Another Penn State fraternity was shut down on Thursday, following allegations of hazing and underage drinking.
The fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, was on probation for earlier allegations but continued to host parties were underage students were allowed to drink, according to student newspaper The Daily Collegian. The fraternity may reopen on the campus in fall 2018, a statement from the national fraternity said, but no current members will be permitted to join the chapter then.
“Accountability to Pi Kappa Phi’s shared standards and values marks the true distinction between a fraternity experience and that of a ‘social club,’” the fraternity’s Chief Executive Officer Mark E. Timmes said in a statement. The students’ recent actions have demonstrated their inability and unwillingness to abide by clear expectations. The consequence of those choices is the closure of the chapter.”
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This is the second fraternity to be closed at Penn State in less than month’s time; the university has vowed to organize a task force to oversee Greek life, but delayed the expected start date this week saying it was taking longer than expected to start up.
Penn State’s Kappa Delta Rho was suspended last month after police alleged that members photographed and distributed images of drug deals, hazing, and unsuspected, passed out, and mostly nude women, msnbc reported last month.
Pi Kappa Phi is one of a half dozen fraternities to be suspended or closed in recent weeks for bad behavior. Last month, five national fraternity chapters were suspended and two others are being investigated in less than two weeks for bad behavior, some of it even criminal.
For instance, members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity are suspected of a federal civil rights violation on the University of Mississippi campus. A rope and confederate flag were allegedly hung early last year on a statue of James Meredith, the first African-American student admitted to the school.
“This shameful and ignorant act is an insult to all Americans and a violation of our most strongly-held values,” Attorney General Eric Holder said in a statement. “No one should ever be made to feel threatened or intimidated because of what they look like or who they are.”
Jane Timm