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Two East Carolina University fraternities were shut down by their national organizations after investigations into the fraternity members’ conduct. The investigations looked into alcohol violations and hazing-related incidents.
Tau Kappa Epsilon International Fraternity and the Delta Chi National Fraternity announced the indefinite closure of its ECU chapters effective immediately. TKE announced that the closure of its chapter at ECU would last for four years until the end of fall 2021. The closures of the two fraternities are unrelated.
A statement from TKE national fraternity organization said that the “actions of the local fraternity do not align with our principles of love, charity and esteem.”
Delta Chi National Fraternity released a similar statement, saying hazing by members was the reason the chapter was closed. “These actions by chapter members go against our expectations of membership and do not align with the Oath of Delta Chi,” stated Keith Shriver, executive director & CEO of Delta Chi National.
ECU Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs Virginia Hardy said the university supports the decisions and has been “in constant communication” with the national headquarters of the two fraternities.
“These closures are a result of violations of both university and fraternity headquarters’ policies regarding alcohol and hazing,” Hardy said in a statement. “We have been working collaboratively with staff and volunteers from both organizations to investigate and resolve these issues. We are pleased that we have been able to intervene proactively and work in partnership with these two groups.”
“Our goal at ECU is to maintain an active, vibrant fraternity and sorority community grounded in the values of service, leadership, campus involvement and student success,” she said. “We are committed to student safety and work actively to educate our students on critical issues facing Greek-letter organizations nationwide. We are also committed to holding organizations and students accountable for actions that do not meet expectations. We will continue our efforts, along with national/international headquarters, to strengthen our campus fraternities, sororities and all student organizations as a key part of the student experience at ECU.”
This is the latest fraternity suspension in the last year, as schools such as Indiana University, the University of Michigan, Ohio State University, Texas State, Florida State, Ball State, Louisiana State and Penn State have all suspended fraternities.
