The Zeta Tau Alpha Kappa Nu chapter of the University has been shut down by their national headquarters on Nov. 16.
The decision was officially supported by an email from Amy Bellina, Director of Student Activities and Student Center Operations. “The University supports the decision made by our partner Headquarters and will no longer recognize the Kappa Nu Chapter of Zeta Tau Alpha,” read Bellina’s email. “This means that the group may no longer function as an organization of Monmouth University.”
Members of Zeta Tau Alpha declined to comment.
The Panhellenic Council is a student-run organization that oversees all the sororities on campus. The President of the Panhellenic Council, Vanessa Ferrara, declined to comment. The Greek Senate, who supervises both fraternities and sororities, also declined to comment.
Vice President for Student Life and Leadership Engagement Mary Anne Nagy explained the closure of Zeta Tau Alpha. “It was a violation of national policies and directions as well as the terms of the probation that they were under as well as the suspension that was imposed by President Dimenna,” she said. “The National has closed them for a period of several years. We will certainly be in conversation with them to bring them back at some point, but at this point, it would not be in the foreseeable future. In fact, it will probably be a couple of years before we bring them back.”
Zeta Tau Alpha was under a cease and desist by the University during the Spring 2018 semester. The National Headquarters of ZTA did a full investigation of the new member class during that time and found there was a violation against the National’s standards. The University and the National’s decided to keep the sorority open so they could undergo a reconstitution phase.
Zeta Tau Alpha was allowed by the University to take a new member class for the Fall 2018 semester, which was agreed on by the Nationals and the University as far back as May. The University would uphold its agreement, considering this was long before the Greek Life suspension came into effect.
All Greek life at Monmouth was put under an official suspension on Sept. 6.
Many of the members were reviewed, and a number was no longer recognized. It was determined those who underwent the new member process in the spring would go through it a second time for this past semester. This would include initiated members. The only difference: the process would be monitored.
The Nationals of Zeta Tau Alpha sent a full-time leadership consultant to act as a chapter advisor and be involved with the day-to-day operations of the sorority. The consultant lived in the University Bluffs and was assigned from the beginning of the fall semester until the spring semester, but the closure of the Kappa Nu chapter caused her to return early.
“I cannot recall another time in my tenure where a National organization has provided a leadership consultant to a chapter,” said Nagy. “It is rare to see. It was a huge investment and commitment on part of the national to do so.”
Zeta Tau Alpha was allowed to hold a new member process, despite every other Greek organization’s prohibition. “Yes, they were able to do a number of things all supervised by nationals and preapproved by the University that others were not able to do because they were on a full suspension,” said Nagy.
PHOTO TAKEN by Ray Romanski
