MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — The future of two West Virginia University fraternities suspended for violating fire codes during the weekend will be in the hands of the interfraternity council and a university vice president.
According to the Office of Student Activities, Kappa Alpha and Pi Kappa Alpha violated the city’s fire code on occupancy limits.
A Kappa Alpha member was cited for obstruction after allegedly threatening a fire official and encouraging others to form a human chain around the front entry. A member of both fraternities was cited with an overcrowding charge.
Kappa Alpha and Pi Kappa Alpha will face a hearing among the interfraternity council.
“This will now allow the interfraternity council to take action against them,” explained WVU Dean of Students Corey Farris during an appearance on MetroNews “Talkline” on Tuesday. “They’ll do their investigation. They’ll have a judicial hearing among their peers of other fraternities with an outcome or recommendation by the end of the week.”
Kappa Alpha and Pi Kappa Alpha were less than a week removed from having a moratorium on social activities lifted.
Now the university will continue to gather information from the night of the parties with the help of the Morgantown Fire Department.
“That’s part of what we’ll be looking at to see if alcohol was present or anything like that,” Farris said.
Greek life students and activities have been under review since November after a WVU fraternity pledge died following a “big-little” initiation event. His blood-alcohol level at the time of his death was more than six times the legal limit for driving.
“I know there are plenty of other hard-working fraternity people that were disappointed. Certainly from the institutional basis, I’m disappointed. I know the president is disappointed and others are. This is not what we set forth when we said we want you to clean up your act,” said Farris.
WVU notified the national leadership of Kappa Alpha and Pi Kappa Alpha about the sanctions.
“We’re watching them closely; we’re holding them on a short leash. They’re on that thin ice,” Farris said. “We’re not afraid to deal with it. As soon as we got word from city officials Monday afternoon, we were on top of it right away.”