FAYETTEVILLE -- A chapter of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity at the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville has been sanctioned for hazing, according to a university disciplinary letter.
The fraternity, also known as "Fiji," agreed Wednesday to accept the sanctions rather than request a formal hearing, UA spokesman Scott Flanagin said Thursday.
None of the sanctions were related to alcohol, and no students were hurt, Flanagin said.
Various college and state leaders, including in Arkansas, have in recent years taken steps to crackdown on hazing.
"The university takes all reports of hazing very seriously and investigates all reports," Flanagin said in an email Thursday. "In this case, the organization received sanctions for hazing activities related to asking pledges to give their football tickets to upperclassmen, asking pledges to purchase cleaning supplies and clean the off-campus apartments of upperclassmen, and asking pledges to drive others around town."
Flanagin said no students face individual conduct sanctions.
[DOCUMENT: Read the UA letter to Phi Gamma Delta » arkansasonline.com/1023uafiji/]
Penalties accepted by the fraternity include the cancellation and non-approval of social functions through the current fall semester. The fraternity has 221 members, Flanagin said.
The group was also placed on conduct probation until Oct. 13 of next year, Flanagin said.
"This sanction is imposed when a student organization's actions are found to be serious, but not serious enough to warrant Suspension," states a letter dated Oct. 13 from the university to the fraternity's president.
UA's conduct code broadly defines hazing to include creation of excessive fatigue and "degrading or humiliating games and activities," in addition to excessive or involuntary alcohol use and physical abuse, among other types of hazing.
UA's Office of Student Standards and Conduct "received a report indicating that on September 13, 2021 your organization was alleged to have engaged in hazing activities," states the disciplinary letter from Rachel Eikenberry, director of the UA conduct office.
The fraternity's headquarters for all chapters also levied sanctions "in collaboration with the University of Arkansas," the letter states. The fraternity chapter was given a March 31 deadline to comply with these directives, the letter states.
An Oct. 12 letter from the fraternity's headquarters addressed to Nick Zondlak, the chapter's president, states that the group -- after an informal review -- was found responsible for violating a bylaw prohibiting hazing.
"Members of the Chapter were involved in various activities that did not align with the Fraternity's expectations around new member education," states the letter, which listed various sanctions, including a requirement for at least 90% of members to participate in a hazing prevention program by the end of February.
Neither Zondlak nor the fraternity's headquarters responded to requests for comment made via email and a phone message left Thursday with the executive director for the fraternal organization.
Elsewhere, the University of Missouri this week, along the Phi Gamma Delta headquarters, temporarily suspended a chapter of the fraternity.
The University of Missouri also halted all campus fraternity activities after a freshman required medical treatment at a hospital following a fraternity drinking party, according to an Associated Press report. The Kansas City Star reported Friday that the university said several fraternity members "consumed significant amounts of alcohol" and that the university has not provided further details.
The Associated Press cited The Columbia (Mo.) Missourian as reporting that about 200 people gathered Wednesday outside the Phi Gamma Delta House there, some chanting, "Stop the hazing. We want justice."
An Instagram profile describes the fraternity's UA chapter as the largest Fiji chapter in the country. It was established at UA in 1969, according to the university's website.
The UA chapter must also make a $1,500 payment to the university's education fund, according to the disciplinary letter.
"Payments to the educational fund support the student conduct office and its efforts to provide education and outreach to the campus community regarding the prevention and reporting of hazing and other situations covered in the Code of Student Life," Flanagin said in an email.
