By Marijke Friedman and Akshaj Gaur
The University of Maryland lifted the cease and desist order for 32 IFC and PHA fraternities and sororities Friday, according to a campuswide email from Patty Perillo, this university’s student affairs vice president.
Five Interfraternity Council chapters will remain under university investigation and will be subject to “limited restrictions” on activities while the investigation continues, according to the email. These fraternity chapters are Kappa Alpha Order, Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Sigma Kappa, Sigma Nu and Zeta Beta Tau, a spokesperson for this university told The Diamondback. All five chapters are part of the IFC.
Chapter leadership did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The end of the cease and desist order comes after the university concluded its two-week investigation into “concerning hazing behaviors and harmful alcohol-related activities” among the chapters, Perillo said in the email.
This university did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Diamondback.
In a March 1 email, this university announced a cease and desist for all IFC and PHC chapters, citing alleged hazing-related behaviors. On March 8, this university said it hired a consulting firm to conduct interviews as part of the investigation.
The investigation included more than 150 interviews with IFC and PHA chapter members, anonymous feedback submitted and messages from university community members, families and alumni, according to Friday’s email.
This week, four fraternity chapters, including Kappa Alpha Order, announced they were petitioning the U.S. District Court of Maryland for a temporary restraining order against university administrators — including Perillo, university president Darryll Pines, student conduct director James Bond and assistant vice president for engagement James McShay — according to a Wednesday news release from the Lafayette Company.
The case was scheduled to be heard Monday, according to a Thursday Lafayette Company news release.
[4 fraternity chapters petition for restraining order against UMD administrators]
Despite this university’s decision to lift the order on 32 IFC and PHA chapters, Wynn Smiley, a spokesperson for the national organization Fraternity Forward Coalition, said in a Friday Lafayette Company news release that plaintiffs will continue to pursue the case against university administrators.
“[University] administrators who participated in or were complicit in this egregious erosion of student liberties must be held accountable,” Smiley said in Friday’s release.
In the email, Perrillo also outlined several steps this university will take to ensure fraternities and sororities comply with university protocols.
“The assessment revealed areas of ongoing concern within IFC and PHA chapters that we believe necessitate a more comprehensive and deliberate review of fraternity and sorority life,” she wrote.
The university will assemble a fraternity and sorority life working group consisting of students, staff, faculty and alumni to discuss improving safety and accountability in fraternities and sororities, Perillo said.
This university also plans to conduct a review of IFC and PHA recruitment training programs and alcohol-related activities, expand ways to report possible instances of hazing, review the Code of Student Conduct’s alcohol and hazing-related policies and develop new alcohol and drug education for chapter members.
This university’s fraternity and sorority life department will also work on improving communication with chapter advisors and national fraternity and sorority organization leadership, according to the email. Multiple Greek life leaders have criticized this university’s communication with chapters and national organizations related to cease and desist, The Diamondback reported last week.
“We will continue our work together to create and preserve a healthy environment for all. In no uncertain terms, we are committed to fraternity and sorority life at the University of Maryland,” Perillo said.
This story has been updated.
