The IFC’s recent financial inclusivity email did not list every house as committed to their endeavor. As one of the aforementioned exceptions, we at Zeta Psi feel obligated to disclose our reasons for abstention to the campus at large.

At Zeta Psi, we believe that a person’s financial situation cannot fully be summarized by their Dartmouth financial aid. Although this is an excellent indicator of a family’s overall income, it disregards other factors that we consider equally important, such as:


  *   a family’s willingness (or lack thereof) to assist in the payment of fraternity dues
  *   individual financial cases that make full payment difficult (e.g. separated parents with different involvement in a brother’s life, an illness in the family, etc.)

We at Zeta Psi have always been committed to financial inclusivity and our brothers’ financial status reflects that. We have historically exceeded Dartmouth’s financial aid for brothers from middle class backgrounds. However, we believe that a person from a wealthy background is more able to afford the costs of a Zeta Psi membership than they are to afford a Dartmouth education.

In short, Zeta Psi did not commit to this IFC initiative because it restricts our ability to offer aid to those who most need it. We believe that anybody should be able to become a brother regardless of their financial status, and we have always fully committed to making Zeta Psi affordable to all members. We have been and will continue to be need-blind in all new member deliberations.

Respectfully,
The Brothers of Zeta Psi