IU fraternity closes doors for remainder of academic year after COVID-19 violation

Monroe County, Indiana – A fraternity at Indiana University is shutting down for the remainder of the academic year after it committed a COVID-19-related health violation, the Monroe County Health Department announced Thursday.

The health department says Delta Upsilon hosted a large gathering, significantly bigger than is allowed by local regulation, with no physical distancing or mask-wearing during the early morning hours of November 1.

MCHD says they are currently attempting to verify the extent to which people may have been in contact and to what extent this gathering has resulted in the spread of COVID-19.

The department says it determined after reviewing a report made by local law enforcement and speaking with representatives of Indiana University and Delta Upsilon that individual members of Delta Upsilon “instituted, permitted, or maintained conditions which may transmit the spread of COVID-19, in violation of Indiana Code 16-20-1-25.”

MCHD added that individual members of the fraternity were less than cooperative with law enforcement initially, which hindered local health officials from determining the extent of the virus concerns.

“The Department, through its legal counsel, made clear to those involved that public health concerns required swift action to ensure that members of Delta Upsilon could no longer take actions which threaten the health of Monroe County residents,” said the health department in a release. “The Department is mandated by state law to protect the public health from infectious diseases, such as COVID-19, and is required to abate conditions which may result in the spread of disease.”

According to MCHD, Delta Upsilon leadership took responsibility and accountability for the actions of their organization’s members, and all parties involved determined that Delta Upsilon will shut its house down for the remainder of the academic year and through the summer of 2021.

During this time, Delta Upsilon will focus on developing an internal system of controls and the leadership skills necessary to become a positive example among Greek life at IU, according to the health department.

The agreement relieves the need for MCHD to impose formal enforcement action as “the agreement directly and successfully addresses the Department’s stated concerns and prevents any future violations by Delta Upsilon this academic year.”