West Virginia University condemned the establishment of a coalition — Fraternity Forward Coalition — that urges fraternities to separate themselves from university governance.
“This does not solve the problem,” said Corey Farris, WVU’s dean of students.
In fall 2018, five fraternities separated themselves from the university claiming its oversight was not necessary and infringed on their right to assemble. Fraternities involved in the action were Alpha Sigma Phi, Kappa Alpha Order, Phi Sigma Kappa, Sigma Chi and Theta Chi.
“They don’t want to live by the rules,” Farris said. “This will not solve the problem.”
WVU said the national headquarters for these five fraternities are in other states and that makes it impossible for the local chapters to be supervised, the university said.
“We’re with them every day,” Farris said.
WVU closed its main campus in Morgantown and branch campuses in Keyser and in Beckley in mid-March because of the COVID-19 pandemic and most classes were switched to online. The university is planning to open campuses for the fall semester.
Farris said WVU is aligned with Kim and T.J. Burch, parents of the late Nolan Burch who died when he was a WVU freshman in an unauthorized fraternity hazing in 2014. The university also released the WouldYou? Campaign to encourage bystander intervention on the campus.
“For this coalition to cite a concern for health and safety of students yet antagonize institutions by making bold statements threatening their support for disaffiliation is counter to the partnership these organizations state they value,” the university said in a statement.
On its web site, www.fraternityforward.org., the organization said it believes fraternity life adds value to the undergraduate experience and positively affects the community as a whole. No universities or colleges are mentioned on the website.
“We pursue an unapologetic and swift defense for individual and organizational rights including but not limited to the right to be single-sex organizations, freedom of association, and fundamental fairness in the conduct processes,” the website reads.
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