Two weeks after the death of SAE brother George Desdunes ’13, the Interfraternity Council has abruptly cancelled all registered social events amid pressure to maintain a safe social atmosphere.
“With respect to recent events that have occurred within our system, as well as the presence of the Board of Trustees on our campus, the Greek system has voted and decided to cancel all fraternity social events this weekend,” IFC President Daniel Freshman ’12 wrote to fraternities in an email this evening.
“We understand that this is last minute, and do apologize for the inconvenience that will fall upon those who have scheduled events for this weekend. However, it must be noted that as more discussions occur around recent events, we will be expected to embody the change that must come within our system,” the email said.
The email goes on:
Our system of self-governance is a privilege, and one that we deeply treasure at all levels of our system. However, in this testing time we must prove ourselves worthy of that privilege and show our ability to recognize the need for change when we see it. This decision will not serve as a precedent for future week-by-week votes to cancel social events. It must still be noted that this is one weekend with no social events, and as such, the consequences for incidents that may occur this weekend as a reflection of functions within our system will reflect more severely on houses found responsible and additionally upon our system as a whole and the privileges that come with our current status.
Anyone who has questions regarding this policy is encouraged to reach out to their chapter presidents, or to their respective council presidents or vice presidents of judicial affairs. We apologize again for the short notice, and wish you a safe and relaxing weekend.
