Thursday, July 26, 2007
RU Greek organization waits for action
Radford's ban on year-round Greek signs "is a slap in the face," one member says.
Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times
Members — including Jason Burris (from left), Allen Touchstone (lower step), John Bouffard and Jared Anderson, who is holding Sierra — of Theta Chi fraternity on Third Avenue in Radford display their fraternity’s Greek letters on the house only during special events.
Message board
Members of at least one Radford University fraternity said they have newfound hope that the large Greek letters now collecting dust in fraternity and sorority houses will again be displayed permanently -- and proudly.
The American Civil Liberties Union is threatening to sue the city if a section of the zoning ordinance passed by Radford City Council in May is not repealed.
The section states that Greek letters, banners and signs are only to be displayed during special events, which are "limited to Radford University Homecoming, Rush and Greek Week." The location, size and type of sign must be approved by Radford University's Office of Student Affairs and the city's zoning administrator.
The ACLU heard about the ordinance from a student who belongs to a Greek organization but who has requested to remain anonymous, said Kent Willis, director of the Virginia ACLU chapter.
Several members of the Greek community have expressed concern about the restrictions.
"We do a lot for the community, a lot to give back to the community, and for them to not allow us to have our signs up is a slap in the face," said Mike Brinson, a member of Radford's Theta Chi fraternity.
He said the goal of the Greek community is to have the signs up "24 hours a day, seven days a week."
Council members said at their Monday night meeting that they thought the city, the university and the Greek community were in agreement about the ordinance.
A "gentleman's agreement" was made six or seven years ago between the three entities, City Attorney Jim Guynn said Wednesday. The agreement was that the university would notify the city of special events, so the city knew when to allow the Greek signs. City officials said their goal with limiting the signs is to preserve the integrity of neighborhoods.
The previous zoning ordinance didn't include any Greek signs on the list of permitted signs, which also includes real estate, identification, home occupation, public service, professional and locational/directional signs, Guynn said.
Adding Greek organization signs to the list of permissible signs in the new ordinance was "a favor" to students, he added.
But Brinson said the gesture is unsatisfying.
"It's a step in the right direction, but it's not enough," he said. "We want to have these signs up all year long to represent who we are."
Brinson said that having the signs up permanently would increase recruitment numbers and Greek pride as a whole.
"The whole Greek community, we're all kind of affected by it," said John Bouffard, another member of Theta Chi. "All other schools are allowed to do it, and I feel like they're not allowing us to ... show our pride for our Greek life."
Blacksburg's policy for regulating Virginia Tech's Greek organization signs depends on where the fraternity or sorority house is located and how long it's been there, said Zoning Inspector Lisa Browning. Once a sign is approved by the town, that approval does not fluctuate based on school events, she said.
