Last March, Cornell revoked its recognition of Sigma Alpha Epsilon after the alcohol-related hospitalization and death of SAE brother George Desdunes ’13. Of the 22 pledge brothers in that year’s pledge class — whose reverse-hazing contributed to Desdunes’ death — six left Cornell for good. All of the remaining 16, meanwhile, flocked to Tau Kappa Epsilon. But did TKE take them in — or did SAE take them over?

It’s getting clearer: TKE now faces losing university recognition, after another alcohol-related hospitalization of another pledge a freshman (who thankfully survived). This follows TKE’s hosting planning to host, last September, the White Party, a bash traditionally thrown by SAE, and other signs that the killed-off frat had reanimated in TKE’s body.

Now, thanks to a tipster, we have a better idea of how this all came about.

First, background: Publicly, SAE/TKE brothers have basically stuck to the position that their union was immaculately conceived. One pledge told the Cornell Daily Sun last April that “It’s hard to say where the idea [of TKE taking SAE’s pledges] first came about, but a bunch of guys in SAE and TKE know each other, so it just seemed logical.” And Ryan Yeh ’13, incumbent president of TKE, gave the Sun the same impression: “Like all great ideas, it’s hard to say who came up with it first . . . The two fraternities had quite a few brothers that were mutual friends outside of the house.”

TFM, right?

Not quite. A well-placed tipster tells IvyGate that SAE made the rounds with a sales pitch of sorts (bolding ours):

SAE approached my house [redacted] with the same offer they gave to TKE. Essentially, let them take over and they’d make us cool. We declined. It’s believed that they approached a number of houses on campus before finding TKE. Their Slope Day shirts read “The TKEover has begun.”

This is shocking/sad/unbelievable, if true. May we remind you that Desdunes was allegedly kidnapped, blindfolded, bound, and found with a blood alcohol content of 0.409 before dying? If a student’s death—accidental, yes, but still directly tied to your culture—doesn’t keep you from marketing your “cool”, what on earth would?

We asked Yeh for a comment, and he said he stands by what he told the Sun. “The former pledges at SAE and TKE had many mutual friends,” he told us.  “We weren’t approached by the SAE pledge class per se, since the idea originated in discussions among friends.”

Yeh added:

. . . The real question is why the Cornell community is so obsessed with the perceived social status of fraternities that it missed the more important part of the story. It missed the fact that 16 guys who were traumatized by a tragic death were given an opportunity to live together and find a place that accepted them instead of exiled them. The Cornell Greek Community prides itself on tolerance and acceptance. Surely, those are more important issues to consider than whether they offered to ‘make us cool.’

Know more? Get in touch.

UPDATE: Two corrections above, marked in strikethrough. A freshman was hospitalized, not a pledge; and TKE only planned to host the White Party, before deciding not to.

Also, we hear that several fraternities received a form letter from SAE’s pledges prior to TKE’s offer. Do you have a copy of this letter? Send it to us. Anonymity guaranteed.