Campus Community,
We have committed to timely and transparent communication following the death of one of our students earlier this week. We plan to honor that commitment.
Below is a message distributed this morning by Vice President for Student Success Kirsten Turner to students engaged in Fraternity and Sorority Life (FSL) activities on our campus. Follow-up meetings with FSL student leaders also are taking place today.
The message outlines new steps we’re taking to further ensure the health and well-being of our students. These steps also increase awareness and education around our students’ responsibilities with respect to critical issues such as hazing, alcohol use and bystander intervention. In short, the steps include:
- Suspending activities of new members of Interfraternity Council (IFC) chapters indefinitely.
- Requiring new training for all IFC chapter members focusing on bystander intervention, and an additional course around hazing prevention and university expectations.
As the message indicates, these are first steps, but we believe they are important ones in communicating our obligations to our students and their responsibilities to each other and to our community.
We will continue to communicate about these important issues as our investigations of this tragedy progress and as we continue to evaluate how best we can protect our community and hold each other accountable in upholding that responsibility.
Thank you.
Eli Capilouto
President