BU Sorority Suspended Until 2013 Over Hazing Incident
BOSTON (CBS) - A popular sorority at Boston University has been suspended until 2013 following a hazing incident in March.
In early March, BU campus police found several young women drunk on Ashford Street, with at least two of them needing treatment at a local hospital.
The young women, who were sisters at the Sigma Delta Tau sorority, were apparently forced to drink in a hazing incident.
"This type of incident, where some sisters in the organization were made to go to a location to drink excessive amounts of alcohol, appears to have been happening for some time. That went into our thinking as well. It's absolutely unacceptable that students should be coerced or even made to feel they should do things they would not normally do and that are against their will," said BU Dean of Students Kenneth Elmore.
Elmore said the suspension of Sigma Delta Tau means "the organization effectively does not exist." Several sisters were also suspended.
Once the suspension ends, the sorority will be on probation until at least the spring semester of 2013.
"Sigma Delta Tau has a zero tolerance policy on hazing," said Ann Braly, the sorority's national executive director. "We will be providing comprehensive support, retraining, and educational programming to the BU chapter when we return to active participation in January 2013."
