Pi Kappa Alpha

The Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity at Utah State University had a judicial meeting on Nov. 4. The meeting was held to decide the fate of the USU Pikes. 

After the incident sending a 17-year-old female to the hospital, the chapter was immediately put on probation by USU. Their national headquarters also suspended their chapter.

Now, the situation is one step closer to a resolution. 

The Gamma Epsilon chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha is on a year-long suspension from the university. Their headquarters reinstated the chapter three weeks ago.

The national headquarters is part of the North-American Interfraternity Conference, a governing body responsible for 75 fraternities. The NIC, formerly known as the Interfraternity Conference, assists in situations like these and sets guidelines for the fraternities to follow.

Associate Director of Communication and Marketing at Pi Kappa Alpha, Justin True, said the headquarters waited to see what the university determined after the investigation to decide what would happen to the Gamma Epsilon chapter.

“We were fined five hundred dollars to IFC and we each have to do 30 hours of community service before next fall,” Pike member Ryan Smith said.

During the fraternity’s suspensions from headquarters and USU, they weren’t allowed to participate in any Greek events on the USU campus. “We were basically just guys living in a big house that has Pike on the front,” Smith said. “The morale in the house was really low because we weren’t allowed to have anyone over. All we did was watch movies.”

Pike wasn’t allowed to send pledges through initiation, or hold weekly meetings. Since their chapter was reinstated, they can operate within the fraternity and NIC, but will not be associated with USU until fall 2012. 

The Pikes are still planning on recruiting this spring. “It’s going to be hard to get guys without being associated with Utah State,” member Mark Loosli said.

(s. stephenson and k. warburton)