An email was sent out to the entire UCF Greek community banning alcohol from any and all events, effective this Tuesday.
READ OUR EDITORIAL ABOUT THIS ISSUE, AND HOW UCF IS HANDLING ALCOHOL IN GENERAL.
A UCF staff member with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life sent out the email to chapter presidents on behalf of the Greek Council, a student-run university panel receiving and reallocating state funds.
The email starts off by saying, “We the leaders of the Greek community are still in the discussion and planning stage of what changes need to be enacted within our community in the aftermath of recent events.”
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The recent events refer to the sudden death of Ann Hefferin, a freshman new member of Tri-Delta sorority. Hefferin died after attending a Sigma Chi party for a short time. She was drinking that night, police said, but it’s not yet clear what, if any, role alcohol played in her death.
Although the university panel issuing the moratorium receives state funding, no notice of this meeting was sent to the press and Greek leaders KnightNews.com spoke with didn’t know a measure this major was going to be discussed and enacted until after it was too late for public comment.
One KnightNews.com reader commented on how what this UCF panel is doing seemed similar to how USC recently handled a situation, which was believed by legal experts to be possibly illegal. Check out that video below, and read more about it here, including a letter from an attorney saying not only could USC have been sued — but also the individuals who enacted what he said was an illegal punishment to groups not accused of wrongdoing.
KnightNews.com will continue to follow this story and investigate what jurisdiction and power the panel of students actually has to enforce the rule. Typically, the Office of Student Conduct, consisting of administrators, has the power to restrict the rights of a student or registered student organization, as that office has a clear and vetted due process procedure to follow when doing so.
KnightNews.com will also work to get a comment from Greek Council student leaders about this decision. Check back for updates on this major developing story.
KnightNews.com has published the email sent out to the Greek community on the next page. Click here to read it.
