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The Interfraternity Council at the University of Kansas has halted the activities of its 24 fraternities amid allegations of hazing in the chapters.
The national branches of Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Delta Upsilon fraternities earlier suspended the Kansas chapters after the university launched an investigation over hazing, and the university announced this week the fraternities’ self-imposed freeze on all fraternity activities.
“The Greek community makes important and valued contributions to our university,” Kansas chancellor Douglas A. Girod said in a statement. “Many students have a great experience in fraternity life, do the right things and engage in meaningful philanthropy, service and leadership. Even so, there are systemic problems related to student conduct within our IFC community that we must address. I commend IFC for taking ownership of these problems by self-imposing this freeze. The university stands ready to support and partner with student leaders to improve and enhance Greek life at KU.”
Only philanthropic and service events are allowed under the ban, which the council means to keep in place until around May, according to the university statement.
The council’s president, Daniel Lee, said in a statement that “there are significant and systemic conduct problems” that must be addressed with “honest introspection.”
Experts in Greek life have said that such bans are generally not effective at remedying long-term problems among fraternities and sororities.
