Duquesne University has “indefinitely” suspended all greek life activities due to multiple COVID-19 regulation violations, according to a letter sent to students Wednesday.
Activities were suspended “effective immediately” because multiple fraternal groups and many members had “repeated and egregious violations of the University’s Student Code of Conduct COVID-19 standards,” Vice President for Student Life Douglas Frizzell said in an email to students provided to the Daily Caller News Foundation.
All online and in-person activities were suspended for the remainder of the semester and students participating in “parties and other events” not following the rules aren’t allowed in “on-campus activities.” (RELATED: Penn State Fraternities Suspended For Breaking COVID Rule)
“For Greek Life at Duquesne, the next several weeks are a moment of reckoning and, hopefully, reflection. Duquesne will look to see a mindful and serious plan from leadership in the Greek community to inform decisions about the spring,” Frizzell wrote.
“And for all of us, I hope this sobering moment also causes reflection and action as we commit to serving one another to keep everyone safe, and that we finish the semester successfully,” Frizzell continued.
Duquesne University suspends Greek activities over “egregious” coronavirus violations https://t.co/nUA32aCuAY pic.twitter.com/xVDgFRSS4c
— The Hill (@thehill) October 29, 2020
Frizzell praised “the majority of students” for always adhering to virus protocols, but noted “the careless and irresponsible activities of our fraternities and sororities generally has dramatically impacted the entire Duquesne community,” he wrote.
“I know not all students in these organizations took part in the actions, but as organizations that have a charge to work collectively for values they represent, the failure of some is often a negative reflection on the entire group,” Frizzell continued.
The university has addressed other COVID-19 protocol violation situations from both staff and students in various ways, including “suspending students from campus when necessary,” Frizzell wrote. The school’s greek life groups, although they were sanctioned and warned multiple times, hadn’t updated their behavior like some groups had done so, according to Frizzell.
Frizzell also encouraged students to “exercise safe behavior” on Halloween.
Duquesne has 156 “confirmed cases cumulative over time,” according to the school’s website. There were 26 cases confirmed on Oct. 28, according to the website.
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