March 8, 2010

Dear Brothers -

Last Friday, two Wesleyan administrators sent the e-mail below to every Wesleyan
student, to the parents of every Wesleyan student, and to every Mu Epsilon alumnus for
whom they had an e-mail address.

It is a combination of flagrant untruths, innuendo, and unsupported allegations.

As I wrote in my December 20th letter to all Mu Epsilon alumni, last fall the university
asked us to sign a "Fraternal Organization Agreement" that we found inconsistent both
internally and with our objective of providing independent living where young men can
make what Ex-President Doug Bennet called "responsible choices...to lead in an
increasingly complex world." No responsible officer of either DKE's or PsiU's house
corporation has agreed to sign this "Agreement." We replied with what we felt was a
principled, thoughtful and reasonable response. Both the university's proposed
"Agreement" and our response are posted at www.betamuepsilon.com.

The only benefit to us of signing the "Agreement" is that it would allow us to fill our
house with brothers who would not be forced to pay the university for dorm rooms that
they would never occupy. But I do not believe that Wesleyan's current housing policies,
which grant university staff a right of 24/7, no-knock entry to students' rooms, foster the
independence that students need to prepare for their lives after graduation. These are
principles that the Baird Association stands for and is not willing to sacrifice.

The university's e-mail begins by stating that Wesleyan "withdrew [its] recognition" of
Mu Epsilon in 2005. This is simply untrue. If you read the proposed "Agreement," you
will see that Wesleyan has no policy of recognizing or not recognizing fraternities. The
e-mail goes on to make undocumented and unsupported charges of misbehavior at Beta.
Dean Richard Culliton, one of the signers of the letter, made virtually identical charges
when I spoke with him in the fall. When I asked for specifics - names, dates, charges,
dispositions - he provided nothing, only broad statements. Each of our members is
subject to law and to Wesleyan's Code of Non-Academic Conduct. Both public
authorities and Wesleyan's administrators have ample tools to sanction students for any
violation of either law or the Code. In the spring of 2009, one Beta brother was charged
with a traffic violation for an accident at the intersection of Washington and High Streets.
It had nothing to do with Mu Epsilon. Last fall, a different Beta brother was sanctioned
by Wesleyan's Student Judiciary Board for driving his car onto Andrus Field.

That's it. Nothing else. If you have time, please write to Dean Culliton, Dean Whaley or
President Roth and ask for specifics to back up their accusations: names, dates, charges,
dispositions. The Beta house is not a den of misbehavior. Activities at the house are no
different from what takes place all over the Wesleyan campus. I know our undergraduate
brothers are not perfect, but I firmly believe in them and will continue to stand behind
them to give them a chance to live independently, to make responsible decisions, and to
learn from poor decisions.

This past Wednesday, March 3rd, Oliver Bennet, '88, Denny MacPhee, '79 and I attended
a chapter meeting. It was great to see over 50 undergraduate brothers ringing the chapter
room. The undergraduates take great pride in being Betas, and Oli, Denny and I stressed
the importance of good decision making and responsible actions, thereby demonstrating
to the administration that undergraduates can and should govern themselves, as the keys
to maintaining our autonomy.

While the university's letter aggravated me, I believe its underlying intent was to distance
Wesleyan from Mu Epsilon -- something that the proposed "Agreement" also attempts -
to minimize the liability that Wesleyan would potentially face from any incident
occurring at Beta. This is fine with me. The Baird Association will continue to stress to
our undergrads that they must abide by all applicable laws and the Code of Non-
Academic Conduct. We have what we believe is a positive working relationship with the
Middletown Police Department, and an off-duty officer is now present at all campus-
wide functions held at Beta. These are trained, sworn officers who will ensure a far
higher level of "safety" - the professed concern of the university's letter - than any
Wesleyan staff member could.

Over the next week the parents of our undergraduate brothers are planning to send a joint
letter to President Roth asking for a retraction of the seemingly libelous accusations made
against their sons. I will be on campus next Saturday, March 13th, and plan to host a
meeting at the chapter house after the lacrosse game, when many of the parents will be
there, to answer any questions. Additionally, I am also drafting a formal response to the
university's letter and will post it on www.betamuepsilon.com as soon as it's complete.

In the meantime, if you have any questions please feel free to email or call me.

In _kai_

Adam Diamond, '03

Baird Association President
(646) 512-0197
Adam.Diamond@guycarp.com