NC State’s Tau Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi will be disbanded on campus for a minimum of three years after accepting responsibility for book with offensive comments found near campus last week, Chancellor Randy Woodson announced Monday.
In addition to the suspension, the brothers currently living in the on-campus fraternity house will be required to vacate immediately and seek alternative housing at the university if necessary.
Woodson also announced Mike Mullen, vice chancellor and dean of academic and student affairs, will lead a comprehensive review of NC State’s Greek system in collaboration with the four Greek councils on campus.
The review will determine whether fraternities and sororities are living up to the behavioral standards and values of the university, paying close attention to sexual assault, misconduct, substance abuse, diversity and inclusion.
“The review will ask us to really take a hard look and ask if that community is living the values that they clearly espouse to in their charters,” Woodson said.
Woodson offered no timeline for the review, stating the university wants to “do it right.”
“To have a lasting cultural change, you can’t administer that,” Woodson said. “You have to have students with buy in.”
Although he set no formal timeline, Woodson said he hopes to see the review come to serious conclusions before the end of the semester.
In a statement, Mullen said the university fully expects the Greek community to “embrace this challenge, raise the behavioral bar and work proactively to create the best Greek system possible.”
In conjunction with NC State’s decision, the national Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity announced it will no longer recognize the Tau Chapter as a facet of its organization.
“We appreciate the support and collaboration with the NC State administration,” Pi Kappa Phi CEO Mark E. Timmes said in a statement. “Together, we acted quickly to address this situation and reaffirm our commitment to maintaining an environment where everyone feels safe, respected, and valued.”
Individual members of the fraternity will not receive additional disciplinary action or be subject to any university sanctions due to free speech clauses in the university’s Code of Conduct.
“Our Code of Conduct is very clear in terms of hate messages and derogatory messages that are not aimed at individuals,” Woodson said. “They are really an individual’s right.”
Although people have the right to free speech, Woodson said the university must hold communities associated with NC State to a higher standard.
“We have to hold a community to higher standards,” Woodson said. “The action is really against the fraternity itself and not against individuals.”
Max Copeland, the president of the Tau Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi, accepted responsibility for the book and apologized for its offensive content in a letter submitted to the Technician Sunday.
“These quotes were not intended to offend individuals or the community, but they are unacceptable by any means,” Copeland wrote. “The quotes were in poor taste and show a lack of respect to our fellow students. This was truly unacceptable behavior on the part of our chapter’s members. Our behavior has brought anger and dismay to the NC State Community, and we accept responsibility.”
Woodson said the university chose three years because it allows the current students who may have contributed to the group’s problem to leave before members are eligible to reapply to return.
In response to the news of the book, the Interfraternity Council self-imposed alcohol cessation at social events in fraternities within the council
IFC president John Stewart said all chapters will be required to re-evaluate their risk-management policies and create strategies to address problems that often occur at social events. IFC’s plan of action will involve trainings, evaluations and response plans.
The length of the alcohol cessation will vary depending on the chapter, Stewart said.
Additionally, IFC will be working with the Women’s Center in preparation for Sexual Assault and Prevention Awareness month to help promote inclusion and diversity among members, Steward said.
“IFC is committed to instilling a sense of unity and acceptance in our men,” Stewart said.
Woodson said the comments and views expressed in the book are completely inconsistent with NC State’s core values and called the discovery of the book a “gut-check.”
“It made us realize that we have a lot of work to do here,” Woodson said.
The university also suspended its chapter of Alpha Tau Omega Friday. University Police released a WolfAlert about a reported sexual assault that happened at the house in early March.
The organization is currently under investigation by the university regarding allegations that one or more of the fraternity’s members were dealing drugs.
Woodson said Alpha Tau Omega is still under temporary suspension, and the investigation is still ongoing.
Brothers at Pi Kappa Phi loading furniture into their car in Fraternity Row on Wednesday night. The Tau Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi Fraternity at North Carolina State University has been suspended for three years following an investigation into a pledge book discovered last week containing racially and sexually offensive language, campus officials said Wednesday. The national fraternity revoked the chapter’s charter, and NCSU Chancellor Randy Woodson called for a thorough review of the Greek system on campus.
