Florida university suspends frats for breaking COVID-19 rules, hosting ‘large’ parties
Two fraternities at Florida Gulf Coast University near Fort Myers are temporarily suspended for an investigation into whether they hosted “large” off-campus parties that violated COVID-19 guidelines, school officials said.
The fraternities were placed on interim suspension Monday afternoon after the school received reports about the parties that were held Friday night.
The parties broke the university’s COVID-19 rules for crowd sizes, social distancing and face coverings, according to an email Florida Gulf Coast University President Mike Martin sent to students.
By breaking the guidelines, the fraternities may have possibly posed a “serious and direct threat to the safety and well-being of the campus community and operations,” Martin said.
FGCU Vice President and Chief of Staff Susan Evans confirmed to the Miami Herald that the two suspended Greek organizations, who were not named in the email, are Sigma Chi Fraternity and Phi Delta Theta Fraternity.
Phi Delta Theta issued a statement about the situation: “Phi Delta Theta’s General Headquarters has recently become aware of an alleged event involving the Florida Xi at Florida Gulf Coast University. Since learning of this, we have continued to work closely with the university and chapter and alumni leadership in addressing the ongoing situation.
“Phi Delta Theta’s top priority is the health of our members and the safety of the communities in which they reside. To that end, we’ve encouraged each chapter to follow local and university guidelines, provided masks for all members, and sent guidance and signage to help assist our local leadership with navigating the pandemic.”
Sigma Chi did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Both fraternities had “good” conduct in the university’s spring 2020 Fraternity and Sorority Life report card, which was updated in July.
Sigma Chi Fraternity and Phi Delta Theta Fraternity will be prohibited from conducting all operations and activities, including meetings and new members recruitment until the investigation is completed, according to the email.
If the investigation finds that the fraternities and the people who organized and attended the parties violated the school’s Student Code of Conduct, the rules students must follow, it would “put us at risk of having to close the campus and convert to fully online class delivery,” Martin said.
A campus shutdown could also lead to widespread layoffs, he said.
“At this stage we cannot determine whether closure will be necessary for safety reasons. Be assured, however, that there will be serious consequences for those who choose to exercise very poor, dangerous judgment,” Martin said.
Evans says individual student charges may also be forthcoming.
Students at Florida Gulf Coast returned to campus for classes on Aug. 17 with new social distancing guidelines in place and a new COVID-19 tracker for campus-related cases.
So far in August, seven students have tested positive for COVID-19 — four on Aug. 20 and three on Aug. 24. All but one of them live off-campus and are taking online classes.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 1:00 PM.
