IU placed Kappa Kappa Gamma on cease and desist Thursday evening following the Indiana Daily Student's investigation of alleged hazing incidents published that morning.
Cease and desist is an interim measure placed on chapter operations during an ongoing investigation or immediate threat, according to IU’s definitions for organizations on disciplinary status. Kappa Kappa Gamma’s organizational activities are suspended for as long as the sorority is on cease and desist.
An IDS investigation published Thursday morning detailed hazing allegations from women who were affiliated with Kappa Kappa Gamma.
Read the investigation here: [A former IU Kappa Kappa Gamma member alleges her pledge class was hazed in 2020]
IU spokesperson Chuck Carney said in an email Thursday evening that the university does not tolerate hazing. He encouraged students to report information to the Division of Student Affairs.
In a statement sent to the IDS Friday morning, Kappa Kappa Gamma’s national headquarters said they suspended chapter operations and opened an investigation into these allegations immediately after learning of them, working in tandem with university officials.
“Kappa Kappa Gamma takes very seriously any allegation of physical, emotional or psychological abuse of its members and we absolutely do not tolerate violence or abuse of any kind,” the statement said.
The sorority values diversity and inclusion and expects members to “promote integrity, respect and regard for others,” the statement said.
“We will not stand by while instances of violence or the threat of violence are perpetuated among our membership,” the statement said. “The health and safety of our members are always our top priority.”
Langdan Willoughby, 19, alleged that her 2020 pledge class was hazed by older sisters last year during the chapter’s Big Little Night, an annual event when pledges find out which older member of the sorority is their "Big sister" and mentor.
She said pledges were taken to a dark basement and told they must choose between doing a line of cocaine or giving a blowjob to fraternity men. The women didn’t have to follow through with it, she said. A psychologist and expert described this as hazing.
Two other women present corroborated key details of Willoughby’s story. One said the sisters told the pledge class “blow or blow” was their punishment “for being the worst pledge class ever” before telling them it was a joke.
Two more women from different pledge classes said they had similar experiences on Kappa Kappa Gamma’s Big Little Night. They were not threatened with “blow or blow,” they said. One woman from the 2019 pledge class said her pledge class was verbally harassed. Another said her pledge class was told to strip naked and run into the woods. The sisters said they wouldn’t have to go through with it, the woman said.
IU defines hazing as “any conduct that subjects another person, whether physically, mentally, emotionally, or psychologically, to anything that may endanger, abuse, degrade, or intimidate the person as a condition of association with a group or organization, regardless of the person’s consent or lack of consent.”
This story has been updated to include statements from Kappa Kappa Gamma’s national headquarters and IU spokesperson Chuck Carney.
