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Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Wesleyan University orders fraternities to become co-ed

Associated Press

MIDDLETOWN, Conn. – Wesleyan University in Connecticut on Monday ordered its fraternities with houses on campus to become coeducational within three years, a move it says is not just about bad behavior but also equality.

Wesleyan follows Trinity College in Hartford, which began the transition in 2012, citing problems with drinking and drug use in Greek organizations. It also comes less than a month after Wesleyan closed the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house after a woman attending a party there was seriously injured after falling from a third-floor window.

But school spokeswoman Kate Carlisle said the changes are not a response to any one incident.

“This has been the subject of ongoing concern and discussion … for a number of years,” she said.

The decision was announced in a letter to the university community from President Michael Roth and trustees Chairman Joshua Boger. It requires Greek organizations with houses on campus to have both male and female members and to have each gender “well represented” in their organizational leadership to qualify for housing on campus and the use of university spaces.

“Our residential Greek organizations inspire loyalty, community and independence. That’s why all our students should be eligible to join them,” Roth and Boger wrote.

Wesleyan, a private liberal arts school in Middletown, has no residential sororities and just two active all-male residential fraternities. Neither immediately responded to requests for comment.