A sex contest among the fraternity brothers of Zeta Beta Tau at Cornell University has landed them two years of probation, as well as sexual-awareness education.
The fraternity brothers who participated in the sex contest competed with one another by comparing the weights of the women they slept with.
The objective of the competition was to sleep with the woman who weighed the most by sleeping with as many women as they could. The Cornell Daily Sun reported that the competition took place in 2017 and the chapter was confronted about its members’ activities in December.
In a statement on Wednesday posted on Facebook, Zeta Beta Tau chapter apologized for the actions of the Cornell University brothers:
“ … the brothers of the Kappa Chapter of Zeta Beta Tau would like to first and foremost express our mutual disgust along with those who feel hurt or victimized,” the chapter wrote. “Your feelings are legitimate and appropriate reactions to something of this nature.”
In the letter of apology, the chapter explained that the Zeta Beta Tau brotherhood was not aware of the sex contest and did not sponsor the events or contests among the Cornell brothers.
According to the Cornell Daily Sun article, in addition to sexual-awareness events, the Cornell brothers will need to have a facility check, work with an adviser and begin a “transition program and have monthly meetings about progress updates.”
In their statement, the chapter explained that it would be conducting its own review of its members and whether or not they meet the membership requirements.
“We are committed to demonstrating through our actions that this inexcusable behavior will not be tolerated, and as such, we will take the necessary steps to ensure we retain the ideals and values of our brotherhood, specifically Social Responsibility and Integrity.”
These steps will not only result in close observations of the Cornell brothers’ activities, but it will require that education and an explanation of the values of the chapter overall be explained to every member who participated.
The Kappa brothers at Cornell ended their statement with the following: “It is our aim to continually be in alignment with the priorities and values of the Kappa Chapter of Zeta Beta Tau Fraternity in order to meet the high standards set by the ZBT International Headquarters, the Cornell Community, and our peers across the country.”
Whether or not the efforts of the brothers at Cornell and the counseling they will undertake will successfully transition the behavior of the brothers for the long-term is yet to be seen.
The ability of a counselor to oversee the brothers’ activities and the close observation that the brothers will experience as they work with the Office of Sorority and Fraternity Life is planned to successfully reform the mindset of the group and educate them about why their behavior was not appropriate.
