Members of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity are looking for a new place to live after their national organization pulled the chapter's charter.
President Mitch France said the members were told about the decision Thursday night. He said the charter's revoking resulted from the chapter failing to meet the Ball State University all-men's average GPA of 2.738, a mandate given to them by the national organization. France said the fraternity's average GPA last semester was 2.54.
The university put the fraternity on suspension in August after police arrested several people for minor in consumption during a house party. France said the suspension didn't have anything to do with the pulled charter.
"They pulled the charter because we did not meet the all-members GPA; it didn't have to do with anything else," France said.
Cara Luyster, assistant director of the Office of Student Life, said the university was in contact with the national organization and was aware that Zeta Beta Tau would be losing its charter.
"I think the national organization and the university tried to provide as many resources and support as possible, but the outcome wasn't what we hoped," Luyster said.
Luyster said the last time a fraternity lost its charter was 2005, when Lambda Chi Alpha's charter was revoked because they failed to meet minimum standards.
Lynda Wiley, director of student life, said in the 2005 Daily News article about Lambda Chi Alpha's closing that declining membership and mismanagement of funds contributed to the decision to close the chapter.
France said the active Zeta Beta Tau members were currently looking for their own apartments or houses and hoped to be out of the house by the end of the month. While the members could stay in the house, France said, they would struggle to pay all the bills without their fraternity funds.
In a minimum of three to four years, the fraternity can reorganize and set up a new chapter, he said. He said that was the chapter's plan, and most of the members were concentrating on that.
"Everybody takes events such as this in different ways," France said. "We're trying to be positive. There's lots of focus on planning on coming back."
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