MU fraternity kicked out of its house for two years

COLUMBIA - Two members of the Delta Upsilon fraternity, who wished to remain anonymous, told KOMU 8 News Monday night the fraternity has been kicked out of its house on the University of Missouri campus.

The university placed the fraternity on temporary suspension in September 2016 and has received citations for other violations since the beginning of the semester.

In a news release sent Tuesday, Delta Upsilon's Board of Directors announced it voted to suspend the chapter following a Nov. 19 meeting. The press release said this suspension means all chapter operations have been stopped indefinitely, and all initiated members have been placed on a suspension notice.

DU officials said the suspension is a result of repeated violations of fraternity and university police and state law. The press release identified three dates during the 2016 fall semester - Aug. 27, Sept. 9 and Sept. 16 - where it says DU hosted social events that had multiple violations of policy.

"The Missouri chapter has been an important part of the Fraternity and university community for decades," Justin Kirk, Delta Upsilon International Fraternity Executive Director, said Tuesday. "However, in recent years, the chapter has struggled to follow Fraternity policy despite unprecedented levels of support from staff, alumni, and the university."

The Board of Directors said it did not base the decision to suspend DU on the members' alleged involvement in an incident with the Legion of Black Collegians in September. DU officials said the chapter and LBC have been working through a mediation process with the MU Office of Civil Rights & Title IX and hope to resolve the issue soon.

The chapter house is owned by a local house corporation alumni and not the International Fraternity. Officials with DU said members currently living in the house have the option to stay through the spring semester but can't represent themselves as a chapter of Delta Upsilon.

"Delta Upsilon is committed to being an integral, productive part of any campus community, therefore, we hold all of our members and chapters accountable to a set of standards," Kirk said. "Unfortunately, repeated failure to meet those standards led to this tough decision."

DU and the University of Missouri have negotiated the chapter's potential return to campus as early as the fall 2018 semester.

[Editor's note: KOMU.com has updated this story with a statement from the international fraternity.]