Nu Alpha Phi's most challenging moment is upon us. Due to the alcohol poisoning of a rushee during fall initiation, our Actives have been suspended and Pomona is asking us to return to Pomona-only membership (last semester well over half of our Active members were from other Claremont campuses), and our cabin burned down in the September 2002 Williams Fire.

The remainder of this editorial space will expand on the above but information published in Odds and Ends will provide greatest detail on both tragedies.

During fall rush of 2002, Nu Alpha Phi violated several of Pomona College's rush and alcohol policies. The Actives included alcohol in a rush activity which is against Pomona College rules and neglected their fraternal (and simple civic) responsibilities: A rushee got very drunk and separated from the group. A campus escort discovered him passed out in the bushes and called campus security who got him transported to the hospital. While in the emergency room, he actually stopped breathing. He was, thankfully, revived. He did recover and did also join Nu Alpha Phi. However, he could quite easily have died.

Fortunately for him and his family, he did not.

Fortunately for his friends, he did not.

Fortunately for Nu Alpha Phi, he did not.

Pomona College President Peter Stanley immediately suspended Nu Alpha Phi and sent an e-mail to the college describing the situation, announcing our suspension, and placing the incident in national and community context.

Actives, our Faculty Advisor, John Seery, and Pomona College's administration, Dean Ann Quinley, agreed to a list of infractions bypassing a Judicial Board hearing. The Penalty Board imposed the following punishments:

Suspended NAP charter for one semester. Partially suspended NAP charter for a second semester. Placed NAP on probation for the third and fourth semesters. And commanded 10 hours of community service per member on a project to be approved by and associated with Pomona College.

The NAP Alumni Officers not only supported these sanctions, but found them reasoned and proportionate. The NAP Alumni Officers, after consulting the Alumni Council and many Alumni, voted to indefinitely suspend the Actives’ cabin privileges. (The Officers intended to consider the suspension at the end of the semester, but the loss of the cabin eliminated the need for that action.) Further, the Officers created the Alumni/Active Action Committee (AAAC) chaired by Lee Harlan ‘55 #147. The AAAC’s charter is to manage our response to the initiation incident, the environment that fostered it, and the repercussions thereof. For more details, see “Alumni/Active Action Committee Founded” documenting the AAAC’s foundation. In “Alumni/Active Action Committee Acts,” Lee Harlan writes up the AAAC’s first steps.

It came as a surprise to Pomona College's administration as well as many Nu Alpha Phi Alumni, when, in the midst of all the attention focused on Nu Alpha Phi following this event, it was “discovered” that the Active Chapter rushed non-Pomona students. Many who graduated in the last ten or so years were surprised by everyone's surprise. While the details of the policy change were not documented by the previous Intra-Fraternity Council’s “faculty advisor” or “chair” (I’m not sure of his official title) who failed to keep any records whatsoever, it was the IFC’s own action that opened our rolls to non-Pomona students.

The change was made in response to a Scripps bid to create a sorority that eventually lobbied all of the Claremont Colleges to permit cross-campus fraternal/Greek membership. Since then, non-Pomonans have held leadership positions, including President, publicly. In fact, all of the officers last semester were Pitzer students, the largest off-campus contingent. Further, not only have non-Pomonans served as officers for Nu Alpha Phi, they have served on Pomona’s IFC itself.

Your editor finds it somewhat ironic that so many of our own Alumni were surprised when news of this change was published in the May 2000 Oak Leaf.

Regardless, it appears that this chapter in Nu Alpha Phi history is slated to close. Pomona College will restrict membership in Pomona's fraternities to Pomona students. While there may be philosophical grounds for this decision, the primary motivation is surely based on liability and accountability. Non-Pomona students are not bound by the Pomona College Handbook—the guide to responsible behavior, judicial procedure, etc. Without a reciprocal agreement among students, the other institutions, and Pomona, Pomona College does not have the jurisdiction it requires to comfortably oversee fraternal organizations. Incidents like ours are exactly what the administration worries about.

And while this was not explicitly stated, Pomona surely has concerns about legal and financial liability.

Pomona-only membership raises strong emotions and difficult questions for Nu Alpha Phi as well. There are some Alumni who cannot comprehend a Nu Alpha Phi that is not exclusively Pomona in membership. There are some Nu Alphs who are hurt that every Alumni is not up in arms about the administration’s demand.

So far, there is no indication that Pomona will attempt to invalidate the membership of any non-Pomonan Nu Alphs. Further, there is every indication that a great number of Nu Alphs would vehemently oppose such an action, including those who support Pomona's right to return us to our original status as a Pomona-only fraternity.

As mentioned earlier, the Alumni Officers’ cabin restrictions have become moot. In late September 2002, the Williams Fire raced through San Dimas canyon and destroyed 66 of 77 cabins (or 71 of 81 depending on the news source). While the cabin’s foundation appears to be sound, not much else is. Many walls are still vertical. Parts of the porch still top those walls, but the fire’s heat was very intense. The 90-plus tons of river rock that Bob Dozier ‘23 #3 and the rest of the builders ferried up the hill were heated to temperatures high enough to render them structurally unsound. Pictures and videos document Bob Nigbor’s ‘78 #794 assessment that only the foundation (less its surface) are salvageable.

After the shock and sadness receded, every Alumni responded “Rebuild! Rebuild! Rebuild!” Whether we will be able to do so is still, however, an unanswered question. Before we even ask how much it will cost, before we even ask if we can raise that kind of money, before we petition the Forest Service for permission to start construction, Mother Nature must preserve our site. Until the Forest Service assesses the physical location after winter rains have redrawn the geography, all we can do is wait.

Shifting gears just a bit ...

After who knows how many years, Ken Smith ‘33 #138 has asked the Alumni Officers to take over management of his historic collection of Nu Alpha Phi memorabilia. We will accept the challenge to provide the next several decades of stewardship for these materials. We’ll keep you posted on our progress.

Ken, who is turning 93 this year, continues to call on many of our most senior Alumni, bringing with him his hearty handshake, news of their brothers, and, most importantly, fraternal companionship.

Ken challenges all you young’uns to pick up the phone, pull out your car keys, fire up the computer—whatever it takes—and reach out to your brothers, especially those who may have limited ability to travel or visit with friends themselves.

I dare ya’ to try to keep up with Ken’s statistics!

– Paul Nagai