Rutgers: No More Frat Parties

For this semester, the party's already over for all 86 fraternities and sororities at Rutgers University. After a series of alcohol-related incidents at the New Jersey university—and fraternity scandals across the country—officials say they have "placed a moratorium through the end of the semester on parties in fraternity and sorority houses," NJ.com reports. The Greek organizations will still be allowed to hold end-of-year formals off-campus. The president of the Rutgers Panhellenic Association tells the Daily Targum that the move is "not a punishment for our community," but a "yellow light to allow us to reflect on how and what we can do" to be a better community.

The Rutgers incidents this year include the death of 19-year-old Caitlyn Kovacs from alcohol poisoning after a Delta Kappa Epsilon party in September, and the hospitalization of a "severely intoxicated" Sigma Phi Epsilon member six weeks later, NJ.com reports. A freshman frat member tells NBC New York that the decision is unsurprising in light of the "many cases of poor decisions made," and he plans to keep enjoying other aspects of Greek life. "We still have our community serve, we still have intramurals," he says. "We still have everything else." (The University of Houston suspended a frat last month amid rumors of booze waterboarding.)