Two fraternities at the University of Michigan-Flint spoke out in support of Jane Doe after the events of a lawsuit alleging that she was sexually assaulted and drugged at a frat house on the campus of Cornell University.
The civil lawsuit alleged that Jane Doe, a sorority member at Cornell University, was pressured into taking illicit substances and was then sexually assaulted by seven members of the Chi Phi fraternity at Cornell University.
In a statement made on Sep. 30, Sheehan Nathani, president of Theta Chi Fraternity at UM-Flint, spoke out against this action.
“Our chapter unequivocally condemns sexual violence, harassment and any other behavior that compromises another person’s safety, dignity or autonomy,” Nathani said in the statement.
In a separate statement made by Kappa Sigma, President Owen Thomas said that the events do not represent fraternity values.
“The events at Cornell do not represent the standards that define Greek life…fraternities are built on brotherhood, respect, responsibility, accountability, and creating positive communities,” Thomas said in the statement.
Nathani also said that leadership in these fraternities carries a certain sense of responsibility.
“I believe that leadership carries that responsibility… and we released the statement on the principle that sexual violence is an issue that deserves attention,” Nathani said.
Maxwell Loxton is a writer for the Michigan Times he can be reached at mloxton@umich.edu.
