This post was updated Jan. 18 at 9:43 p.m.
UCLA fraternities have been indefinitely banned from hosting in-house events with alcohol, according to a statement from the UCLA Interfraternity Council.
The council’s executive board and presidents passed the ban at its Tuesday meeting, according to the statement released Wednesday night.
IFC’s ban was confirmed by Kevin Dougherty, director of fraternity and sorority life and associate dean of students, in an email statement Wednesday before IFC’s statement was released. Several sororities and fraternities were informed of the ban Tuesday through text, messaging apps and email.
The ban follows an alleged sexual assault Saturday night in the North Village. UCPD responded Sunday morning to an alleged report of sexual assault Saturday night at a party on the 500 block of Gayley Avenue. Benjamin Orr, 21, was arrested and charged with assault with intent to commit rape and oral copulation. Orr, a UCLA student, was the 2016-2017 president of the Theta Delta Chi fraternity.
Orr was transferred to Los Angeles County jail before being released on $100,000 bail, and is scheduled to appear in court Feb. 5 at the Los Angeles Airport Courthouse.
A former member of the IFC executive council said he thinks instances of gender-based violence and discriminatory behaviors increased this academic school year, especially during fall quarter.
IFC President Noah Mayer said the presidents’ council unanimously voted to enact the ban without any pressure from the UCLA administration nor knowledge that Orr was arrested and charged for the alleged assault. He added he thinks the ban will remain in place until the council enacts updated risk management bylaws.
UCLA does not confirm or discuss student conduct cases, Dougherty said in the email statement. He added he thinks the ban is a step in the right direction and that UCLA will ensure IFC and the chapters it oversees follow UCLA Student Conduct Code.
Dougherty added UCLA works with UCPD and Campus Assault Resources and Education to respond to reports of inappropriate behavior, including sexual violence and sexual assault.
FINALLY! Drunken Fraternity parties have given UCLA a bad name! For the first time in forever, there is hope for the Bruin Fraternity and Soririty system.
This is a much-needed decision. Better late than never.
Frat Rats earned their name the old-fashioned way!
Ah, perfect. Take alcohol out of the fraternity houses, who all have undergone risk management training. Guess what? Students will still seek alcohol, and will now go to farther lengths to get it. Higher risk corresponds to a higher likelihood of binge drinking.
Lots of good the risk management training does. As much as I agree that alcohol is overly restricted in the US, frat houses don’t encourage responsible drinking, but binging.
At least we are inconveniencing those dogs in some way. A win in my book. People with your mindset are who these articles are about.
Get rid of the stinking frats!
sure, because alcohol is the root cause of all sexual assault cases.
this is the finest example of UCLA trying to cover up a scandal by attempting to create a bigger story.
the daily bruin fails to report news without bias. daily bruin editors continually attempt to avoid placing focus on certain individuals and student groups in their articles to prevent media attention and scrutiny. a serious sexual assault case occurred at UCLA. it was perpetrated by the immediate past president of a large fraternity. however, the editors chose to hide this story. they chose to bury this sexual assault case at the end of a different article.
to the editors of the daily bruin, are you committed to reporting campus news without bias towards any particular individuals or groups?
Good! Hope it will help. Was a drunk freshman at a party a long, long, time ago – lets just say “bad things” happened. Hope this will help those who might get themselves in over their heads like me…
Greek life shouldn’t even exist. The whole system is weird, stupid, and a distraction from study.
Then don’t go! Was someone forcing you to go? You sound like someone who didn’t get into a fraternity and now you are bitter. You should have tried for a sorority.
Try again.
Clearly hit the nail on the head. If you aren’t involved in some way then why do you care? Clearly you haven’t been invited and it burns you up.
The important thing is that you’re trying. Nobody can take that away from you. Still, you’ll have to troll a little better.
We are all “adults.” The best deterrent is to fully prosecute the offenders and provide training. At some point “adults” need to be held accountable for their own actions.
A couple of basketball players committed theft in China. I say we get rid of basketball!
As a 1971 grad and fraternity member, I have mixed emotions about the ban. For years the school and IFC failed to do anything effective about the alcohol problem. Then, most freshmen were not drinkers and smokers in High School. It was a cultural awakening to many who arrived at a very “Wet campus”. If the issue had been effectively dealt with in the intervening years, I am sure the ban at frat parties would not be needed. Now we are dealing with a situation in which most new students partied in high school. The odor of pot is recognizable to a vast majority of everyone on campus. Pills are a problem too. Perhaps a campus wide focus on drug use would be useful from the research standpoint and focus on what reasonable norms for use could be established. I think it could be an effective way to confront a problem. Ido not know what the solutions would be but I bet it would be a great starting point. I would suspect that it would also show great leadership to other colleges and universities that have very similar problems and few solutions. Just a thought from an old Bruin!