Tuesday night around 10:30 pm, students and faculty received an email from Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students, Dr. Meghan Harte Weyant. The email was subject titled “Fraternity Life Temporary Suspension Notification.” With the contents being just as vague as the subject, the Rollins community was told all six fraternities on campus were to be temporarily, but indefinitely, suspended.
The first paragraph explains the Dean’s reviewal of “a series of student conduct concerns” related to the fraternities, stating that all six have been participating in “high-risk behaviors.” With collaborative efforts from the Rollins Interfraternity Council (IFC) and the on-campus chapters, a suspension was issued “until further notice.” This suspension means no activities or meetings can be held in the name of the chapter and all privileges revoked. Again, the Dean notes this decision was made for the “safety and wellbeing of all our Fraternity and Sorority Life students and the community at large.”
The next four paragraphs of the email did not provide any details on the “student conduct concerns.” Instead, the text included contact information for the Rollins Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life. Although the email was particularly vague about what altercations led to the suspension, a very bold statement was made through the cancelling of Rollins’ Greek Week, which is traditionally slated for the end of March. All organizations, Sorority chapters included, will be attending “Summits that work to align organizational values and behavior with the College’s mission.”
Within hours the local press got ahold of the story. Members from local news crews swarmed students Wednesday morning as they walked to class, asking questions and filming reactions. Results from Google searches for the College have shifted heavily to news of the suspension in the last two days. The Orlando Sentinel covered the piece as “breaking news” and even included a statement from the North-American Interfraternity Conference, which read:
“We will always be supportive of accountability for not meeting shared expectations, but we oppose blanket actions that impact students who are following the rules.”
No further statements were given from Rollins to the news outlets; however, the student and faculty email does show Dean Harte Weyant’s openness to answering any questions on the subject.
Stay tuned until next week, where The Sandspur plans to publish a more in-depth analysis on the suspension of all Rollins’ fraternities.
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