SAE brother Hackney was fair to Greeks

Despite the Greek system's ups and downs during President Sheldon Hackney's 12-year term at the University, Greek leaders maintain that Hackney usually remained fair to the system. But the consensus is also that Hackney often played a rather passive role in direct relations with the Greek system, perhaps because Hackney himself is a former fraternity brother. Hackney was a member of Sigma Alpha Epsilon as an undergraduate at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Director Tricia Phaup said yesterday that she has not had "much personal contact" with Hackney, and that most of the major decisions concerning the Greek system "usually don't come from him." But to Hackney's credit, Phaup also said the Greek system has vastly improved in the past few years. "There have been tons of changes," she said. "From my own five years, I've seen a system that was very weak become a very strong system. [And] in seven years time, the sorority system has nearly tripled." Former OFSA Assistant Director Eric Newman said yesterday that Hackney always seemed to have an opinion on Greek issues, even if he has not always made those views public. "My opinion is that Hackney was a very good president because he trusted his people to work with the issues and to resolve them," Newman said. "He didn't get in and meddle with it but definitely allowed his opinions to be known at the time." Newman, who recently moved to Drexel University to become its assistant dean of students and director of Greek affairs, added that he hopes Hackney's successor will be as fair to the Greeks as Hackney was. Hackney said last night that while he is happy with the standing of the Greek community as a whole, he does not feel that he has played much of a part in its history. "I don't know that I've affected it very much one way or the other," he said. "I think that fraternities and sororities are a wholesome option for students, and I am particularly pleased with the situation at Penn in which students can either belong or not belong [to the Greek system] and it has no real implication on their standing in the community. "I've never really tried to affect the Greek system," he added. "I've tried to affect life on the campus." Hackney also said that he has no current connection with the SAE fraternity at Vanderbilt, and that his former ties with the fraternity have not affected any of his dealings with the Greek system at the University. "The fact that I was a member of the fraternity probably means that I understand the good parts of the fraternity perhaps better than someone that had not had that experience," he said. Perhaps the biggest Greek incident in Hackney's career was an alleged rape in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity's campus house in February, 1983. In that incident, a female University student said between five and eight ATO brothers carried her to an upstairs bedroom during a party and gang-raped her. The incident drew considerable attention, and ATO was eventually kicked off campus. Hackney said in 1983 that he was consulted by then-Vice Provost for University Life George Koval before the decision to oust ATO was handed down. At first, he said, he was "very strongly confident that the right thing's been done," but he switched his position eight months later, saying he should have handled the situation more openly. Another important Greek-related issue of Hackney's tenure -- which continues today -- is the administration's effort to diversify Locust Walk, which Hackney says he still supports. "The diversification of Locust Walk is something that I believe in and something that I think is quite necessary," he said last night. "We are making progress on that." During Hackney's years at the University, several fraternities were kicked off campus for behaviors ranging from Psi Upsilon's kidnapping of a brother from a rival fraternity, to antics at a 1988 Zeta Beta Tau rush event involving strippers. "With respect to the ZBT and Psi Upsilon cases, I think that Sheldon allowed the process to run through exisiting mechanisms," Assistant to the President Nicholas Constan said. "It was not easy for him to see those fraternities kicked off because there were people who were made unhappy by that, but I think that he knew it was the right decision." Interfraternity Council President and Alpha Chi Rho brother Morris Massel summed up Hackney's participation in the Greek system. "I think he's never taken a direct stance as far as the Greek system is concerned, but I don't think we're easy to take a stand on," the College junior said last night. "He's always been supportive of the Greek system and . . . he's always cared about it as well. He sometimes treats the Greek system in harsh ways, but we deserve that when it occurs."

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