UCF struggles with ‘no rules' party frat

ORLANDO, Fla. – It's rush week at the University of Central Florida. Now is the time for freshmen to choose a fraternity. And at UCF's official fraternities, that means a lot of name tags and "man flirting" -- but no alcohol.

"We're at a frat house with a bunch of guys and I don't see any beer?" asked News4Jax sister station News 6 anchor Matt Austin.

"It's not your typical frat house today. It's strictly business I guess," said Mirz Duzel, the rush chairman of Phi Delta Theta, an official fraternity at UCF.

It's strictly business, because booze -- and even women -- are banned from UCF's official fraternity rush activities. But there's one fraternity that doesn't have to follow UCF's rules.

The Gazoni Family has been sharing video on social media of wild rush parties with bikini-clad women. That's how they recruit UCF students.

"Unlike other fraternities, we're not bullied by the university," said Gazoni Family President Yuval Mor.

The Gazoni Family house didn't always have a big "G" on it. About nine months ago, they were known as Lambda Chi Alpha, a legitimate, long-standing fraternity. In January, its charter was revoked by the national office after UCF accused the group of alcohol misconduct, public urination, trashing property and breaking university rules.

Now, there are no UCF rules to follow.

And the Gazoni Family advertises that on fliers it uses to recruit UCF and Valencia College students.

"Be honest. Is this the craziest fraternity at UCF?" Austin asked a Gazoni member.

"We already were the craziest fraternity at UCF. Now, it's just - we don't have anyone to stop us," said Rashad, a Gazoni member, who pointed out years of tension between UCF and fraternities. A couple years ago, a group of fraternities threatened to sue UCF for temporarily banning Greek activities without due process.

Mor doesn't have to worry about battles like that anymore, and said the lack of university support that comes with the freedom from university rules hasn't hurt his unofficial fraternity.  

"It's not any different than it's ever been," Mor said. "You know, same quality of kids, the same quantity of kids. I see no real difference."

Austin asked if parents dropping their kids off at UCF would "be terrified if their kids joined an organization like this."

"My parents were terrified," said Kevin, a Gazoni member. "But, once you meet us, we're well spoken kids, we have good GPAs we're not troublemakers."

So how did the Gazoni Family get to keep its house?

Here's the trick: UCF doesn't own it and neither does the national fraternity. The brothers lease it themselves and decided to re-sign it.  

The Gazoni Family still has a president, still pays dues, and still recruits just like every other fraternity. The Gazoni Family accepts students from Valencia College as well, something UCF bans its official fraternities from doing.

"Is it safe to have no rules, no oversight," Austin asked.

"Yes and no," Rashad said, adding that while it could be helpful to have oversight, "brothers keep other brothers accountable."

Now other fraternities that are accountable to the university have to compete against the Gazoni Family.

Back at the Phi Delta house, right next door to the Gazoni Family, Duzel told Austin, "I kind of wish it were different, but we don't need alcohol and girls to have a good time."

Does this fraternity, or any other, have any reason to be threatened by guys who don't have to follow the same rules?" Austin asked.

"I wouldn't say so," Duzel said. "No."

UCF would not return calls or be interviewed, and even former UCF staff declined to comment. The university released a statement via email saying, "UCF supported that decision and does not recognize Lambda Chi Alpha as a registered student organization, including a small group of students formerly in the chapter who call themselves the Gazoni Family. We do not approve or support the online material used to promote this unregistered group of students."


About the Author:

Emmy Award-winning anchor Matt Austin joined the News 6 team in June 2011 and has been the evening news co-anchor since December 2013.