Now administrators say they are investigating five fraternities and several individual members.
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The school said the reports of misconduct were “concentrated within” the 37 groups that are part of the school’s Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Association.
A university spokesperson identified the fraternities that remain under investigation as Kappa Alpha, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Sigma Kappa, Sigma Nu and Zeta Beta Tau.
Fraternity and sorority members were initially barred from speaking to recruits at all; that order was subsequently modified to allow conversations unrelated to Greek life.
The school then hired a consulting firm called INCompliance to interview students about the allegations.
Some said they were pressured to share their emails, text messages and calendars with the consultants, who refused to explain what they were investigating.
Initially, those allies were allowed only to observe, not engage; that changed after complaints from students, Smiley said.
The school said students were “expected to participate” in the interviews and suggested that refusing to do so would violate the school code of conduct.
Two weeks of restrictions on fraternities and sororities, which students claimed violated their rights but which the university justified as necessary to avert a tragic incident, have come to an end at the University of Maryland. Administrators have now stated that they are looking into a number of specific members as well as five different fraternities. Quick, educational, and tailored specifically for the community. Whenever a weekday morning, receive The 7 DMV newsletter in your email. ArrowRight said in a statement that it was planning new policies “to build a culture of integrity and accountability” and that “the assessment revealed areas of ongoing concern within chapters that we believe necessitate additional university actions, including establishing new reporting mechanisms for hazing.”. “.
The March 1 decree prohibiting gatherings with alcohol or mingling with prospective recruits shocked and incensed College Park Greek-letter students. They claimed they were not informed about the reports that prompted the school to terminate numerous of their events. The school has been sued by several in federal court.
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The nationwide Fraternity Forward Coalition is supporting that lawsuit, which will proceed. A spokesman for the school, Wynn Smiley, stated, “We are shocked by the school’s willingness to repeatedly violate their students’ civil liberties — their rights to freedom of association, due process, and privacy — and their own administrative procedures in chasing a meritless investigation.”. Administrators need to answer for their involvement in this heinous violation of students’ rights. “.
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“The University of Maryland acknowledged that temporarily suspending certain events has impacted our fraternity and sorority community, especially the new members,” the statement read on Friday. The goal of our course of action, however, was to prioritize safety and prevention in order to evaluate the reports we had received and avert a serious health and safety incident. “.
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The order excluded the five historically Black fraternities and sororities at the university as well as the 13 multicultural Greek organizations. According to the school, there have been reports of misconduct that are “concentrated within” the 37 organizations that make up the Panhellenic Association and Interfraternity Council. 32 of those groups were permitted to carry out their regular activities on Friday. Alpha Phi Sigma Kappa, Lambda Chi Alpha, Sigma Nu, Zeta Beta Tau, and Kappa Alpha are the fraternities that are still being investigated, according to a university spokesman. It was not possible to get in touch with fraternity representatives right away on Friday night.
Initially, members of fraternities and sororities were not allowed to speak with recruits at all; however, that directive was later changed to permit talks about topics unrelated to Greek life. The school then engaged INCompliance, a consulting firm, to conduct student interviews regarding the accusations. Several claimed they were under duress to give the consultants access to their calendars, texts, and emails, but the consultants wouldn’t say what they were looking into. There are “no reports of any individual being asked to turn over their phone,” according to university spokeswoman Katie Lawson. “.
School administrators might not have been aware of what transpired during those meetings, according to Smiley, who also claimed that several students were “subjected to some pretty questionable interrogation tactics as adult U.S. citizens.”. S. citizens who have received no formal accusations. He remarked, “I’ve never seen a situation like this in nearly three decades of representing fraternities. Students were permitted to bring a “support person” to the interview, which might include a legal representative. These allies were initially only permitted to watch, not participate, but Smiley said that this changed in response to student complaints. Students were “expected to participate,” according to the school, and declining to do so would be against the school’s code of conduct.
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The university, according to the fraternities’ lawsuit, broke that code, which states that students “have the right to be notified of the allegations and specific policies they are alleged to have violated, to have access to the information underlying the allegation(s), and to have an opportunity to respond.”. The school said in statements that the purpose of the first round of interviews was “to collect broad information,” and that particular claims will now be looked into in accordance with the code.
