Brown Sanctions 2 Frats Over Parties, 'Sexual Misconduct'

Brown University has imposed tough sanctions on two fraternities that held unlicensed parties, including one where a student said she was sexually assaulted after drinking punch spiked with a date-rape drug. That fraternity, Phi Kappa Psi, has lost university recognition for four years and will lose its housing, reports the Providence Journal. Another, Sigma Chi, is on probation, has had its privileges suspended until next fall, and will be "ineligible to conduct recruitment, rush, or initiation processes," the university said in a statement. Officials say a student reported being touched in a sexual nature as the Department of Public Safety shut down an unregistered Sigma Chi party in October.

No member of either fraternity has been charged with sexual misconduct, but the university says they're responsible "for creating an environment that facilitated sexual misconduct through improperly monitored spaces and inadequate safeguards surrounding the service of alcohol." Officials tell the Brown Daily Herald that Phi Kappa Psi received the toughest sanctions because of its history of infractions, and many members have already been moved out of the frat house. The university has also decided to ban registered events with alcohol in residential areas, including Greek houses, although they can still be held in spaces designated for parties. (The University of Virginia recently reinstated its Phi Kappa Psi chapter.)