In an interview on Saturday with The Daily Orange, Syracuse University Chancellor Kent Syverud responded to three questions that had been submitted to a university spokesperson in advance of a meeting in Crouse-Hinds Hall.

The three questions were:

• Have the students involved in the videos of Theta Tau been expelled?
• In response to the Recognize US group’s demand, does SU plan on holding a town hall before Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. with you, the Board of Trustees, administrators and deans in attendance?
• How long is the Department of Public Safety’s investigation expected to take?

Dara Royer, the university’s senior vice president and chief communications officer, and Sarah Scalese, SU’s associate vice president for communications, sat in on the interview.

The following is the transcript of that interview.

• • •

The Daily Orange: Have the students involved in the videos of Theta Tau been expelled?

Kent Syverud: I’ve just announced that the chapter of Theta Tau has been expelled permanently, from the campus. And, that was after everything that has happened in the last three days, and the investigation … a decision made by Dean Hradsky, the dean of students. The individual student disciplinary process is also well underway. The investigation is not complete, but will be shortly.

As you know, I am disgusted and nauseated by what’s happened, and by what is on this video. And I’m particularly disgusted by the aspects that go to the heart of who we are as a university, and that particularly go at racial tolerance, the sexism, the anti-Semitism, the ableism and the homophobia, just so deep within this experience.

The D.O.: And will Theta Tau be removed permanently from campus?

Syverud: The decision to expel that has been made today permanently expels Theta Tau from this campus.

The D.O.: It will no longer be on this campus?

Syverud: That’s correct, as of today.

The D.O.: In response to Recognize Us, the group’s demand, or one of the demands, does SU plan on holding a town hall before Wednesday at 11:59 p.m. with you, the Board of Trustees, administrators and deans?

Syverud: We’re working on a meeting for Wednesday, which will certainly I will go, and we’ll have representatives go to. We’ll have more details about that on Monday.

The D.O.: Will the Board of Trustees be there?

Syverud: So the full Board of Trustees is 51 members who are all over the world, I’m sure we’ll have some representation from the Board of Trustees.

The D.O.: Is there any indication of who might be there yet, or no?

Syverud: We won’t know the arrangements until Monday.

The D.O.: OK. And deans and administrators …

Syverud: Just so you know, a member of the Board of Trustees attended the meeting with student leaders yesterday. Judith Mower, who’s former chair of student affairs, and participated with that meeting.

The D.O.: And what meeting was that?

Syverud: That was a meeting yesterday of student leaders from various organizations including Student Association, Hillel, Greek leaders, leaders from African American students, students among, students with disabilities, and so on.

The D.O.: Just going off that …

Syverud: And there was Board of Trustees attendance at that meeting.

The D.O.: I know you obviously meet with them, why didn’t you go to the Hendricks Chapel forum, the second one, on Wednesday night? I know that was also a student-led discussion.

Syverud: I think I addressed that with the students in the Schine center yesterday morning.

The D.O.: You, you …

Sarah Scalese: That’s right.

The D.O.: You apologized, yeah. Why didn’t you go?

Syverud: I think I addressed that.

Scalese: Yeah, he’s covered that. In fact, you guys have the audio. (Another D.O. reporter) was there.

Dara Royer: Let’s keep going.

The D.O.: Those are the three questions I sent over. I can continue?

Royer: No, I think you had a question about the length of the …

Scalese: The length of the investigation.

Royer: The length of the investigation.

The D.O.: Oh, the Department of Public Safety. What’s the timeline on that?

Syverud: Yes, so, the investigation has been rapid and is near its conclusion. There’s a few more interview to conduct, but I believe they will be completed this weekend. The next stage is then a DPS recommendation of charges to the student judicial process.

The D.O.: And what might those recommendations be?

Syverud: Well, so the outcomes include suspension and expulsion. The recommendations involve identifying the particular charges, or what particular parts of the Student Code of Conduct are violated.

The D.O.: Is that related to the review of Greek life policy that you’ve requested?

Syverud: That’s related to the individual students that’s — the process involves what the right process is for individual students involved in this particular episode at Theta Tau. The separate process is the review from top to bottom of Greek life. Are those two things related? Of course. This particular episode is certainly a wake-up call and a turning point for us. But it’s not exclusively about this particular episode.

The D.O.: Has that started?

Syverud: No, it has not started yet because we’ve been working on response to this particular episode.

The D.O.: Will it be conducted by a third party?

Syverud: We’ll be able to say more about that probably by Wednesday.

The D.O.: During the town hall?

(Inaudible background noise)

Syverud: I don’t know.

(Inaudible background noise)

Syverud: OK?

Royer: We can follow up with you on specific timing.

The D.O.: Sure.

Royer: OK. Thank you.

Syverud: Great. Thanks.

Royer: Thanks, chancellor.

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MORE COVERAGE:

• SU chapter of Theta Tau says video depicts a ‘satirical sketch’
• Syverud: SU will start ‘top to bottom’ review of all Greek life policies, activities and culture
• Student Association leaders call for SU Greek life audit in wake of Theta Tau suspension
• Students protest Theta Tau videos outside Chancellor Kent Syverud’s house

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Published on April 21, 2018 at 8:36 pm

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