Council Directs Pointed Questions to ADP, ZOO Leadership

Author: Claire Bourne

Leadership of Middlebury College's Alpha Delta Phi (ADP) and Zeta Theta Phi (ZOO) social houses met with Community Council Monday to discuss the roles of their houses on campus and the challenges they face in addressing such issues as dormitory damage, compliance with College alcohol policy and communication between house leaders and house membership.

The meeting marked the first official exchange between the houses and Community Council since January, when the Council's subcommittee on social and academic interest houses interviewed leadership of all six houses as part of its annual social house review process.

Community Council has been operating in closed executive session since the subcommittee began presenting its findings on March 18, but has yet to submit formal recommendations to Acting President Ronald Liebowitz. Dean of Student Affairs and Co-chair of Community Council Ann Hanson said such a document could be drafted as early as next Monday. Once endorsed by Liebowitz, the results of the Council's deliberations will be made public to the houses and the College community.

The review process has come under heavy scrutiny this spring after a Community Council member leaked confidential information to ADP membership regarding the subcommittee's recommendation to either disband or issue strict stipulations to the house. In an interview with The Middlebury Campus following the incident, ADP President Bob Wainwright '03 criticized the subcommittee's evaluation process for its lack of transparency. He said he was given no indication that disbandment was a possibility when he met with Doug Adams, director of the Center for Campus Activities and subcommittee chair, during Winter Term.

"The more correspondence [between ADP and Community Council], the better," Wainwright said during Monday's meeting, which was also attended by ADP Vice President Justin Garrison '04 and ADP Social Chair Maggie Beams '04.

Wainwright said that property damage was the greatest challenge currently facing ADP. "I have made it clear to the membership that if they keep treating the house in this way, they are not going to have a house for much longer," he explained. Since becoming president in January, Wainwright said he had noticed "a greater sense of pride and respect for the house" among members. "It has been a total turnaround," he said. "People are picking up after themselves."

Community Council member Kevin King '02 asked what could be done to ensure that, once the review process was complete, ADP leadership would not cease to emphasize such values. Wainwright responded by affirming that a strong relationship between the house and the administration was essential to achieve the goal of reaching community standards. He also pointed to preventative measures such as locking the kitchen door during parties, having more members regulating the door and observing behavior of guests and installing a stronger lock on the front door so that visitors would have to enter through the controlled door.

"We are taking significant steps to end the power of the minority," said Wainwright, explaining that a handful of members had been "approached personally" and asked to correct their destructive behavior.

The role of every ADP member is to be "proactive," he continued. He said that the house "should be able to clarify" its mission statement since College expectations for the social houses and those stipulated by ADP's national umbrella organization do not neatly correspond.

ZOO President Mike Frissora '03 and Vice President Mike Velez '04 faced a similar line of questioning from Community Council members. Frissora cited reaching maximum attendance at house meetings as one of the house's challenges but assured the Council that communication between leadership and membership was not lacking.

Frissora said he recognized that every social house, including ZOO, was going to have its share of "slip-ups." However, he said he understood that "rules need[ed] to be maintained" and that this responsibility should be shared by "the whole membership."

"When you are one in 89 [members], it is easy to fall by the wayside," Frissora added. In order to deal with such a large membership, he cited an increase in personal communication with members as part of his presidential initiative.

To be a member of ZOO, a student must "show involvement" in the form of community service, for example, and "show an interest in the house," Frissora affirmed. "If you want to maintain your membership, you have to prove that you want to be there."

Student Co-chair of Community Council Erica Rosenthal '02 asked Frissora why certain stipulations set out in last year's evaluation, such as sponsoring an alcohol education program and finding a faculty advisor, had not been addressed by the social house. Frissora said that, upon becoming president in January, he had not received a copy of the letter issued by the subcommittee last year that outlined areas that needed to be improved before this year's review.

Frissora said that the house would take this year's stipulations seriously. "We're here to help each other," he said, referring to the house's relationship with Community Council. "There is no reason to walk out of here and ignore [the recommendations]. We would rather have you on our side."

Although the official recommendations will not be made public until Liebowitz has endorsed Community Council's proposals for all six social houses, Hanson asked that Frissora and Velez begin looking for a faculty advisor.

After Frissora expressed uncertainty about the role the advisor would play in the house, Hanson said that the Inter-House Council would need to write up a job description for the position.