BLOOMINGTON, Ind. -- Indiana University’s Interfraternity Council voted unanimously Monday night to suspend all fraternity social and new member activities until mid-spring.
The vote was announced late Monday night on Twitter by IU Vice Provost for Student Affairs Lori Reesor.
This evening @IUB_IFC unanimously voted to temporarily suspend fraternity social and new member activities. I commend these student leaders for their efforts and look forward to working with them to create a safer environment for all IU students.
— Lori Reesor (@LoriReesor) November 28, 2017
Dan Niersbach, IU’s student body president, also commended the vote on social media, writing that “now is the time to create real change” in the school’s Greek system.
Proud of @IUB_IFC for temporarily suspending social functions and restricting new member activities until mid spring. Now is the time to create real change in our Greek system and address the culture it creates. The IU Greek community will be safer and stronger. #IU
— Dan Niersbach (@DNiersbach) November 28, 2017
While it wasn’t immediately cleared what precipitated the vote, the move comes following the suspension of several fraternities at IU over the past few years – most recently the Beta Eta chapter of the Sigma Nu fraternity.
In October, the Sigma Nu national organization said its IU chapter was expected to serve a three-year suspension over violations of the school’s alcohol and hazing policies.
"I think this is a great example of students having self governance over their own communities. I applaud them for being proactive in addressing the issues that our greek community faces before we have an incident like Penn State or FSU," said Niersbach.
MORE | IU closes Sigma Nu fraternity over hazing, alcohol violations
In January, IU suspended its chapter of the Delta Tau Delta fraternity over “multiple instances of hazing.”
That followed the voluntary surrender of the IU chapter of Phi Kappa Psi fraternity’s charter in December 2015, and the closure of the Alpha Tau Omega chapter house in October 2015 after the release of a graphic sex video purportedly filmed during fraternity activities.
MORE | National office of Alpha Tau Omega closes IU chapter after sex video surfaces
The vote was not believed to affect the school’s sororities – although they have not been free from problems either. In March, IU's Delta Omicron chapter of the Tri Delta sorority was closed by its national organization. At the time, the sorority said the IU chapter had “been involved in activities that do not represent the organization.”
All 13 fraternities at Ball State University agreed to a similar suspension in October. At the time, the school said the suspension was over a "pattern of different types of events not consistent with the Ball State's standards."
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