phi mu placed on probation

miamistudent.net/phi-mu-put-on-probation-for-alcoh ol-violations-during-recruitment/

Miami’s chapter of Phi Mu was placed under social probation by the university last month on April 20.

The punishment follows an investigation into an annual semi-secret party hosted by the sorority on the night of Preference Round during recruitment.

The Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution (OESCR) charged Phi Mu with violating sections of the student code of conduct concerning underage drinking as well as “retaliation,” according to an OESCR final outcomes report.

Phi Mu will remain under probation until “80% of the active members and 100% of the new members” complete a two-hour alcohol education program, according to the document.

The sorority will also be required to create a 30-minute presentation “discussing how the chapter has learned from this event and what steps are in place to prevent a similar incident from occurring in the future.” Both the alcohol education requirement and the presentation must be completed by Sept. 30, 2018.

The final outcomes report does not specify the circumstances that resulted in the punishments for Phi Mu.

A second document, a report submitted to OESCR, describes a party that flies in the face of Panhellenic (PA) no-alcohol-during recruitment rule. The event is thrown every year on the night of the Preference Round during sorority recruitment. This year, Preference Round fell on Saturday, Feb. 10.

“The event itself is never organized in writing (i.e. groupme, text message, email, etc.) to maintain its secrecy and minimize evidence. Event details are communicated during recruitment workshops, as it is a convenient time when all members are present,” reads the document. “Chapter members’ cellphones are placed in boxes labeled ‘sophomores,’ ‘juniors,’ and ‘seniors’ … again to minimize evidence of the event occurring.”

The document claims the event “is widely known within the Fraternity and Sorority community.”

It goes on to describe the events of the night of Feb. 10.

According to the report, PA executive board was informed of the time and location of the unsanctioned event shortly before it was supposed to start. Three members of the board took it upon themselves to confirm the party was, in fact, going on.

The PA execs arrived and were welcomed to the party by a sorority member: “Oh, you can definitely just go on in.”

The board members entered the party and saw sophomores, juniors and seniors drinking boxed wine. The exec members began photographing wine, solo cups and the women in attendance — photographs (in redacted form) attached to the report. The attendees did not immediately recognize the board members, though they were wearing Panhellenic shirts, according to the report.

The board members proceeded to close down the event and report it to PA. The sorority was brought to PA mediation and placed on indefinite social probation, which has now ended (this Panhellenic-imposed probation is separate from and precedes the punishment handed down by the university in April). The sorority was also given a temporary curfew and dry period, according to the document.