FIRE Calls on Bloomsburg U. to Restore Greek Chapters That Were Disbanded Without Due Process
“Bloomsburg wrongly served as judge, jury, and executioner for 17 student groups whose only crime is having Greek letters in their name”
Bloomsburg University in Pennsylvania suspended 17 Greek chapters with no due process. Now the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education is getting involved.
From the FIRE Newsdesk:
GREEK RUINS: FIRE calls on Bloomsburg to restore 17 Greek chapters disbanded without due process
After Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania disbanded its entire Greek life system without due process, the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education says: not so fast. Today, FIRE calls on the university to reinstate its Greek life system and respect student due process rights by allowing any group accused of misconduct a fair hearing.
“Bloomsburg wrongly served as judge, jury, and executioner for 17 student groups whose only crime is having Greek letters in their name,” said FIRE Program Officer Zach Greenberg, author of FIRE’s letter. “Its decision to unilaterally punish innocent students for conduct they did not commit amounts to guilt by association — an egregious practice that has no place at any institution of higher education.”
The decision stems from an attempt to address several recent incidents of misconduct. Bloomsburg President Bashar W. Hanna sent a letter to the Fraternity and Sorority Life community in January warning that any “future significant violation of Greek specific rules or Code of Conduct violations will result in the cancelation of the entire FSL community at Bloomsburg University.”
FIRE responded with a letter arguing that Hanna’s threat amounted to guilt by association, which is banned by the First Amendment and has been decried by the U.S. Supreme Court as “a philosophy alien to the traditions of a free society and the First Amendment itself.”
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