AG to represent school officials in fraternities case
The University of Maryland will be represented by the Maryland Attorney General’s Office in federal court Monday as it responds to a complaint filed by four fraternities and three students over the university suspending their activity.
Wednesday’s motion for a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction against the school names interim director of fraternity and sorority life James McShay, Director of Student Conduct James Bond, Vice President for Student Affairs Patricia Perillo, President Darryll Pines and the university as defendants.
Assistant Attorney General Lillian L. Reynolds filed paperwork Thursday to represent the school and its officials.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah L. Boardman will oversee the 1 p.m. hearing set for Monday in the U.S. District Court for Maryland.
The complaint centers on a March 1 letter to Greek-letter organizations that prohibits students from communicating with potential new members and all social events involving alcohol. The order applied to 37 fraternities and sororities in the Interfraternity Council or the Panhellenic Association.
“You may wish to review the Code of Student Conduct and the University’s Hazing Policy,” James Bond, the director of student conduct, wrote in the letter.
The university says it is investigating into widespread allegations of health and safety infractions in organizations’ new member intake processes.
The Baltimore Sun previously reported that the university’s letter referenced a Feb. 29 emergency meeting where chapters were warned that further allegations of misconduct could result in cease-and-desist orders.
The university’s student newspaper, The Diamondback, reported that multiple chapters within the school’s Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Council were conducting activities that “threatened the safety and well-being of members of the university community.”
Despite the warning, fraternity and sorority organizations were reported for incidents of misconduct which led to the communications ban without exceptions, Bond said in the letter.
The letter also said attempts to “coordinate responses, deceive investigators, or provide false information” will be disciplined.
On March 6, the university sent out another letter specifying that the communications ban does not apply to school, work, other student groups or any other topics of conversations outside Greek-letter organization-related activities.
However, members of the chapter cannot speak to one another about what the university is doing which is a violation of First Amendment rights, according to attorneys representing some of the university’s fraternities, who filed the petition Wednesday.
The Alpha Psi chapter of Theta Chi fraternity, Betta Kappa chapter of Kappa Alpha order, Epsilon Delta chapter of Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity, Epsilon Gamma chapter of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity and three unnamed fraternity members are listed as plaintiffs.