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The University of Kansas has suspended the social activity of all 24 of its fraternities.
According to reports, the school’s Interfraternity Council (IFC) announced a self-imposed temporary ban on the fraternity’s activities. The suspension comes as several fraternities are being investigated and suspended due to various code of conduct violations.
In a statement, the KU IFC said that they have“committed to working with university officials to strengthen oversight and address systemic behavioral issues in the wake of multiple IFC fraternities being investigated by their national organizations and the university.”
During the social ban, all social activities — parties, mixers, formals, etc will be paused, however, chapter meetings, philanthropic events and service events are allowed to continue. Furthermore, active members currentling living the fraternity houses may continue to do so.
via KMBC:
“The University of Kansas has a proud tradition of Greek life, and IFC chapters are integral to the KU community and the development of the men involved in them,” said Daniel Lee, IFC president.
“But it has become clear there are significant and systemic conduct problems in the IFC community that we must address, and we must address them now. This freeze is a way for us to pause and do some honest introspection about who we are and how we can live up to our standards of fraternal excellence. We owe this to our members and the entire KU community. We are optimistic our community will stronger, healthier and more inclusive due to this evaluation.”
According to KU, freezes on fraternity activity have become increasingly common nationally. Within the past year, students or administrators have enacted freezes at Indiana University, the University of Idaho, Florida State University, Penn State University, Ohio State University, the University of Michigan and Texas State University.
In total, the University of Kansas has 47 sororities and fraternities.
This is the latest major fraternity suspension or closure 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 in the wake of hazing and alcohol deaths.