Two Fraternities Accuse UVA of "Unfairly Punishing" Greeks

In the wake of the controversial Rolling Stone article,the University of Virginia issued a new fraternity operating agreement (FOA). The agreement, written by student leaders, outlines new restrictions for serving alcohol, including the elimination of pre-mixed drinks and punches. According to NBC 29, the FOA also requires that beer be served from unopened cans, that wine be poured by a sober server, and that fraternities have security at the doors. Two fraternities, however, have refused to sign the new agreement. Alpha Tau Omega and Kappa Alpha Order say that UVA violated the original FOA, accusing the university of “strong-arming fraternities by suspending them.”

“I think the fraternities want to understand why it is the university took action against 25 percent of the student body and suspended them without any thought to due process,” Kevin O’Neill, member of the Fraternity and Sorority Political Action Committee, told NBC 29.

The two fraternities issued nearly identical statements that read, in part:

The University violated the previous FOA as well as student individual and organizational rights. The system-wide suspension, which was initiated for reasons that were found to be untrue, unfairly punished all members of fraternities and sororities. It was maintained and used as leverage to require the changes to the FOA. Because we do not accept the validity of a suspension imposed in contravention of the existing FOA, university policy, Virginia law and the constitutional rights of our members, we are not compelled to sign a revised FOA to continue operations on campus.

This is your daily reminder that serving alcohol and being in a fraternity is considered a “constitutional right.”

Phi Kappa Psi – the fraternity featured in the Rolling Stone article – has signed the FOA.