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University Of Central Florida Puts Places Sorority, Fraternity On Probation

University Of Central Florida Puts Places Sorority, Fraternity On Probation

By Denise-Marie Ordway, Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, FL — In the latest incident involving Greek students and alcohol at the University of Central Florida, a fraternity and sorority have been put on probation for a year.

The chapters were disciplined after a fraternity member was charged with sexually assaulting a member of the sorority. But the decision was not connected to the rape case, in which Marlon Austin De La Cruz, 22, of Orlando, was arrested in early April.

Instead, the Delta Zeta sorority and Zeta Beta Tau fraternity were sanctioned earlier this month because the incident involved drinking and other conduct violations, school officials said.

The rape investigation prompted UCF to look into what happened after a social the chapters held together at a downtown Orlando bar in late March.

Earlier, UCF suspended its Chi Omega sorority chapter for alcohol-related misconduct and hazing. Three sorority members were accused of blindfolding two pledges, forcing them to drink an entire bottle of rum and then abandoning them in a campus parking garage to find their way home.

A year ago, UCF lifted a suspension it had placed on many Greek activities during an increase in allegations of hazing and alcohol abuse. At the time, officials said they took such drastic steps to try to change Greek culture.

Four fraternities and sororities have been disciplined for alcohol-related misconduct in the past year, said Chad Binette, a university spokesman. It was not clear whether those included the latest incident.

On March 27, a member of the Delta Zeta sorority said she was sexually assaulted in the back seat of a car on the drive from the bar in downtown Orlando back to UCF. The woman, whose age was not released, told police she was so drunk she could not stop the attack or call out to her boyfriend, who was driving the car.

De La Cruz was suspended from Zeta Beta Tau after the allegation surfaced, said Laurence Bolotin, executive director of the fraternity with headquarters in Indianapolis. Bolotin said De La Cruz had been kicked out of the fraternity by the time the State Attorney’s Office charged him May 13 with sexual battery, a second-degree felony.

Because of student-privacy rules, UCF officials could not say whether they have taken or will take any disciplinary action against De La Cruz.

The university sent letters to the local chapters of Delta Zeta and Zeta Beta Tau on May 27 and May 12, respectively, saying their probations would last through the spring 2015 semester. All events held by either must be alcohol-free.

Binette said neither organization had been disciplined or sanctioned by UCF for any offense within at least the last five years.

Staff writer Tiffany Walden contributed to this report.

Photo: University of Central Florida via Flickr

University Suspends Sorority Amid Hazing Allegation

University Suspends Sorority Amid Hazing Allegation

By Denise-Marie Ordway and Tiffany Walden, Orlando Sentinel

ORLANDO, Florida — The University of Central Florida has suspended its Chi Omega chapter over hazing allegations against three members of the sorority, who are accused of blindfolding two pledges and taking them to woods on campus to drain an entire bottle of rum.

The University of Central Florida police department also is investigating the April 4 incident.

After the two drank the bottle, the pledges were taken to a school parking garage and abandoned, according to a report from UCF. The only injury reported involved a pledge who scraped and bruised her hand and arm after she fell while trying to find her way home.

The boyfriend of one of the women eventually picked them up and dropped them off at an apartment on campus. No names or ages were released.

The university learned about the incident April 10, after it was reported to the sorority’s national headquarters. It comes almost exactly a year after UCF lifted the suspension it placed on many Greek activities amid a spike in allegations of hazing and alcohol abuse.

In February 2013, Florida’s largest public university halted all fraternity and sorority social events and initiations. It also required each group to come up with a new plan for preventing and controlling behavior.

On Wednesday, UCF spokesman Chad Binette said the university goes to great lengths to warn students about alcohol and hazing. Both were the subjects of dozens of presentations and workshops this school year involving fraternities and sororities, he said.

All incoming students are required to participate in AlcoholEdu, an online interactive program that focuses on student drinking and the effects of alcohol, before they can register for classes.

“The start of a new school year always presents an opportunity to look into ways we can enhance those efforts, for fraternity and sorority members and also our entire student body,” Binette said.

The three Chi Omega members involved have resigned from the sorority, said a spokeswoman for the sorority’s national headquarters in Memphis.

UCF sent a letter to the president of the sorority chapter Monday saying the group was being placed on interim suspension, effective immediately.

That means it cannot participate in any fundraisers, socials or service projects. It can only gather for regularly scheduled business meetings approved by the university.

The chapter president could not be reached for comment.

The university is scheduled to meet with a sorority representative April 25 to determine whether the chapter’s suspension should continue. The group is accused of disruptive conduct, hazing and alcohol-related misconduct, including giving alcohol to someone under age 21.

Photo: Schoolfun5 via Flickr