MUNCIE — Ball State University staff and presidents of the 13 fraternities included in Ball State’s Interfraternity Council have agreed there will be no more social gatherings at fraternity houses or co-hosted events by fraternities that include alcohol, or otherwise, until after Jan. 31, 2018.
The agreement was made in an effort to reshape culture among fraternities at BSU.
“It’s not one single incident that has caused this,” said Kathy Wolf, Ball State's vice president for marketing and communications. “It’s a trend or a pattern of behavior that is not acceptable or consistent with our Beneficence Pledge. As a result, what we’re doing is pausing, if you will, and saying, ‘Hey, together let’s work on this.’”
After the decision for all 13 fraternities in BSU's IFC to sign a joint letter with the university was made Monday evening, social media exploded with reaction from around the student community.
Some posts suggested the decision was being made because of a rise in alleged sexual assault cases in recent weeks.
Wolf acknowledged there are active sexual assault cases on campus, but said the decision for the 13 fraternities to go dry and end social events until February wasn’t exclusively connected to that.
“This is not the result of just sexual assaults that are happening in fraternities," Wolf said. "This is a pattern with different types of behaviors that are not consistent to Ball State standards.”
While the fraternities go dry, they will remain active. Some events will be permitted – those revolving around alumni relations, philanthropic events, brotherhood events and Mom and Dad Days. But social events — such as Halloween parties, even without alcohol — won’t be permitted.