Acacia is still trying to rebuild U. chapter

Acacia is trying to move on. The fraternity, which is trying to restart its program after essentially closing its doors last year, held an introductory meeting last night for upperclassmen interested in creating a new Acacia. But no one showed up. The fraternity is apparently still suffering from an image problem stemming from a 1991 sexual harassment charge filed against four former brothers. The fraternity received probation for the incident, in which a nude photo of an Acacia brother's girlfriend was photocopied and distributed. National and local alumni said last night they believe the fraternity's negative reputation is unjustified. John Zentgarf, vice president of Acacia's national fraternity board, said Acacia is not the same fraternity it was in 1991. "The concept is that the new people will be the fraternity," said Zentgarf. Neil Fuenmayor, president of the local Acacia alumni group, said a new group of brothers will be able to "set the future". "They'll get the chance to mold it into something they'll be proud of," Fuenmayor said. Matt Bixler, vice president of the local alumni group, said a fresh start for the fraternity is definitely needed. "As an undergraduate, I saw that no one at the house wanted to put in the time to do positive things," said Bixler. Acacia's Walnut Street house is currently being used by members of the BiCultural Inter-Greek Council. If enough new people show interest and join the reformed fraternity, Fuenmayor said, "there's a really good chance we would get that house back" from the University. According to Zentgarf, reforming Acacia has worked at other universities and he believes it will work here as well. He said local alumni will be valuable resources for the new members who will start up the new Acacia. "There are a lot of alumni that this group will have the benefit of drawing upon for financial resources, networking and guidance," Zentgarf said. "So many people would benefit from this organization," he added. Another meeting is scheduled to take place on Thursday at 8 p.m. in room 301 of Houston Hall.