Students involved in Greek Letter Life on the College Park campus were surprised by the March 1 proclamation, saying they had not been given any information about the reports that caused the school to close many of its activities. , was outraged. Several people sued the school in federal court.
This lawsuit continues with support from the National Fraternity Advancement Coalition. Spokesperson Wynn Smiley said, “Our school repeatedly violates our students' civil liberties (freedom of association, due process, and privacy rights) and our own administrative procedures, and continues to pursue pointless investigations.'' I'm surprised,” he said. “Administrators who participated in or were complicit in this egregious violation of student freedom must be held accountable.”
The order came as the groups began inducting new members. Obfuscating such “covenants” in fraternities and sororities across the country has resulted in numerous deaths from alcohol poisoning. Some students have died or suffered traumatic brain injuries as a result of physical abuse. Dozens of fraternities at the University of Virginia voluntarily canceled recruiting events after a recruit was hospitalized on Feb. 21.
“We recognize that the suspension of certain activities is impacting the fraternity and sorority community, particularly new members,” the University of Maryland said Friday. “However, we have evaluated the reports we have received and have chosen a course of action that prioritizes safety and prevention, with the aim of preventing serious health and safety incidents from occurring.”
The university's 13 multicultural Greek organizations and five historic black fraternities and sororities were not included in the order. The school said reports of misconduct were “focused” on 37 organizations that are part of the school's fraternity council and Panhellenic Society. On Friday, 32 of these groups were allowed to resume all activities. A university spokesperson identified the fraternities still under investigation as Kappa Alpha, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Sigma Kappa, Sigma Nu and Zeta Beta Tau. Representatives from the fraternity could not immediately be reached Friday night.
Fraternity and sorority members were initially prohibited from speaking to new recruits at all. This order was later changed 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 their consultants, who refused to explain the investigation. “We are not aware of any individuals being asked to hand over their cell phones,” said university spokeswoman Katie Lawson.
Smiley said school officials may not have known what happened in these meetings, and that multiple students “as adult Americans who have not been charged with any crime were subjected to some pretty questionable interrogation tactics.” I was exposed,” he said. In the nearly 30 years he has been president of his fraternity, he said, “I have never seen a situation like this.” Students will be allowed to bring a “support person” to the interview, which could include a lawyer. Initially, these allies were only allowed to observe and not engage. Smiley said the situation changed after receiving complaints from students. The school said students were “expected to participate” in interviews and suggested that refusing to participate would be a violation of the school's code of conduct.
The fraternity said in its lawsuit that the university violated its regulations, which state that “students must be notified of the allegations and specific policies that have been violated, and be provided with information on which the allegations are based.'' You will have the opportunity to access and respond.'' The school said in a statement that the purpose of the initial interview was to “gather extensive information” and that specific allegations would now be investigated under the Code. .
Susan Svrluga contributed to this report.
