VCU suspends fraternity for hazing, sorority for selling pills (2024)

A Virginia Commonwealth University fraternity has been suspended two years for hazing, and a sorority has received a four-year punishment for using its group forum to buy and sell prescription pills.

Two other student groups received interim suspensions after allegations of hazing were made against the fraternities.

These represent the latest reports of misconduct among student groups, which universities are now required to publish. Asked if any misconduct resulted in injuries or hospitalizations, Michael Porter, a spokesperson for VCU, did not specifically address the question.

Fraternity Delta Epsilon Mu was punished for psychological hazing, and sorority Phi Mu received a suspension for buying and selling prescription pills on a student communication app. Two other fraternities, Kappa Delta Rho and Theta Chi, were accused of hazing and received temporary suspensions as the university investigates.

In 2021, Adam Oakes, a VCU student, died in a hazing incident at an off-campus house following a ceremony in which he met his big brother in the fraternity. Adam’s Law, passed a year later, requires Virginia colleges to publish violations committed by student organizations, which is designed to give prospective members a better picture of the groups they are about to join.

Since Oakes died in 2021, VCU has suspended seven organizations for misconduct. The suspensions range from two years to permanent expulsion, which Oakes’ Delta Chi fraternity received.

A challenge for universities is that sometimes student groups will go underground and continue operating with no official connection to the university. VCU said it has received one or more reports of student conduct violations from a group called the Rose Club, which is not a recognized student organization at VCU. A national fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi, said it has no affiliation with the Rose Club.

Delta Epsilon Mu

After a person reported the fraternity for psychological hazing, the university determined older members misled new members about initiation and interrogated them.

Porter did not detail the specifics of the allegation, except to say that school policy prohibits interrogating an individual in an intimidating or threatening manner. Questions may relate to the organization’s history or its individual members. Older members also cannot mislead a prospective member into thinking he won’t be allowed to join unless he completes certain tasks, follows instructions or acts in a certain way.

The allegation was made in November, and the university concluded its investigation in March. The fraternity received a two-year suspension that will expire in May 2026.

This was the chapter’s second recent hazing violation, following one last fall that resulted in an interim suspension. During an interim suspension, a group cannot meet except with an adult adviser to prepare for its disciplinary proceedings. Social events, intramural sports and philanthropy are not allowed.

Delta Epsilon Mu’s national office revoked the chapter’s charter in March, severing ties between the headquarters and the local chapter. Delta Epsilon Mu is a professional fraternity designed for students interested in pursuing careers in health, including medicine, nursing and pharmacy. Unlike social Greek organizations, professional Greek organizations unite students with similar professional endeavors, according to the fraternity’s website.

The fraternity “has a strict anti-hazing policy and does not condone any acts of hazing,” according to its website.

Phi Mu

Members of the sorority used the organization’s group communication forum to buy or sell prescription drugs, according to the university.

Porter did not say what kind of prescription drugs were bought and sold – except that fentanyl wasn’t one of them. He also did not say what kind of group communication forum the students used, other than that students generally use Discord, Slack and GroupMe for conversations – none of which are controlled by the school.

A person reported the sorority to the university in February, and VCU conducted an investigation that ended in March. Phi Mu received a four-year suspension that will lift in May 2028. The sorority’s national office also suspended the charter. The national office bills Phi Mu as the second-oldest secret society for women in the U.S., having started in 1852.

In 2021, the sorority got in trouble for serving alcohol at a sorority event at the Commons theater, a violation of school policy. Phi Mu was placed on probation the rest of the school year.

A VCU grade report from the spring 2023 semester listed Phi Mu as having 64 members and a 3.20 grade-point average. The VCU chapter was established in 1989.

The sorority aims to offer an environment that provides personal and academic development, service to others, commitment to excellence and lifelong friendships through a shared tradition, said Jackie Isaacson, a spokesperson for the national group.

“We maintain operations only where our mission will be honored,” she said.

New members of the VCU chapter were released and allowed to join other groups. The sorority eventually will seek to reestablish a VCU chapter when the national sorority and the university are ready, Isaacson said.

Kappa Delta Rho

The fraternity received an interim suspension last month after someone reported the chapter for hazing. The report said the fraternity forced new members to commit acts of servitude and other demeaning tasks and extended the new-member period beyond the allotted one month. Speaking generally, acts of servitude may include running errands or doing chores for members, such as washing a car or picking up a food order, Porter said.

VCU lifted the interim suspension two weeks later, but the university’s student conduct process is ongoing, and VCU will decide if the fraternity will receive a long-term suspension.

The allegations of hazing came as Kappa Delta Rho was already on deferred suspension for having given alcohol to new members at an event where big brothers were matched with little brothers. Under a deferred suspension, a student group has the opportunity to show it can follow the rules. Subsequent violations result in a full suspension.

“These allegations and the current disciplinary status of the chapter are reasons that lead the university to believe the chapter presents a significant risk to the health and safety of its members, new members and other students,” VCU wrote in a letter to the fraternity last month.

Last month, the fraternity’s national headquarters issued a cease-and-desist letter for all chapter engagements. A representative from the national headquarters did not respond to a request for comment.

Theta Chi

The fraternity was placed on interim suspension in April for a report of physical and psychological hazing. VCU lifted the interim suspension in late April, having determined the fraternity was not a threat to the community. The student conduct process is ongoing.

Speaking generally, Porter said physical and psychological activities that qualify as hazing include planking, drinking excessive amounts of milk and eating bad or unpleasant combinations of food to the point of illness.

Asked about the suspension, a spokesperson for Theta Chi’s national office said the chapter “is not on interim suspension with VCU.”