Frat house shut down by protests amid sexual assault allegations

‘How come my safety isn’t prioritised, how come women as a whole, how come our safety isn’t prioritized?’ student asks

A frat house at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln was shut down after hundreds of students gathered outside for a protest following reports of a sexual assault taking place there.

The students gathered at Phi Gamma Delta, also called FIJI, in the Nebraska state capital of Lincoln around 10pm on Tuesday night, chanting “What do we want? Justice” and “If we don’t get it, what do we do? Shut it down!” KOLN reported.

Campus crime logs show that a sexual assault was reported at the fraternity between 11.30pm and 12am on Monday night.

Students at the protests said that all fraternity and sorority activities planned for Tuesday night had been cancelled.

UNL Police and Lincoln Police were present at the scene during the protest.

Phi Gamma Delta issued a statement saying that they were “working closely with the UNL Police to investigate recent allegations of sexual assault that involve one of the student members of the fraternity. We take these allegations very seriously as they absolutely do not meet our fraternity Code of Conduct. To our knowledge, no charges have been filed with the UNL Police or other local authorities”.

“We are assisting local authorities and are providing any information and assistance they need. As the investigation continues, we are prepared to take immediate, appropriate action to ensure the safety and security of all who are part of or visit Phi Gamma Delta,” the fraternity added.

University Chancellor Ronnie Green said in a statement on Wednesday that UNL police “began investigating this incident as soon as the report came in. That investigation remains open and is ongoing”.

“The Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity at UNL is currently under probation for previous violations of university policy. We are closing the fraternity house and suspending operations of the Fiji chapter while this investigation is ongoing, due to potential violations of that probation. This is the responsible action to take for everyone involved.”

UNL Senior Carissa Caraway told KMTV: “It’s a shot to my chest, it kind of makes you feel like, how come my safety isn’t prioritised, how come women as a whole, how come our safety isn’t prioritised?”

“It’s really frustrating, it’s just like, we knew there was a problem in the past, they’re reinstated and not even the first day of school is completed and we have another issue,” she added.

She said she has avoided walking past the house. “I knew like a week coming here their reputation at that house and it wasn’t a good one,” she said.

“Even the day I walked in as a freshman, people told me” to stay away from the fraternity house, senior Jennifer Barrett told the local TV station.

“The fact that they have this prolonged reputation and they are still allowed to be here, I think they should definitely be kicked off campus. Enough is enough and how many more girls are we going to sacrifice and their safety so they’re able to organise,” Ms Caraway said.

“It’s a bad place to be and I want to feel safe on campus and I want everyone around me to feel safe on campus as well, so it’s just, I want the admin to do something about it and take some actions that show that these actions that they have done, are not okay,” Ms Barrett added.

Phi Gamma Delta, also called Phi Gam, was founded in 1848 at Jefferson College in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. Its website says it aspires “to be an active, vital force of men who courageously live our values and make a positive impact on college and community”.

The fraternity chapter in Lincoln was suspended from March 2017 until May 2020 after an investigation by the university found “a pattern of behaviour and a series of instances within the fraternity in violation of the Student Code of Conduct,” according to the then-vice chancellor for student affairs Juan Franco.

The university said at the time that the behaviour included “reckless alcohol use, hazing, and inappropriate sexually based behaviour, including a pattern of sexually harassing conduct. The conduct occurred in multiple incidents at various points in time over the course of recent academic terms”.

“While not the focal point of the suspension, comments made by Fiji members January 21 outside the fraternity house during a women’s march were consistent with the pattern of sexually harassing conduct evident in multiple other incidents,” the university said.

The suspension led the school to no longer recognise “Phi Gamma Delta, also known as Fiji, as a Greek organisation at Nebraska”.

In 2019, the fraternity petitioned to be reinstated but this was “contingent upon the fraternity taking steps toward lasting reform, including a review of membership, increased oversight, education and other requirements,” Mr Franco said.