Indiana University fraternity suspended amid allegations of assault, anti-Semitic and racist slurs

Kristin Lam | USA TODAY

Show Caption Hide Caption Syracuse fraternity suspended after racist video emerges on a FB page Theta Tau at Syracuse University...suspended after a controversial video surfaced with members using racist, anti-Semitic, homophobic and sexist language. Veuer's Nick Cardona has that story.

A fraternity at Indiana University in Bloomington is under investigation for allegations of physical assault and anti-Semitic and racial slurs, officials said.

Campus police and the Monroe County Prosecutor’s Office are reviewing an incident that took place at the fraternity Friday night, according to a statement released Sunday by the university.

The announcement comes amid increased scrutiny of college fraternities across the nation and a month after Syracuse University halted all fraternity social activities because of suspected ties to racist and anti-Semitic incidents. In the past year, at least five young men have died in circumstances involving fraternities, including in Pennsylvania and Washington state.

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Members of the Bloomington fraternity cannot host or participate in activities until the case is resolved, the university said. The Interfraternity Council has also suspended the unidentified chapter, one of more than 70 fraternities and sororities on campus.

"Indiana University condemns bias or violence in any form and will hold individuals and organizations accountable," the university said in its statement. "Diversity and inclusion are core values that we expect to be shared by all IU students."

About 43,000 students attend Indiana University's flagship campus, according to the school's website, and nearly a quarter of its 2018 domestic freshman class are people of color. The university estimates 20% of its students belong to a Greek organization.

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Responses to toxic behavior sometimes associated with fraternities have varied. Swarthmore College this year banned frats and sororities on its campus after it was discovered that one fraternity had been writing misogynistic messages in internal documents. The University of Georgia also suspended a fraternity in March for a video that appeared to show its members using racial slurs and mocking slavery. The fraternity said it expelled four members involved in the video.

Contributing: Chris Quintana and N'dea Yancey-Bragg