Drexel University has placed two of its fraternities, Pi Kappa Phi and Lambda Chi Alpha, on interim suspension while it investigates allegations of hazing and sexual misconduct. Both organizations are barred from conducting new-member activities and from hosting events involving alcohol while the review plays out, according to the school.
The interim suspensions remain in effect pending the outcome of the investigation, according to a report from NBC10 Philadelphia, which also reported that Drexel's Student Conduct office, Office of Civil Rights Compliance and Drexel Police are coordinating the review. The university has not disclosed further details about the allegations or specified when they allegedly occurred, as The Philadelphia Inquirer first reported.
Drexel says it is committed to maintaining a safe learning environment for all students and does not tolerate sexual misconduct or hazing, per the university's statement to 6abc Philadelphia. The school said it investigates all such accusations as part of its conduct policies and provides students with support resources and reporting channels, including an anonymous tip line, the Inquirer's report notes.
How Drexel Reviews Fraternity Conduct Cases
Under Drexel's own code of conduct, any report or complaint of alleged misconduct involving a student organization is reviewed by the Office of Student Conduct. That same policy allows the university to impose interim measures before an alleged violation is formally adjudicated, which is the mechanism behind the current suspensions of both chapters.
Drexel's conduct policy defines hazing as any action or situation involving new or returning organization members that humiliates or degrades them, or endangers them mentally, physically or emotionally, regardless of whether the member agreed to participate, according to the university's hazing policy page. That same page identifies Pennsylvania's Timothy J. Piazza Anti-Hazing Law and the federal Stop Campus Hazing Act as applicable laws, alongside separate hazing-related provisions in Pennsylvania's criminal code.
Two Chapters With Different Histories On Campus
Drexel currently recognizes 12 fraternities, according to the Inquirer's report citing the university website. Pi Kappa Phi's Drexel chapter has been active since 2008, according to its national fraternity's website, while Lambda Chi Alpha has a longer and bumpier history on campus — Drexel placed that same chapter on interim suspension back in 2017 following separate allegations of hazing and alcohol violations, the Inquirer reported.
Lambda Chi Alpha's troubles on Drexel's campus stretch back even further. The fraternity's international board declared its Drexel chapter inactive by a unanimous vote on June 4, 2006, and the chapter was not reestablished on campus until after a four-year hiatus, according to The Triangle, Drexel's student newspaper.
A Campus With Prior Sexual Misconduct Cases
Greek life at Drexel has faced sexual misconduct scrutiny before. NBC10 Philadelphia reported that in May 2017, the university placed Tau Kappa Epsilon on interim suspension while campus police investigated reports of two sexual assaults at its off-campus house on Powelton Avenue. The Inquirer's account of that same era describes Drexel suspending Tau Kappa Epsilon's recognition for five years over alcohol violations and failure to comply with regulations, while the fraternity was separately under investigation for three alleged sexual assaults reported to have occurred at its house — a discrepancy in reported counts between the two outlets' accounts of that earlier case.
Drexel has not said what specific conduct is alleged against Pi Kappa Phi or Lambda Chi Alpha, nor has it indicated when the current investigation might conclude or what the interim suspensions' outcome could be. Students seeking to report potential conduct or civil rights violations can use the university's reporting channels, including an anonymous tip line referenced in Drexel's statement to the Inquirer.
