Greek Life a No-Go at University of Mary Washington

The president of the University of Mary Washington (UMW) has placed a hold on establishing greek life at the school after a scathing Rolling Stone article brought national attention to gang rape allegations against a University of Virginia (UVA) fraternity.

The Rolling Stone article published last month tells a brutal story of sexual assault at a UVA fraternity house, and school officials unwilling to recognize the dangerous rape culture its greek system had promoted.

The story led UVA to temporarily ban fraternities and sororities on campus as the school’s practices are reviewed, according to NPR.

UMW’s student government had passed a motion to consider establishing fraternities and sororities around the same time the Rolling Stone article was released, according to UMW student newspaper The Blue and Grey Press.

In his letter to students and staff, UMW President Rick Hurley cited the Rolling Stone article in his decision to put an indefinite moratorium on the possibility of a greek system at the university.

“The University of Mary Washington will not tolerate this type of behavior,” Hurley said of the rape allegations.

The school may revisit the proposal, Hurley’s email said, but he thinks now is not the time to establish fraternities and sororities at the UVA sister school.

image Charles Robinson via wikimedia