12/12/2023
A Chapter Update:
On November 27th, the DU International Fraternity Board of Directors Revoked the Indiana Charter Granted to The Wrangler Society In 1915 on December 11.
Yesterday, December 11th, would have marked the 108th year of continuous operation of the Indiana Chapter at Indiana University. Two weeks ago, on November 27th, the DU International Fraternity (DUIF) Board of Directors revoked the Charter of DU@IU as a result of the findings from an investigation into the October 11th report of hazing. The recent report came while the Chapter was on re-organization status as a result of an investigation from a similar report in March 2023 that found deficiencies in undergraduate chapter operations (but did not corroborate the March report of hazing).
The DUIF Board of Directors also placed the membership of every undergraduate member in emergency suspension status and released the Associate Members from their affiliation with the Fraternity.
DUIF is expected to communicate sometime this week with our alumni base for whom it has valid e-mail addresses. It is unknown at this time the terms and timeline – if any – for possible return of the Chapter to campus, but that topic may be addressed in the expected communication from DUIF. Your link to the Fraternity is through the DU Portal which you can find, and create a profile to update your contact information, at: https://app.fsid.org/register
Our volunteer Alumni House Corporation Board is wrapping up operations with the Chapter House closing this Saturday (12/16), the conclusion of this semester.
The DUIF staff has been our biggest ally the past seven-plus years, including this entire calendar year until our undergraduate members breached the trust and squandered the opportunity DUIF extended through the Fall 2023 reorganization and chapter redevelopment plan.
Notably, this conclusion did not occur in the vacuum of this semester. The culture of the undergraduate membership has been challenging since the campus re-opened in the Fall 2020 following the Spring 2020 Covid closure. But, DU@IU remained closed for the remainder of the 2020-2021 academic year following an undergraduate party on Halloween 2020, in violation of every local health department rule and IU policies for communal living during a global pandemic. We returned to occupancy in Fall 2021. And, we never returned to the high performance we enjoyed prior to the pandemic, when we were recognized as one of the top seven DU Chapters in North America.
One current undergraduate stated it best: “We don’t deserve this house. I am sorry.”
Another person observed: “It shouldn’t be this difficult. Indiana alumni deserve better.”
