02/25/2020
An Open Letter to the Albion College Community
February 24, 2020
Dear Britons:
As you may be aware, Albion College has decreed that as of the Fall 2020 semester, fraternities at Albion may no longer offer their own student meal plans. Under the new mandate, fraternity members would instead be required to eat at Baldwin Hall and pay for meal plans provided by Bon Appétit Management, the for-profit vendor that operates the college’s dining and hospitality services.
The Board of Trustees reportedly adopted this policy in October 2019, but it was not disclosed to fraternity presidents until after final exams in December. The decision was made without consulting fraternity members, volunteer advisors, national governing bodies, or the college’s own student development professionals.
Since 1966, the six men’s social fraternities at Albion have lived in cooperative, on-campus housing built expressly for that purpose by the college and financed in part by fraternity alumni. As part of their agreement with the college, the fraternities operate independent kitchens in their houses to provide members’ meals.
For decades, fraternities have made their own decisions regarding staffing, supplies, and meal planning. Fraternity food service costs are paid directly by student members; there is no expense to the college beyond its obligation to maintain the physical plant. This arrangement has given fraternity members valuable communal meal time, offered experience in management, allowed flexibility for special events, and provided a competitive advantage in recruiting new members.
The college’s unprecedented unilateral act was all the more shocking in the context of this long standing relationship. Multiple inconsistent and conflicting reasons have been offered for the abrupt policy change, but no hard data has been provided in support of it. Additionally, no justification has been given for circumventing the process the college itself established for making significant changes to its relationship with the fraternities.
The benefits of this dramatic upheaval are uncertain and ill-defined at best, but the harm to the fraternal organizations, their members, and their employees is clear. In addition to diminishing the uniqueness and desirability of fraternity living, this plan will increase the cost of membership. It will lead to higher costs for fundraising and recruitment events. Most egregiously, it will require some chapters to terminate the employment of their cooks. The emotional and financial impact of severing these relationships will be devastating to students and employees alike.
It is now plain to all that this process was handled poorly from the beginning. Recently, the administration has made efforts to engage in dialogue with student and alumni leaders about possible alternative solutions. This is a positive step, but it must continue with a full good-faith commitment to collaboratively resolving legitimate issues regarding fraternity food service.
Therefore we, the undergraduate and alumni members of Alpha Tau Omega, Delta Sigma Phi, Delta Tau Delta, Sigma Nu, Sigma Chi, and Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternities at Albion College, call upon the Board of Trustees to reverse its misguided decision and reaffirm the status quo arrangement for fraternity meal plans in the 2020-21 school year.
We further insist that the administration continue engaging our undergraduate and alumni leaders in the consultative process set forth in the Statement of Relationship to study future food service options and resolve concerns in a transparent manner that is consistent with the values of the college.
Finally, we encourage all alumni, parents, donors, and friends of the college to carefully consider their ongoing support of the institution and advocate for a respectful, fair, open, and cooperative process involving all stakeholders affected by these decisions.
Respectfully,
ALPHA TAU OMEGA
Beta Omicron Chapter
Jonathan Lutchka '21
Chapter President
Sam Hogg '05
Alumni Board
DELTA SIGMA PHI
Alpha Tau Chapter
Soterios Michalos '21
Chapter President
Nicholas Lessnau '12
Alumni Control Board President - Chapter Advisor
DELTA TAU DELTA
Epsilon Chapter
Connor McCosh '21
Chapter President
Thomas Pitt '88
Chapter Advisor - Treasurer Alumni Housing Corp.
SIGMA NU
Gamma Gamma Chapter
Mitchell Seavolt '22
Chapter President
John Brownlow '86
Chapter Alumni Chairman
Chapter Advisor
SIGMA CHI
Alpha Pi Chapter
Robert Vera-Krypciak '21
Chapter President
Dr. G. Michael Kabot '81
Alumni Association
House Corp. President
TAU KAPPA EPSILON
Omega Chapter
Parker Schanen '21
Chapter President
Jerry Johnson '93
Board of Advisors Chairman
