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Ohio State University has suspended 37 fraternities. The suspension includes all social, recruitment and new member activities for Interfraternity Council chapters.
According to the statement released by the university, the school has been investigating 11 of the 37 chapters since the beginning of the year, mostly for instances of hazing and alcohol abuse. Ryan Lovell, the senior director for sorority and fraternity life at Ohio State, released the statement to the fraternities. Lovell called the findings of the investigation “deeply troubling.”
“This is an unacceptably high number, and the university will not tolerate behavior that puts the health and safety of students at risk,” Lovell said in the statement.
The 11 fraternities being investigated are Alpha Epsilon Pi, Beta Theta Pi, Delta Chi, Kappa Sigma, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Psi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, and Zeta Beta Tau
via New York Times:
Campus officials declined to provide information about the alleged misconduct beyond saying most of it involved hazing and alcohol abuse. It was also not immediately clear how many complaints were made against each of the fraternities.
Ohio State imposed the ban during the recruitment period for new fraternity members, and just before several football games, a period of heightened social activity among students. On Saturday, the football team will play a home game against the University of Illinois.
Mr. Lovell said that the suspension of activities would give fraternities time to come up strategies to align themselves with the code of conduct. He also said the university would hold forums to improve communication.
When asked for a statement, David Isaacs, a spokesman in the office of student life, said “Ohio State is taking this proactive step based on the significantly high number of investigations this semester, not on the nature of any specific case or cases.”
“Ohio State is taking this proactive step based on the significantly high number of investigations this semester, not on the nature of any specific case or cases. This action will allow the IFC community to pause to reflect and create individual, actionable strategies to ensure that the culture of their organization is aligned with the stated values of Ohio State’s Greek community, responsibilities outlined in the university’s Code of Student Conduct and expectations of their respective national or international organization. The university looks forward to working with the IFC community to set a positive path forward.”
The greek life suspension at Ohio State comes after similar decisions were made at Texas State University, the University of Michigan and Florida State University.
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