Privacy & Cookie Policy
This policy explains what information the Gamma-Upsilon Chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon ("TKE Gamma-Upsilon," "we," "us," or "our") collects through tketexas.com, how we use it, the cookies and similar technologies we rely on, and the choices available to you.
Overview & who we are
TKE Gamma-Upsilon is a chapter of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity based in Austin, Texas, primarily recruiting students at the University of Texas at Austin. We are not officially affiliated with the University of Texas at Austin. This site (tketexas.com) is a static, informational website used for recruitment ("Rush"), sharing chapter history, accepting donations, and staying in touch with alumni.
We know our visitors may be located in Texas, elsewhere in the United States, or abroad, so this policy is written to reflect common privacy-law concepts such as those found in the EU/UK General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended (CCPA/CPRA), and the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA). It applies regardless of where you are visiting from.
Information we collect
We do not require you to create an account, and most of the site can be browsed without providing any personal information. We collect information only in the following places:
Rush Interest Form
If you submit our Rush Interest Form, we collect the information you enter: first name, last name, email address, phone number, and Instagram handle. This form is protected by Google reCAPTCHA to reduce spam (see Third-party services below); reCAPTCHA only loads after you consent to functional cookies, or after you click to enable it directly on the form.
Alumni & Mailing List Form
If you subscribe through our Alumni & Mailing List form, we collect the information you enter: email address, first name, last name, phone number, and mailing address. This form submits directly to Mailchimp, the third-party platform that manages our mailing list (see Third-party services below).
Automatically collected information
As with most websites, our hosting provider may automatically log basic technical information when you visit — such as your IP address, browser type, and request timestamps — as part of ordinary web server operation. We do not use this information for tracking or analytics ourselves, and we do not run any analytics or advertising trackers on this site.
How we use your information
We use the information described above only for the purposes you'd reasonably expect:
- Rush Interest Form submissions are used by our Rush Chair and chapter officers to follow up about recruitment, and are stored in a Google Sheet accessible only to authorized chapter officers.
- Alumni & Mailing List submissions are used to send occasional chapter updates, event invitations, and alumni communications via Mailchimp.
We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties, and we do not use it for advertising.
Cookies, local storage & your choices
This site does not use traditional tracking cookies and has no analytics or advertising trackers. It does use your browser's local storage (a small amount of data saved by your browser, similar in spirit to a cookie) to remember your cookie preference so we don't have to ask you every visit. We use two categories:
| Category | Purpose | Can be disabled? |
|---|---|---|
| Necessary | Remembers the choice you make in the cookie banner itself. | No — required for the banner to function. |
| Functional | Enables Google reCAPTCHA on the Rush Interest Form, which helps prevent spam submissions. | Yes. If disabled, you can still submit the Rush form by manually enabling reCAPTCHA at that point. |
If your browser sends a Global Privacy Control (GPC) signal, we honor it automatically as a request to opt out of non-essential functional storage.
You can review or change your choice at any time:
Third-party services we use
We rely on a small number of third-party services to run this site. Each only receives the information necessary for its function:
- Google reCAPTCHA — used on the Rush Interest Form to reduce spam and automated abuse. Loading reCAPTCHA allows Google to process certain technical and usage data according to its own policies. Learn more in Google's Privacy Policy and Terms of Service.
- Google Apps Script & Google Sheets — our Rush Interest Form submits to a Google Apps Script endpoint that records responses in a Google Sheet accessible only to chapter officers.
- Mailchimp — our Alumni & Mailing List form submits directly to Mailchimp (operated by Intuit), which manages our email list and sends communications. See Mailchimp's privacy notice for details on their practices.
- GitHub Pages — this site is hosted on GitHub Pages. GitHub may process standard connection and server-log information as part of delivering the site to you. See GitHub's Privacy Statement.
We don't control these third parties' own data practices once information reaches them, so we encourage you to review their policies if you have questions.
Data retention
We aim to keep personal information only as long as it's needed for the purpose it was collected:
- Rush Interest Form submissions are generally retained for the relevant recruitment cycle and a reasonable period afterward for chapter records, then periodically reviewed and removed.
- Alumni mailing list information is retained until you unsubscribe or ask us to remove it, consistent with Mailchimp's own retention practices.
- Your cookie preference is stored locally in your own browser until you clear your browser data or change your choice.
Your privacy rights
Depending on where you live, you may have rights over your personal information, which can generally include the right to:
- Access the personal information we hold about you.
- Correct inaccurate information.
- Delete your information ("right to be forgotten" under GDPR).
- Restrict or object to certain processing (GDPR).
- Request a portable copy of information you've provided (GDPR).
- Know what categories of personal information we've collected, and opt out of any sale or sharing of it — we don't sell or share personal information (CCPA/CPRA).
- Withdraw consent at any time for anything we process based on consent, such as functional cookies.
Texas residents have similar rights under the Texas Data Privacy and Security Act (TDPSA). We aim to honor requests consistent with these rights regardless of which specific law applies to us, on a good-faith basis appropriate for a small student organization. To exercise any of these rights, contact us using the details below.
Children's privacy
This site is directed at prospective and current university students, alumni, and supporters, and is not directed at children. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13 years old. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us and we will remove it.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time, for example as our forms or third-party tools change. When we make material changes, we'll update the effective date above and, where our cookie categories change in a way that affects your prior choice, we'll ask for your consent again.
Contact us
If you have questions about this policy or want to exercise any privacy right described above, contact our chapter President: