student groups that make up Wesleyan’s rich campus culture.
_____
For further reading:
- FAQ: What’s Going on with Fraternities, Sexual Assault, and the WSA? (Spring 2014)
- BREAKING: Residential Fraternities Must Become Co-Ed (Fall 2014)
- “No More Freshman Pledges,” University Tells Greek Organizations (Fall 2014)
- Pro-Fraternity Actions During Homecoming (Fall 2014)
- DKE Sues University over Gender Discrimination (Spring 2015)
- From the Argus: University Chapter of DKE Sues Wesleyan for Discrimination (Spring 2015)
- From the Argus: DKE v. Wesleyan, Explained (Spring 2015)
- From the Argus: Dear Brothers: A Case for DKE Reinstatement (Spring 2016)
- Unofficial Orientation Series 2016: Greek Life (Fall 2016)
- From the Argus: University Moves to Dismiss Case Filed by DKE (Fall 2016)
- From the Argus: DKE Lawsuit to Reach Trial After University’s Motion Fails (Spring 2017)
And Shawn Beals from the Hartford Courant has been excellently covering each chapter of the trial since it began last week:
- From the Courant: Trial Begins Tuesday In Middletown In Wesleyan Fraternity House Closure
- From the Courant: Fraternity At Trial Accuses Wesleyan Of “Moving Goal Posts” On Co-Ed Plans
- From the Courant: Trial Over Wesleyan Fraternity House Closure Focuses On DKE’s Co-Ed Plan
- From the Courant: Wesleyan President: Fraternity Did Not Take Coeducation Plans Seriously
- From the Courant: Jury Begins Deliberations In Wesleyan Fraternity House Case
- From the Courant: DKE Wins Claim Against Wesleyan In Trial Over Fraternity House Closure
Kevin ONeill
June 23 at 9:53pm ·
I just got back this moment from a friday libation get together with a lot of great men and women, older Americans, many with war service to their credit, and one of the men there was somebody who used to drive me several hundred miles to the school I graduated from, each year, as my father could not handle the drive, when I was 21, 39 years ago, Wesleyan University in Ct. He is a great man,a railroad man, and as I just left his little party, as he walked me to my car, he said, I will never forget your commencement at Wesleyan, such a beautiful day, we were all up there with you so proud and how well you did, and as we were leaving walking back to the car, you said to me, “‘Tommy they are all communists.’…. I will never forget that.”
They had scholarshipped me to there, as a transfer, where I left the University of Delaware, and my 4 roomies were: 1. a chief medical physist for Pennsylvania, 2. an engineer, who a Penn State and Philadelphia Eagle broke his high school football records; 3. Jeff Komlo, an all american QB who started in the NFL and beat the Dallas Cowboys on thanksgiving day, and got player of the game, 4, Ricky Cowan, aka Richard Dean who played professional football in canada and later became a national TV host, and finally 5, ME, who transferred to that pampered school Wesleyan where I ended up kicking everybody’s Ass on their rugby team, especially their “varsity,” a patch of D3 football players, as I worked my way to eventually becoming a trial lawyer, 400 hundred plus trials here in Delaware.
I cannot believe that was my stark conclusion to my experience at the college as a 21 year old, that I so quickly summarized for awesome Tommy Macilag, a great man, on my wonderful, cheery graduating day. Sounds like even then I had had quite enough of their ridiculous silly classes.
The college president today is a radical socialist whom I graduated with, a total fraud whom tucker carlson recently chewed up and spit out for his communist agenda.
American colleges are rotten to the core, almost all of them. Deep cancer with fake degrees and utterly fake administrators across the nation. Fake professors in the arts and humanities pushing totally fake information to young people who know no better. Infested. A major issue when your entire college system is largely leftist and globalist. At least my call back then was spot on.
It’s interesting how the only decisions Wesleyan agrees with come from people it either employs or hires.
This story seems a bit muted, considering a jury just unanimously ruled that the President of the University and VP of Student Affairs made fraudulent misrepresentations – knowingly false statements designed to mislead – to Wesleyan students.
Negligent misrepresentation*
Hardly changes anything, though