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The University of Pittsburgh has suspended the Sigma Chi fraternity after a student was hospitalized in an “alcohol-related incident.” The school also temporarily barred all Greek life organizations from hosting events with alcohol
University of Pittsburgh officials did not release specific details about what caused the student to be hospitalized and declined to comment on the student’s current condition.
While the school did not identify which fraternity had been suspended, Sigma Chi’s national office said in a statement that the University of Pittsburgh chapter has been suspended for apparently violating alcohol and drug policies.
Vice Provost and Dean of Students Kenyon Bonner declined to be interviewed, and an office employee referred calls to university marketing and media relations officials. Joseph Miksch, one of those officials, released a late-day statement largely rehashing the university’s already stated position but including no specifics about the incident, nor anything about the unidentified student’s condition.
An official at Sigma Chi’s international headquarters in Evanston, Ill., however, identified its chapter at Pitt as the one involved.
“Sigma Chi International Fraternity is aware of the incident that took place with our chapter at the University of Pittsburgh in which they apparently violated several provisions of our policy on alcohol and drugs,” fraternity executive director Michael Church stated in an email. “We have placed the chapter on interim suspension while we investigate the nature of the incident.
According to the school’s website, the university has 39 total fraternities and sororities.
This is the latest fraternity suspension at a major university in the past year, as schools have begun cracking down on Greek Life since the death of Timothy Piazza at Penn State. Major univerties such as the University of Michigan, Ohio State, and Florida State have suspended fraternities in the last year.
