ELON, N.C. -- Elon University has taken disciplinary action and removed a fraternity from campus.
The school suspended the Epsilon Alpha Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi. The student members also agreed to a two year suspension of chapter operations with the National Council.
“There had been a series of violations from which Pi Kappa Phi had been disciplined and with the latest allegations of hazing along with the alcohol served at an off campus party while they were on social probation led to the two-year removal from campus,” Elon spokesman, Eric Townsend said.
There are 58 members in the school’s chapter, 12 of whom live in the campus house in the university-owned Loy Neighborhood. The university said those students will be allowed to live there until the end of the spring semester.
“We have other Greek organizations that'll be allowed to apply for the house when it becomes vacant,” Townsend said.
This is the second chapter within the Pi Kappa Phi national fraternity to be suspended in a week. North Carolina State's chapter was placed on interim suspension pending an investigation into derogatory comments possibly written by its members.
“We have no reason to believe that our chapter had anything to do with what happened at another university,” Townsend said.
The national fraternity released a statement to Time Warner Cable News regarding both incidents:
Pi Kappa Phi provides our students with the education, training and mature adult guidance to make good choices and to understand the consequences of those choices. When students act in a way that is inconsistent with the fraternity's standards and values, our conduct process is utilized to hold individual members and chapters accountable. Both of these cases are instances where Pi Kappa Phi is utilizing our progressive discipline model to hold our chapters accountable to the organization's shared standards.
The fraternity could return to Elon University in spring 2017. Current members wouldn't be able to participate with the chapter if it comes back to campus.