Another fraternity at UC Santa Barbara will shut down, and a sorority has been placed on interim suspension while its national chapter conducts an investigation.
That brings the school year total to three shuttered Greek organizations, with the possibility of at least one more.
University officials decided last month to terminate recognition of the Nu Alpha Kappa fraternity, which was already on interim suspension after rape allegations were levied at a friend of a fraternity brother last October. The sexual assault allegedly took place in the fraternity house at 860 Fortuna Lane in Isla Vista.
Sorority Lambda Theta Alpha, which doesn’t have a house, was placed on interim suspension March 16 due to an ongoing investigation, according to university spokesman George Foulsham.
The university doesn’t comment on ongoing investigations, Foulsham said. Representatives from the sorority billed as the first created for Latinas could not be reached to explain which Lambda Theta Alpha practices were under review.
“UC Santa Barbara takes all allegations of behavior and policy violations very seriously, especially those that threaten student health and safety,” he said. “Based on reports of policy violations, Nu Alpha Kappa was placed on interim suspension by the university in fall 2014. Interim suspension — the appropriate status when an investigation has begun — requires that the organization cease all chapter activities until the investigation is concluded.
“At the conclusion of the investigation, the university terminated Nu Alpha Kappa’s campus recognition on March 9 due to violations of UCSB policies, violations of its fall 2014 suspension, and for perpetuation of an unsafe environment for members and the Greek community.”
Co-chairs of the Registered Campus Organizations Conduct Board — part of the Office of Student Life — conducted that investigation.
Representatives from Nu Alpha Kappa, a Latino-based fraternity founded locally in 1992, did not respond to requests for comment.
Nu Alpha Kappa’s termination follows that of two other fraternities. The Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity closed down in February after its national chapter suspended student members for “unsafe new-member education practices.”
Beta Theta Pi lost its charter last December, allegedly due to disciplinary violations that culminated with alcohol hazing that sent two members to the hospital.
Prior to this academic year, the last time UCSB had to close a fraternity was two years ago, when the national chapter shut down Sigma Alpha Epsilon.
— Noozhawk staff writer Gina Potthoff can be reached at gpotthoff@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.