The University of Arizona has suspended activities for many of its fraternities amid several reports of misconduct less than two months into the school year, Chrissy Lieberman, dean of students for the Tucson-based university, said Monday in a letter to students.
The abrupt suspension follows a warning that Suresh Garimella, the university’s president, issued to fraternity presidents in August, after an “egregious” number of misconduct violations reported in the spring, Lieberman wrote.
The behavior allegedly included physical assault, abuse of drugs and alcohol, hazing and creating unsafe environments for students. Some cases are under criminal investigation.
Garimella “made it clear that the university will not tolerate further violations that put our students in harm’s way. … Despite [those] expectations, here we are,” Lieberman wrote. “Reports continue to come in regularly from parents, students, and the local community.”
The letter did not offer further details on the nature of the new allegations, but it noted that the potential violations involved nearly half of the 21 groups governed by the school’s Interfraternity Council (IFC). Campus police did not respond to a request for comment Wednesday morning.
At least five of the IFC chapters that had already been put on some form of activities suspension now are under investigation by the university for “endangering behaviors,” according to the school’s fraternity and sorority site. One fraternity was accused of forcing new members to “consume large quantities of alcohol and live goldfish” last fall. Three of those chapters are accused of violating state or federal laws.
Chapter leaders were warned at a meeting in August that the university would act if the behavior continued, Lieberman wrote in Monday’s letter. She said the dean’s office is “at capacity” for the number of cases it can investigate simultaneously and noted that “the value of the Greek experience is under scrutiny nationwide.”
A former Cornell University student last month filed a civil lawsuit against the school, alleging she was sexually assaulted and raped at a fraternity house in 2024. The lawsuit has sparked a national outcry over Cornell’s handling of the allegations and prompted student protests. Sally Q. Yates, a former acting U.S. attorney general, will lead an independent review into Cornell’s handling of the allegations, including disciplinary decisions and oversight of Greek life, a new committee of the university’s board of trustees said Tuesday.
In a separate case, a former fraternity leader from Northern Arizona University was sentenced to two months in jail last week for his role in a hazing that led to a fellow student’s death, the Associated Press reported.
At the University of Arizona, Lieberman wrote that all interfraternity chapters are on “activities suspension” until she can hold mandatory meetings with advisers. The suspension, she said, “prohibits hosting, attending, participating in, and sponsoring any organizational activities.”
Chapters that were previously in good standing will regain that standing after a chapter adviser has attended at least one meeting, Lieberman wrote.
University of Arizona spokesman Nick Prevenas said in an email Wednesday that the school “has been proactive in its efforts to prevent hazing,” citing campuswide prevention initiatives announced in July. Those included moving the already required hazing prevention education for new fraternity and sorority members earlier in the rush process, as well as hiring a new student affairs professional tasked with strengthening hazing prevention programming on campus.
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