William Cummings

USA TODAY

The University of Virginia has suspended all fraternities and their social activities until Jan. 9 while the school reviews its policies regarding sexual assault, the university's president announced Saturday.

"Beginning immediately, I am suspending all fraternal organizations and associated social activities until January 9th, ahead of the beginning of our spring semester," University of Virginia President Teresa Sullivan announced in a statement on the university's website. "In the intervening period we will assemble groups of students, faculty, alumni, and other concerned parties to discuss our next steps in preventing sexual assault and sexual violence on Grounds."

The decision comes amid a police investigation of an alleged rape of a female freshman by seven men at a fraternity party in September 2012.

The alleged sexual assault gained national attention after the publication of a Rolling Stone article online Wednesday that describes a university culture that discourages students from coming forward with assault allegations and an administration that would prefer to sweep such cases under the rug in order to protect the school's reputation.

"The wrongs described in Rolling Stone are appalling and have caused all of us to reexamine our responsibility to this community," Sullivan says in the statement. "Rape is an abhorrent crime that has no place in the world, let alone on the campuses and grounds of our nation's colleges and universities."

In May, U.Va. was listed among 55 schools facing a federal investigation under the Title IX law for its handling of sexual assault allegations.

Gov. Terry McAuliffe said he was "deeply disturbed" by the Rolling Stone article and called for a "zero-tolerance strategy to combat campus sexual assault" in a statement Thursday. He also called for a full review of the school's policies and said outside experts should be brought in to assist in the process.

On Wednesday, the university announced its new sexual misconduct policy, which is currently posted online for public comment. The revisions add an outline of students' options in reporting an assault, including filing the report online, and new definitions for terms such as "stalking," "intimate partner violence" and "effective consent."

"Meaningful change is necessary, and we can lead that change for all universities," Sullivan said in her statement. "We can demand that incidents like those described in Rolling Stone never happen and that if they do, the responsible are held accountable to the law."

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