Six fraternities split from USC after party crackdown

Six fraternities separated from University of Southern California on Friday, after the university imposed strict safety rules intended to make parties safer for students, especially women, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Mu, Sigma Chi, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Kappa Alpha Order and Zeta Beta Tau are disaffiliating with the university, following a similar move by fraternities at the University of Michigan, Duke University and the University of Colorado Boulder.

The new rules, which the university drew up last year following a flurry of reports of sexual assaults and drugging at fraternity houses, include requiring security guards at parties, banning kegs, using scanners to check for fake IDs and requiring wrist bands for partygoers over age 21.

“We are disappointed that some USC fraternities are following an unfortunate national trend by disaffiliating from the university — against our strong recommendations,” USC said in an Instagram statement Friday night, the newspaper reported. “This decision seems to be driven by the desire to eliminate university oversight of their operations … and goes against 130 years of tradition.”

The fraternities did not respond to the Times’ request for a comment.