6 University of Arizona fraternities suspended immediately amid misconduct investigation

TUCSON, AZ (AZFamily) — The University of Arizona has suspended six fraternities and suspended all fraternity activities, citing a wave of investigations into misconduct, including physical assault, hazing, drugs and alcohol, in nearly half of its chapters.

In an internal memo obtained by Arizona’s Family, Chrissy Lieberman, the university’s dean of students, said her office was investigating multiple reports of misconduct involving nearly half of the campus’s 21 fraternities.

Violations range from physical assault, drug and alcohol abuse, hazing and creating unsafe environments for students, according to Lieberman.

Effective immediately, all chapters of the fraternity are under temporary suspension of activities until all chapter advisors have met with the dean.

Six fraternities, including Zeta Beta Tau, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Phi Delta Theta, Sigma Chi, Theta Xi and Phi Gamma Delta, are immediately suspended.

Students react

“It’s all been a little blindsided,” said Parker, a University of Arizona student and member of Sigma Phi Epsilon. “The fraternities at this type of school and every fraternity, everyone is a really good guy, and I’ve never seen any negative aspects here.”

There are 21 fraternities at the University of Alberta, and their activities are all suspended because the dean of students said “the number of cases being investigated and the seriousness of the concerns are egregious.”

“It’s a little upsetting to know that this is actually happening on campus and that so many people are probably letting this slide because they’re part of a fraternity,” said Mia Cazares, a senior at the University of Arizona.

The letter sent to the entire Greek Life community on Oct. 5 states that many chapters were already addressing disciplinary status and that “alleged behaviors range from physical assault, drug and alcohol abuse, to hazing and creating unsafe environments for our students.”

“I’ve never been hazed. Nobody I know, my big, my g-big, none of them have been hazed. It just hasn’t been the culture at Sig Ep since I’ve been here,” Parker said.

Fraternities are now prohibited from holding organizational events. An internal memo indicates that six chapters are immediately suspended, but it does not specify why. Parker’s chapter is one of them.

“I can’t speak for all the other houses, I just know that Sig Ep has no role to do with any of these allegations,” he said.

For chapters in good standing, the suspension of activities will be lifted after chapter advisors meet with the dean of students.

“It’s really alarming, and I’m happy, I’m so happy that people are reporting it,” said Jolayne Houtz, founder of Hazinginfo.org, a national database that tracks hazing incidents at universities. “It appears that community members, students and families are stepping up, demanding action and do not agree with the hazing that is occurring.”

Houtz’s mission was born from his own personal tragedy after the death of his son Sam Martinez in a hazing incident at Washington State University in 2019.

“It’s incredibly painful,” she said.

Other hazing incidents reported across Arizona

Last week, an NAU fraternity leader was sentenced to 60 days in jail after a hazing incident led to the death of a pledge. A civil trial led to the reopening of an investigation and protests at Cornell where fraternity members are accused of gang rape.

“Brotherhoods have a long history of abusive behavior of all kinds. This is not something new,” said John Delatorre, a forensic psychologist.

Delatorre says the current scrutiny of Greek Life likely contributes to the University of Alberta’s decision to take this action.

“The decision by the University of Australia is more like, ‘Hey, let’s try to move forward with something,’ rather than trying to, I don’t know, fix and change Greek society as a whole,” Delatorre said.

In recent years, numerous laws and other awareness campaigns have been launched around hazing.

In 2022, Arizona passed “Jack’s Law”, named after Jack Culolias, who died after drinking too much at an Arizona State University fraternity pledge event. The law criminalizes hazing in the state.

In 2024, Congress passed the Stop Campus Hazing Act, which requires universities and colleges that participate in federal student aid programs to report incidents of hazing.

“The problem is getting worse and we’ve had a million meetings with everyone in the fraternity,” said David Bianchi, an attorney who represents hazing victims. “We’ve passed all kinds of rules and regulations and laws, to no effect. And the problem is even worse, and therefore, it’s time to move on to plan B. And to do that, you have to deport these guys immediately when this happens. And the prosecutors have to file criminal charges immediately.”

Houtz believes more responsibility should be placed on universities, colleges and national organizations when it comes to hazing, and more guidance should be given to students, whether they are part of a Greek life organization, sports team or other club, about past hazing incidents, if any.

“I think there are some really good fraternities and some really good sororities, but they’re not all good,” Houtz said.

Mandatory meetings with section advisors

A suspension of activities prohibits fraternities from hosting, attending, sponsoring, and participating in any organizational activities. Only business meetings are permitted during the suspension.

Once a section advisor has attended one of the three mandatory meetings, sections that were in good standing will resume as normal.

The meetings are scheduled for the following dates:

• Tuesday October 6 at 6 p.m. at Bear Down Gym, room 104
• Wednesday. October 7 at 8 a.m. at Bear Down Gym, room 104
• Monday October 12 at 12 p.m. at Nugent 100

Chapters with upcoming events should ensure their advisor attends a mandatory meeting. The chapter must return to good standing before an event can be held.

Councilor meetings will continue quarterly and councilors will be required to attend each meeting. If an advisor fails to appear, the chapter will be removed from its position in good standing, putting it in danger of continuing.

The president met with the fraternities

University President Suresh Garimella met with all fraternity presidents on Aug. 27, where he said the university would not “tolerate further violations that put our students at risk.”

University leaders asked fraternity leaders to “step up and be responsible for the men in their chapters” and stop behavior that violated the school’s code of conduct.

“It was made clear that if the chapters did not meet this expectation, the university would be forced to take action,” Lieberman wrote in the memo dated Monday.

Full Capacity Case

Lieberman said reports continue to come in about concerns within fraternities, including from parents, students and the community.

The dean of students’ office is at capacity for the number of cases its staff can investigate at one time, and each case involved a chapter of the fraternity, Lieberman said.

“As you know, the value of the Greek experience is under national scrutiny. It is time for the Greek community at the University of Arizona to step up and lead by example for good. It is time to have difficult conversations among themselves and with community members,” part of the memo reads.

The Dean of Students Office will investigate the allegations alongside the University of Arizona Police Department.

Swallowing live goldfish, hazing and blackout allegations

Several sections were found responsible for code of conduct violations this spring and remain under disciplinary status, according to the Dean of Students Office. Some chapters are on active suspension, while others are prohibited from working with their new member classes.

Some serious cases are the subject of a criminal investigation, according to the authorities.

Last month, Sigma Tau Gamma was suspended from its activities after being accused of forcing its members to drink large quantities of alcohol and swallow live goldfish.

Arizona Family sister station KOLD News 13 previously reported in April that six fraternities were under investigation by the school. Three of them, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Chi and Phi Delta Theta, have been the subject of serious allegations.

Allegations against Sigma Alpha Mu include burns from hot liquids, forced consumption of alcohol, alcohol poisoning, fainting and hospitalizations. Sigma Chi allegedly threw a party without alcohol, but alcohol was consumed, drugs were administered to members, knowingly or unknowingly, and several people were hospitalized.

Phi Delta Theta was suspended for hazing, where members were allegedly subjected to forced drinking, degradation, humiliation, and other threatening and endangering behavior.

Another fraternity, Sigma Phi Epsilon, was placed on probation until May 31, 2027, and must pay a fine of nearly $4,000. Charges against the fraternity included sleep deprivation, forced alcohol consumption, kidnapping and forced gymnastics. Members have also been accused of using illegal drugs.

The last time the university severed ties with a fraternity was in 2024, when Pi Kappa Phi was found guilty of hazing and violating the school’s code of conduct.

KOLD News 13 staff and reporter Payton May contributed to this report.

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