A joke between a fraternity and sorority turned into much more than was bargained for when the Department of Public Safety became involved this past weekend.

A new brother of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity was stopped by DPS after it was reported that he was dressed in blackface, according to a Public Safety report.

Director of Public Safety Marlene Hall said the case is now being reviewed by the District Attorney, although the university will continue to pursue the case.

The brother said that he was not dressed in blackface, but instead was dressed in camouflage in an attempt to take back a composite, a collection of all current members of the fraternity, from a sorority, said Matt Sheaffer, president of Delt and a junior computer science and management major.

‘The act was done to get the composite back,’ said Sheaffer. ‘It was not ordered by the fraternity itself, and no burglary took place.’

Sheaffer said that it was just a friendly activity between two houses, and both organizations are on good terms.

Although the brother said he was not dressed in blackface, Sheaffer said he understood that it could have been perceived as offensive.

‘We apologize,’ Sheaffer said. ‘We don’t consider that behavior or mind-set to reflect on the fraternity.’

Published on February 17, 2004 at 12:00 pm