Social events will be paused on Greek Row until at least March 8, according to a joint executive order released Wednesday night by the WSU Interfraternity Council and Panhellenic Executive Council.
The councils ordered a temporary pause on all social events involving alcohol, including formals, exchanges and any other event where alcohol is present. It will be in place until March 8, at which point chapters can earn back their privilege to host social events by meeting requirements laid out in the order.
The order comes after 82 phone calls were made to the police over the weekend, according to an Instagram post by the Pullman Police Department. Those calls included three DUIs, five noise complaints, five collisions and nine civil dispute calls.
It is unclear how many of the 82 phone calls were directly related to Greek Row activities. However, the order cited “an increase in serious safety-related incidents” relating to misuse of substances at social events and “falls from heights.”
There are two confirmed cases of an individual falling from a fraternity house, the first occurring at Beta Theta Pi and the second occurring at Phi Sigma Kappa.
The council’s requirements for reinstatement include new safety guidelines. Chapters will be required to hold a safety training “focused on preventing fall-from-heights risk,” according to the order. They must also obtain a Passing Fire and Life Safety Inspection Report from the Pullman Fire Department, among other requirements outlined in the order.
“I don’t really think it helps, necessarily, because students are now just going to feel like they don’t want to call [the cops] if they’re in trouble,” said Sienna Fairley, a member of Alpha Delta Pi. “It reminds me of back in 2023 when we did the same thing.”
Fairley said the last time this happened, students involved in Greek life continued to break the rules and stopped calling the police out of fear of punishment.
“People are gonna drink regardless, because they don’t really respect the rules,” said Fairley. “But I’m hopeful that maybe, because people are falling out of windows and stuff, maybe it will bring some change. Because we do need some change.”
Chapters must also now submit an “after-event report” after every social event they host until April 25, the last day chapters are allowed to host events.
