Bijeta Lamichhane
Contributing Writer
On Saturday, Jan. 26, Security and Protective Services (SPS) filed a report against different Greek organizations following seperate incidents that allegedly violated the Code of Conduct in The Scot’s Key. The organizations — Pi Kappa, Alpha Gamma Phi and Xi Chi Psi — were put on interim suspension while the incidents were investigated by Joe Kirk, associate director of SPS. While most of the information related to the incidents remains confidential including the details of what happened, they are thought to have occurred during each organization’s New Member Education process.
The investigations are still on-going, and SPS has been questioning individuals in the suspended organizations regarding the reports.
Xi Chi Psi has since been removed from suspension after SPS concluded their questioning. Leonard Wine ’19, president of Xi Chi Psi, shed some light on the alleged incident.
“An incident report, filed by Security the night of our initiation, was flagged by the Dean of Students office as potentially related to our organization,” Wine said. “On Jan. 28, our Cabinet met with Dean Brown, who informed us that we would be placed on suspension while the incident report was investigated by Joe Kirk.”
“Over the following weeks, [Kirk] met with several members of our organization, and found there to be no connection between the incident and our group. We were removed from suspension on [Tuesday] Feb. 7,” he said.
When questioned about policies regarding the Code of Conduct in The Scot’s Key, Dean of Students Scott Brown said, “In general, if information is brought forth that a person or a group is possibly violating College policy, we will investigate, which includes speaking to as many people with information about the situation.” Brown continued, “Sometimes that takes a while depending on the number of people involved, and also scheduling them in.”
The process of investigation is intricate. “Once the investigation is done by SPS, they will hand it over to Student Rights and Responsibilities, who will evaluate that information — if it has enough credence to be heard as a conduct matter, he [Mitch Joseph] will send it to an Administrative Hearing or Panel. If not enough, the case is closed,” Brown informed. “If it does go to a conduct hearing, that officer or panel sees if ‘it is more likely than not’ that the person or the group violated the Code of Conduct by reviewing the totality of information.”
“If they are found responsible, they are given a sanction. That sanction is informed by considering the violation, any extenuating circumstances, and the previous conduct history,” Brown concluded. “If not, the case is dropped.”
When asked about the fairness of the investigation process and the cooperation between the parties involved, Wine expressed his contrasting opinion.
“Although it was disappointing to be placed on suspension for multiple weeks over an incident that we were not found responsible for, I was pleased with the communication between Dean Brown and myself, and with the work of Mitch Joseph, director of Student Rights and Responsibilities,” he said. “We hope that in the future we won’t be placed under suspension unless there is more significant evidence of our involvement in an incident.”
Details regarding the alleged incidents will remain confidential until the case is resolved. “After the investigations are over, more information will be available,” said Co-President of Inter-Greek Council (IGC) Maha Rashid.
The parties involved are working together to bring forth the truth as well as to ensure a just outcome. “This process is in place to ensure every student who goes through the process has the same experience, and also offers all sides to be heard so the best decision can be made,” Brown said.
Although the process is tedious, IGC hopes it is a learning opportunity. “We are hoping to take these alleged incidents and grow from them to foster a better relationship with the administration,” Rashid concluded.