ACACIA Fraternity, The OHIO Chapter

via email:

PERSONAL AND CONFIDENTIAL

Dear

On Thursday, November 21, 2019 and Tuesday, December 3, 2019, we met to discuss an incident that occurred
throughout October 2019 in which the OHIO Chapter of ACACIA Fraternity was charged with violating the Ohio
University Student Code of Conduct. During your Community Standards Conference on the Tuesday, December
3, 2019, you accepted responsibility for the following charge on behalf of the OHIO Chapter of ACACIA
Fraternity:

D02a - Possessing/Providing False and Misleading Information - Furnishing False Information

As a result, and in accordance with the Student Code of Conduct, I have imposed the following sanction and
conditions of sanction:

Your organization is on disciplinary probation, effective immediately and extending through Friday,
December 3, 2021. Please understand that should your organization be found responsible for any future
violations of the Student Code of Conduct, more significant sanctions will most likely be imposed,
including the possibility of suspension or expulsion from the University.

With respect to the information listed above, the following additional sanctions/stipulations apply:

Sanction #1

The OHIO Chapter of ACACIA is to create an action plan/orientation for their new member process. This project
should be led by the member of the executive council responsible for overseeing the new member process, in
conjunction with the entire executive board and active members in the chapter. This plan should detail, with
intentional support from the ACACIA headquarters and Sorority and Fraternity Life Office, a week by week
action plan for New Members from the time of bid acceptance up to and including the date of initiation into the
chapter. Within this action plan, it should detail where the events are held, who would be present during the
events, and a brief description of what would occur at each planned event. This plan or orientation should also
include expectations of new members throughout the new member process, as well as expectations of active
members during this process. At the conclusion of creating this plan, the executive council is also asked to
provide a facilitation guide for how this plan/orientation information will be provided to new members for
implementation in the 2020 Fall semester. The action plan documents and draft of the facilitation guide should be
emailed to mkennedy@ohio.edu for review no later than May 1, 2020. The implementation of these materials for
the new member action plan is to be completed no later than September 30, 2020.

An appropriate chapter officer (president, risk manager, new member educator, etc.) must meet with Mary Kate
Kennedy at least once every semester the organization is on probation to check in and provide updates about the
implementation of the new member education plan. These meetings must occur in the following months: March
2020, September 2020, March 2020, 2021, and September 2021.

Sanction #2:

The OHIO Chapter of ACACIA must plan and implement well-being (alcohol/mental health/drug/safety)
educational workshops for all members in both the Spring 2020 semester and the Fall 2020 semester. The
workshops must be pre-approved by Community Standards and Student Responsibility at least two weeks in
advance of the workshop. The first educational workshop must take place by March 6, 2020 and the second
workshop must take place by October 23, 2020. Both active and pledge members must attend both trainings with
at least 90% of the chapter in attendance. Signed rosters and workshop itineraries are due no later than five (5)
days from the completed workshop. The chapter is encouraged to think creatively in creating content for these
workshops by working with campus resources including, but not limited to: Health Promotions, Collegiate
Recovery Community, Counseling and Psychological Services, Sorority and Fraternity Life, etc.

Sanction #3:

The OHIO Chapter of ACACIA will plan and implement a hazing prevention and education workshop for all
members of the organization. This program will occur in the Spring of 2020 for all members of the organization.
This prevention and education workshop will be facilitated in tandem with Community Standards and Student
Responsibility and Sorority and Fraternity Life. Both active and new members must be in attendance with at least
90% of the chapter being present. The workshop will include the following topics: hazing, power dynamics,
recognizing the values of the fraternity, and new member education. An itinerary for this workshop (facilitation
guide, slides, etc.) should be turned into Community Standards and Student Responsibility at least one week prior
to the facilitation of the workshop. The attendance sheet roster and follow-up meeting with Mary Kate Kennedy
regarding the facilitated workshop are to be turned in no later than April 3, 2020.

Sanction #4:

The OHIO Chapter of ACACIA will plan and implement a hazing prevention and education workshop for all
members of the organization. This program will occur in the Fall of 2020 for all members of the organization.
This prevention and education workshop will be facilitated in tandem with Community Standards and Student
Responsibility and Sorority and Fraternity Life. Both active and new members must be in attendance with at least
90% of the chapter being present. The workshop will include the following topics: hazing, power dynamics,
recognizing the values of the fraternity, and new member education. An itinerary for this workshop (facilitation
guide, slides, etc.) should be turned into Community Standards and Student Responsibility at least one week prior
to the facilitation of the workshop. The attendance sheet roster and follow-up meeting with Mary Kate Kennedy
regarding the facilitated workshop are to be turned in no later than December 6, 2020.

My rationale for this outcome is as follows:

On behalf of the The OHIO Chapter of ACACIA Fraternity, the president accepted responsibility for the charge.
As a means to help the chapter strengthen as an organization, sanctions have been assessed that are specific to
being impactful and meaningful in educating the entire chapter around chapter operations and membership
processes moving forward. The president accepted the proposed sanctions to resolve this case.

As we discussed, you may appeal this decision to a University Appeal Board by submitting a written petition for
appeal to the Office of Community Standards within five (5) business days from the date of notification of the
decision in this matter. Notification is considered to be given on the date this letter is e-mailed to your Ohio
University e-mail address. An appeal may be filed for the following reasons:

(a) The sanctions and/or conditions of sanction are extraordinarily disproportionate to the violation; and/or

(b) A procedural defect occurred that significantly impacted the outcome of the hearing; and/or

(c) Discovery of new and significant information that could have affected the outcome of the hearing and that was
 not known, or could not reasonably have been discovered and/or presented at the time of the hearing.

Appeals are in writing only, and limited to a review of the written record. An appeal board, meeting in closed
session within a reasonable period of time, will either grant or deny the appeal by a majority vote. If the appeal is
granted, the sanction may be changed or a new hearing ordered. The appeal form is available online here. The
appeal form, and any supporting written documents, should be submitted online by no later than 11:59 PM on
Tuesday, December 10, 2019.

On September 30, 2019, the OHIO Chapter of ACACIA Fraternity was placed on a cease and desist notification
by the Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility. On October 24, 2019, the chapter was notified
of being placed on a limited cease and desist. As the investigation and associated process have concluded, you
may immediately resume all official and unofficial activities including organizational meetings, meetings of the
executive board, organizational programming, social events, philanthropic events, and any trip or travel. Please
accept this letter as notification that the cease and desist has been lifted on your organization.

I appreciate your willingness to discuss this incident with me and hope our conversation provided an opportunity
for further reflection. If you have any further concerns regarding this matter or if I can be of any assistance in the
future, please do not hesitate to contact me at 740-593-2629 or mkennedy@ohio.edu.

Sincerely,

Mary Kate Kennedy

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