Sorority sues UMD, says free speech rights were violated

A sorority is suing the University of Maryland over its suspension of Greek life on campus, saying school administrators forced students to undergo mandatory interrogations as part of an investigation or face discipline.

The lawsuit, brought by the Gamma Mu Chapter of Kappa Alpha Theta Fraternity and six unnamed members and filed in U.S. District Court on Thursday night, seeks a restraining order against school administrators stopping them from “viewpoint discrimination” against fraternities and sororities.

The lawsuit is the latest shot in a battle between fraternal organizations and the university since March 1, when school administrators suspended all 21 fraternities and 16 sororities on campus.

The suspension, issued by James Bond, director of student conduct, and James McShay, the assistant vice president overseeing fraternity and sorority life, voiced concern that groups were “conducting activities that have threatened the safety and well-being of members of the University community.”

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University officials lifted the complete ban after two weeks, instead limiting the restrictions to five organizations under investigation for serving alcohol and hazing.

The sorority said university administrators, including Bond, violated the University of Maryland’s code on free speech by prohibiting current members from speaking with new and prospective members about any subject, not just fraternal life, and restricted the free-speech rights of students, the lawsuit says.

To have the restrictions lifted, according to the lawsuit, the university required that students submit to a mandatory interrogation by attorneys retained by the school under threat of discipline for refusal to comply.

“During interrogations, students were not permitted to be accompanied, in-person, by their own attorneys,” the lawsuit states.

The suspension of Greek life came after the university received multiple complaints of hazing and physical abuse at fraternities and sororities, according to court filings in a related lawsuit.

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The allegations included beating new or prospective members with a paddle, and burning prospective members with cigarettes and torches, forcing them to lie on nails and forcing them to consume “things that are not food,” including live fish, tobacco and urine.

The chapter members did not provide the students with water, according to the new filings, and they drank only straight vodka.

Along with a permanent injunction against the school, the sorority and six members identified only as “John Does” are seeking unspecified compensatory and punitive damages.

Brett Barrouquere

brett.barrouquere@thebaltimorebanner.com