The Inter-Fraternity Council denied ETA Lodge admittance into the IFC for the second year in a row at Thursday's Presidents' Council meeting.
ETA Lodge is not to be confused with Chi Psi, the national fraternity known as "the lodge" at the University.
"The Council decided, at this time, it will not be sponsoring ETA Lodge as a probationary member of the IFC," IFC spokesperson Alex Berrang said.
The Presidents' Council consists of the members of the governing board and a representative from each active fraternity.
Berrang added that the Presidents' Council's decision was based solely on ETA Lodge's performance in the past year alone, and that no weight was placed on the previous year's decision, or the events leading up to it.
"We've been working really hard towards this one goal for over a year, so to have no reward in the end is very disappointing and frustrating," ETA Lodge President Tyler Cain said.
The meeting consisted of a presentation from the members of ETA Lodge, followed by a question-and-answer session.
Cain said he was pleased with the IFC's procedures for the meeting.
"We felt like the meeting was more fair and better handled this year," Cain said.
After a discussion among the members of the Presidents' Council, ETA Lodge failed to receive the two-thirds vote required by IFC bylaws to obtain sponsorship, Berrang said.
"Among some of the factors discussed when making the decision were meeting expectations, risk and liability," Berrang said.
ETA Lodge formerly was associated with the national Phi Kappa Sigma fraternity. In the summer of 2002, ETA Lodge had its charter revoked for violating the national alcohol-free housing regulations.
Student Council granted ETA Lodge Contracted Independent Organization status in the fall of 2002. ETA Lodge sought the designation in an attempt to regain acceptance to the IFC.
Their first attempt, however, to join the IFC failed in November 2003 when the fraternity did not meet standards for re-admission set by the IFC Judicial Council bylaws.
The bylaws state that "special standards governing admission of fraternities not affiliated with a national fraternity" are set by the Governing Board for liability purposes.
Associate Dean of Students Bill Ashby said it is too early to comment on the CIO status of ETA Lodge as a result of the IFC's decision.
"We're not happy to be in the role we're in," Cain said. "We want to find out what we did wrong, so we can improve our stance within the University community"
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