Washington State University Bans Sorority and Frat-Hosted Events Due to Rise in Alcohol and Drug-related Incidents

Officials from the Greek community at Washington State University has banned all sorority and fraternity activities, following the rise of alcohol-related incidents on campus.

WSU's Interfraternity council, along with the Panhellenic council, announced that all fraternity- and sorority-hosted social events will be prohibited for the rest of the semester, the Associated Press reported. The moratorium started taking effect at 5:00 p.m. Monday, and bans all social events whether alcohol is present or not.

The announcement letter, which was sent to students and school personnel, cited the increasing prevalence of alcohol-related incidents, including assaults, rape, falls, and hospitatlizations. These incidents are seen as damaging to the reputation of the Greek life the Pullman campus offers.

"When weighing out the options to better prevent these incidents from occurring, it is imperative to place a moratorium banning fraternity and sorority social events for the rest of this semester," read the announcement letter, according to the Spokesman-Review. "By refraining from social events, individual members of each chapter can refocus their priorities on bettering the ideals in which their respective chapters were founded on."

The banned events included football tailgates, "21 runs," "date dashes," and other events hosted by unrecognized fraternities and sororities. The members of these chapters are also required to work with university officials to raise awareness regarding alcohol and substance abuse, sexual assault, and mental health, among other issues.

WSU President Kirk Schulz commended the student council for making efforts to address the growing safety issues that affected the Pullman campus' Greek community. In response to student backlash over the ban implementation, he clarified that it was the student-run council that made the decision for the benefit of the whole student community, and they should be credited for it.

"This was decided by the WSU student leaders themselves - let's give them credit for taking a bold stand for student safety," he tweeted.

This ban follows other actions against the school's Greek community after alcohol- and drug-related incidents. Fraternity and sorority members will be required to complete a checklist at the start of the next semester, after the ban is lifted.