Two EMU Fraternities Under Intense Review Over Sexual Assault Claims
Claims against two Eastern Michigan University fraternities have resulted in school administration launching a review of sexual assault complaints.
Both Delta Tau Delta and Alpha Sigma Phi fraternities are under review after a series of reported sexual assaults at the school according to the Detroit Free Press. As a result, EMU has also planned to launch new sex assault prevention initiatives.
Coming at a time when addressing allegations and complaints of sexual harassment and assault is the forefront with national cases such as the Larry Nassar case, EMU is responding with action, yet the situation isn't actually new.
According to reports, the two fraternities started to come under public fire in summer 2020, when graduates of the school and fraternities were criminally charged with reported sexual assaults from their time there. It was that fall that the university launched a Title IX audit in the cases.
Still, claims against the university and the fraternities in question are still coming in with more lawsuits being filed. It was just the beginning of September that 4 more women, and 1 man, announced they would also be suing EMU for claims that the school has turned a blind eye to sexual assaults on campus. Those lawsuits bring the total to 24 individuals looking for justice, but are not all completely associated with the Greek system.
EMU President James Smith revealed in a letter sent to the EMU community on Thursday morning that the review of Delta Tau Delta and Alpha SIgma Phi could have an impact on the fraternities futures on campus.
“This process includes an evaluation of the fraternities’ future status on our campus,” Smith said in the letter. “The University takes this process very seriously. We have a robust policy framework to guide this review and are moving aggressively.”
Both fraternities are set to head to mediation one lawsuit, a court filing shows as of now according to the Detroit Free Press.