FIU temporarily suspends all Greek life activities

Michelle Marchante/News Director

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All campus Greek activities will be canceled for at least a month starting Monday, Jan. 1, 2018, according to an email sent out by President Mark B. Rosenberg on Friday, Dec. 15.

The decision to cancel all campus Greek activities comes after questions and concerns over the behavior and culture of the Greek system arose following incidents at FIU and other schools across the nation, the email states.

“The purpose of this pause in Greek activities is to allow time for the Greek community and university administrators to review and strengthen policies and procedures with the goal of enhancing safety and promoting behavior that is consistent with FIU’s values and our Student Code of Conduct,” the email states.

This year alone, four universities— Florida State University, Texas State University, Louisiana State University and Penn State University— suspended Greek life following the death of four fraternity pledge members who died after parties or initiation events, according to The Miami Herald.

FIU Greek life also faced scrutiny back in October after alleged screenshots of Tau Kappa Epsilon’s private group chat were leaked, revealing references to pedophilia, Anti-Semitic jokes and photos of nude women. The University subsequently suspended the fraternity following the leak to investigate the incident.

Chapter and council meetings, the email reads, along with educational workshops meant to improve FIU’s Greek life are the only exceptions to the temporary Greek life ban.

PantherNOW will update this story as more information becomes available.

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