An image of the Theta Chi fraternity house. Photo by Katie Goss ‘23
By Katie Goss ’23
Business Manager & News Editor
Content warning: this article contains discussion of sexual abuse and drugging.
Students from the University of Massachusetts Amherst led protests on their campus this weekend in response to allegations of sexual assault made against fraternity Theta Chi. A post on the anonymous social media app Yik Yak alleged a first-year student at the university had been drugged and assaulted by a member of the fraternity at a Theta Chi party on Saturday night, Sept. 18. The following Sunday, Sept. 19, around 300 people gathered outside the fraternity house to protest the member’s involvement in the sexual assault allegations.
According to a Boston Globe article, Mark Doherty, a junior at UMass Amherst, said that “at least one police officer already was in the area when demonstrators began to gather.” A little past noon, the fraternity called Amherst Police for assistance due to the growing crowd in front of their house. Amherst Police later called for backup from several other police departments, including Hadley Police, UMass Police and the Massachusetts State Police. Overall, there were about ten officers at the protest.
The protests began peacefully, but escalated as the day went on. According to Doherty, two of the fraternity members came out of the house and mocked the protesters while raising an American flag. One of the protesters threw a water bottle, hitting a fraternity member on the head. After about 2 p.m., the police diffused the group.
Around 7:20 p.m. on the same night, the police witnessed a crowd of students throwing items, such as rocks, through the windows of the fraternity house. The students also vandalized and damaged a fence on the property, as well as some cars. Two students were arrested following these events, on the charges of “disorderly conduct, inciting a riot and failure to disperse from a riot,” according to the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Noah Barton, a junior at UMass Amherst, said, “I participated in the first day of protesting outside of Theta Chi. I unfortunately had to leave due to things getting out of hand.”
The following Monday, Chancellor Kumble Subbaswamy wrote in a letter to the UMass Amherst community. “Let me be unequivocally clear, we condemn sexual violence of any kind,” he wrote. “The allegations of sexual assault that came to light this weekend, prompting an outpouring of concern and outrage among students, are deeply troubling.”
The school encouraged students who have any information relating to the Theta Chi incident, or any other incident of assault or misconduct, to contact the authorities at the school immediately. Because no victim or witness has officially filed a report to the school or police, the school stated they are unable to take legal action at the moment.
“While we respect and support a survivor’s decision whether or not to report an assault or pursue sanctions, we cannot take actions against alleged perpetrators, whether they be individuals or organizations, without actionable evidence,” Subbaswamy wrote in the letter.
A petition circulated online, calling to disband or suspend the Theta Chi chapter. By Tuesday, Sept. 21, it had received about 20,000 signatures.
On Friday, Sept. 24, students also organized a walkout protest. Around 100 students gathered inside of the Whitmore Administration Building to protest outside Subbaswamy’s office. After they found out he was not there, they went to the office of Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs and Campus Life Brandi Hephner LaBanc. She eventually came out and spoke to the students.
Clare Sheedy, a junior at UMass Amherst, told Western Mass News that Hephner LaBanc “expressed that she would be happy to have a meeting with some of us to start out, but it would be a little too difficult to talk to an entire group of people.” Sheedy continued, “We’ll take a meeting to start, but it is not ending there.”
Students also took this time while sitting down in the hallways of the building to discuss their own experiences on campus relating to this issue.
“I have had many close friends have the same or similar experiences at various UMass frats. From what I can tell, it happens often, and the University often does nothing about it,” Helena Middleton, a junior at UMass Amherst, said.
After a week of students speaking out and protesting the fraternity, Michael Mayer, chief executive officer of the fraternity on an international level, wrote a letter to the college on Friday afternoon, calling on Subbaswamy to be an advocate for UMass Amherst’s Theta Chi chapter.
“UMass must publicly acknowledge that Theta Chi has not been found guilty of any crime or violation of any policy and must be afforded the same courtesy and dignity as any other UMass organization or student,” Mayer said. “Leadership from you and other senior administrators is needed to further underscore that vigilante justice is unacceptable and that Theta Chi and its members are deserving of due process and presumption of innocence.”
Some students, like Middleton, believe Mayer’s statement only worsened the situation. “I think the National leader made a horrible move … I think that move made things look even worse for Theta [Chi],” Middleton said.
Scott Livingstone, the Amherst Police Chief, reminded students of multiple resources to report any assaults or unlawful behavior in the community. This included the Amherst and UMass police departments, the Northwestern District Attorney’s office and The Center for Women and Children at UMass.