MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — West Virginia University placed an immediate freeze Wednesday on all fraternity activities at the University.
The social and recruiting activities of the 16 social and social-professional fraternities comprising the Interfraternity Council are included in that freeze.
Only basic chapter operations, philanthropic or service activities, and brotherhood events are permitted to continue. There is no timeline for a lifting of the moratorium.
In a press release Wednesday evening, WVU officials suggested that the entire Greek system at WVU is in jeopardy due to recent unspecified events.
“We have two paths before us,” WVU President Gordon Gee said. “One is the path that many of our peers have chosen: Shut down Greek life. Or two, work together as partners – the University, students, alumni and our national leaderships – to create real change. I wish to choose the latter.”
Last week, a Theta Chi brother published a Snapchat video on social media using a racial slur directed at a bartender in a downtown Morgantown club. He has since been kicked out of the Alpha Kappa chapter of Theta Chi.
The University said they were reviewing the situation.
Other immediate actions will be a part of the moratorium, including raising the required grade point average from 2.5 to 2.75 and eventually 3.0 by fall 2020.
WVU also announced they’ll restructure certain facets of Fraternity & Sorority Life in an effort to conduct additional reviews,
“I’m not asking you to do the easy thing. I’m asking you to do the right thing.” said Gee, himself a member of Pi Kappa Alpha national fraternity.
“It is time to rebrand Fraternity and Sorority Life at West Virginia University – and potentially at a national level,” he said. “You have the solutions. You know what needs to be done. But it will take hard work. It will take trust. It will take courageous leadership.”
The organizations immediately affected are: Alpha Gamma Rho, Alpha Epsilon Pi, Alpha Sigma Phi, Kappa Alpha Order. Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Gamma Delta, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Sigma Kappa, Pi Kappa Alpha, Pi Kappa Phi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Chi, Sigma Nu, Sigma Phi Epsilon and Theta Chi.
The organizations that make up traditionally African-American fraternities and sororities and sororities of the Panhellenic Association are not immediately affected, but will fall under the new standards beginning next Fall.