BLACKSBURG, Va. (AP) - Virginia Tech has removed a sorority from campus because of several incidents of alcohol consumption inside the chapter's house.
The university has denied recognition of the Delta Zeta chapter for two years after a pattern of incidents of members drinking in the sorority house, Byron Hughes, assistant director of student conduct, said Monday. Such incidents violated an in-house alcohol ban set by the national sorority as well as the university, Hughes said.
The violations occurred over the last couple years, with the latest incident reported in January. The university informed the sorority the following month of its decision to deny recognition, which means the group cannot use university facilities, recruit members or otherwise operate as a campus organization.
University officials say sorority members living in the house can stay there until the end of the school year. Virginia Tech's campus housing division administers leases for Delta Zeta and the 11 other sorority houses.
A representative of Delta Zeta's national office didn't return a phone message left Monday.
Since the start of the 2009-10 school year, five Virginia Tech fraternities have lost university recognition for alcohol-related violations, Hughes said. The length of such sanctions ranges from two to four semesters, and it depends on the severity of the violations and the group's history of student conduct.
The fraternities are Alpha Epsilon Phi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Tau Kappa Epsilon, Phi Kappa Psi and Alpha Tau Omega, he said. The school's club rugby team also lost university recognition.
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