Breaking: Violators of rush ban to be suspended
Freshmen will be prohibited from attending formal and semiformal events held by Greek organizations, among other activities that affiliate freshmen with fraternities and sororities, beginning in Fall 2012, according to the report of the Freshmen Rush Policy Implementation Committee. In addition to explicitly enumerating the details on how the ban will be implemented, the report — which was released by the University at 2 p.m. today — threatens to ban fraternities and sororities altogether if there is not widespread compliance with the policy. “When President [Shirley] Tilghman met with our Committee in December, she suggested that in the future, violations of the prohibition on freshman affiliation can be expected to further reduce the University’s tolerance of sophomore, junior and senior affiliation,” the report reads. In October, Tilghman charged the committee with describing exactly what types of activities should be prohibited under the ban, which was announced in August, as well as recommending appropriate penalties and devising a strategy to effectively communicate the terms of the ban to the student body. Tilghman will make a final decision on the policies recommended by the committee later this spring.