Fraternity Council Impeachment Causes Distrust Among Minority Greeks and the Council

COLUMBIA, S.C. - USC's Fraternity Council voted on Monday to impeach Tim Bryson as president of the organization, marking the first time the council has taken such action in its history. Bryson's impeachment follows last week's conduct hearing into his actions to suspend 13 IFC fraternities for alcohol violations during rush. Four fraternity presidents petitioned the council to remove Bryson as well as the former Vice President of Conduct, Jonathan Withrow, who resigned following last Monday's meeting. Since its inception in the 1980s, Bryson was the council's first and only African-American president. A member of the Kappa Iota chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc, Bryson's impeachment took place behind closed doors of USC's Russell House Ballroom Monday night. In an email to fraternity council presidents obtained by ABJ, Fraternity Council Interim-President Lander Smith said Monday's meeting would be closed, allowing only two voting members of each fraternity. While the legality of fraternity council closing a meeting is still in question, no media was allowed in the room to witness the council's historic vote. Approximately 30 minutes after the meeting began, then President Bryson exited the ballroom while voting took place. After roughly three minutes he was allowed back in the room to sit with Phi Beta Sigma's delegation. Moments later, the social media account DrinkingTicket tweeted news of Bryson's impeachment, though no official notice was sent to media representatives waiting outside. At 6:19 p.m. ABJ was able to confirm through two sources in the room that Tim Bryson had been impeached in a 19-5 vote on anonymous ballots. Fraternity Council's meeting adjourned approximately 10 minutes later with no official word as to the result of the council's proceedings. Exiting the meeting, Daniel Glover, President of the Theta Nu Chapter of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc. said, "Everything that happened in there is gonna open up some dialogue. Some things that need to be addressed are going to be addressed pretty soon." While Glover expressed optimism, some members were not as certain about the future of minority Greeks at USC. "I don't think there is a relationship between minority Greeks and the council," said Jon McClary, member of Phi Beta Sigma. "It's clear that there is a divide and I think it's clear that we need to be separate councils." McClary went on to add that though the NPHC/MGB organizations share similarities with the IFC, he believes their functions and purposes differ, doing minority Greeks an "injustice." Bryson echoed McClary's sentiments, speaking exclusively to ABJ saying, "I'm interested to see what Fraternity Council leadership has in store not only for the community but especially for NPHC and MGB Greeks. We've been overlooked for the longest and we're the ones doing things right on campus." Bryson added that he believes he was impeached for taking action against organizations who have historically been permitted to bend the rules. "The IFC presidents don't want to uphold their values and really be held accountable for their actions," Bryson said. While frustrated that his actions led to impeachment, Bryson called Monday's proceedings a "moment in which we can learn and grow from our mistakes." For now Fraternity Council is under the leadership of it's interim president Lander Smith who has not responded to request for comment from ABJ. In a statement released Monday night, Bryson said that though he is out of office, he is "forever committed" to addressing health and safety concerns in the Greek community. "Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time," Bryson said. "This could be one of our realest moments where the truth will set us free."