LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) - Four days after a board that oversees fraternities at the University of Kansas announced a ban on social activities, an interim council created after the announcement voted to revoke the freeze, saying it was unconstitutional and had been imposed without following proper procedures.
The university announced Monday that the school’s Interfraternity Council would self-impose a freeze on social activities for the 24 fraternities it governs. The announcement cited “systemic problems” at the fraternities but university and council officials have so far declined to disclose any details regarding incidents that may have led to the decision, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.
The council voted Thursday to nullify the action approved by four members of the council’s executive board. In a statement released Friday, the council said it is working on new policy proposals that were “a result of the conversations about the health, safety, and wellness of our community which began months ago.” It said a new program must be approved at the next IFC General Assembly meeting, scheduled for March 27 but details weren’t released.
The four executive board members who approved the freeze were relieved of their IFC duties Tuesday and a separate interim committee was elected to be in charge. It was that committee that voted Thursday to rescind the freeze.
After the freeze was announced, fraternity chapters reacted with shock and confusion because the decision was not completely explained. Since Monday, university officials have said little about what led to the policy, referring questions to the IFC.
Nick Reddell, president of the Phi Kappa Psi housing corporation, said council members felt “forced” to impose the freeze because of pressure from the university.
The Journal-World reports all announcements about the freeze were coordinated by the university and the IFC did not send out any public announcements before or after the Monday news release. That news release was written on behalf of the council by the university’s director of strategic communications, Joe Monaco, and posted exclusively on a website run by the schools Office of Public Affairs.
Dave Steen, president of the Kansas Fraternities Landlords’ League, said that he met Monday night with university leaders and fraternity chapter presidents. He said that the main issue to emerge from the meeting was hazing, but that there already was a plan to strengthen anti-hazing policies long before the freeze.
“I think everyone understands or understood that it’s a topic that’s on people’s minds,” Steen said of hazing. “But I think everyone was very perplexed at the way that it was handled, especially since the IFC had already been deliberating on what they could do to bolster their policy anyway.”
The freeze arrived on the heels of several fraternities being investigated and some suspended by the university for various violations, including hazing. There have been three suspensions since the beginning of the spring semester.
Sorority leaders at the university said earlier this week that they supported the freeze and would rejoin social activities with the fraternities only after they “can prove that their self-imposed suspension has resulted in a significantly safer environment at KU.”
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Information from: Lawrence (Kan.) Journal-World, http://www.ljworld.com
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