Industry Update Provided by NPC 

Spectrum News and The Buffalo News report no criminal charges will be filed in the death of 18-year-old University at Buffalo student Sebastian Serafin-Bazan, who died after being found unresponsive on the front lawn of a Sigma Pi Fraternity event. Buffalo police said they believe Serafin-Bazan was ordered by fraternity officers to perform exercises late at night and early into the morning as part of the pledging process. Sigma Pi remains suspended pending the…

Grand Council Action

At its meeting Friday, Grand Council took the following action:

• Reviewed the Fraternity’s financial position in light of the global pandemic;
• Considered the advisability of holding the 2020 Grand Convention;
• Considered three alumnae initiate candidates; 
• Considered a membership reinstatement petition; 
• Approved two officer appointments;
• Approved a sprinkler loan to the Gamma Epsilon Facility Corporation; and
• Approved Zeta Sigma’s move to the Fraternity Housing…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

The New York Timesreports at least 44 University of Texas-Austin students have tested positive for COVID-19. A group of around 70 students, all in their 20s, flew on a chartered plane to Cabo San Lucas, and some returned on separate commercial flights to Texas. The Daily Dot reports the spring-breakers, many of whom are members of sororities and fraternities, were dubbed the “Cabo 44” and faced immediate backlash from their peers. Tension intensified on social…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

The Wall Street Journalreports that COVID-19 has scrambled the typical collegiate admissions process. Colleges can’t host admitted students on campus to lock in deposits, muddying enrollment projections. They can’t predict how many foreign students will be able to travel to the U.S. by the time classes start. And they are having trouble forecasting what financial aid students will need given the recent market changes and waves of layoffs. In the face of this…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

Additional universities are closing student housing, including housing for students in fraternity/sorority life. This week, Mississippi State University, Drexel University and the University of Pennsylvania were among those announcing campus housing closures.

The Hechinger Report examines the effects of campus closures that go beyond migrating classes online—graduate students’ research is interrupted, recitals and auditions are canceled, nursing students cannot…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

The National Panhellenic Conference (NPC) has created a web page to report on NPC news and activities regarding the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). It is being updated as information becomes available. 

The Fresno Bee and ABC 30 report that the Fresno State chapter of Kappa Sigma has been placed under interim suspension, one day after a former student in a YouTube video said she had been sexually assaulted at a party at the Kappa Sigma house. Campus police have…

Coronavirus & Theta

As you are undoubtedly aware, businesses and universities have begun taking steps to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). On campuses that are homes to Theta college chapters, these steps vary and continue to evolve, and Theta’s staff is working to help our collegians align with university mandates and remain healthy. We will keep you apprised of major developments.

If you are a frequent traveler, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

Settlements of claims brought by James and Evelyn Piazza on behalf of the estate of their deceased son Timothy were revealed in a document filed Friday in U.S. Middle District Court, Penn Live reports. The court document states that confidential settlements have been reached with Penn State, its Interfraternity Council, the fraternity, the corporation that owns the fraternity house, and six of the 28 students who were sued.

FOX 19 and Dayton Daily News report…

Industry Update Provided by NPC

The Philadelphia Inquirer, CNN, and CBS Philly report that Ari Goldstein, former president of Temple University’s Alpha Epsilon Pi Fraternity, was convicted of attempted involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, attempted sexual assault, and indecent assault on one woman and cleared of allegations in a separate incident that he forced himself on another woman. Goldstein was first arrested in May 2018. A month earlier, Temple suspended the fraternity after…