COLLEGE PARK, Md. — A group of students and fraternities petitioned the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland for a temporary restraining order against administrators at the University of Maryland.
The petition comes after UMD suspended Greek Life activities almost two weeks ago.
RELATED: UMD issues cease and desist order to IFC and PHA fraternities and sororities
According to a release from the Fraternity Forward Coalition, the restraining order would bar UMD from implementing restrictions on ordinary and philanthropic activity that administrators outlined at the beginning of March.
“We have never seen such an egregious abuse of power in higher education administration. Administrators began with their preferred outcome – that fraternities and sororities must be cut down to size. So, they launched a dragnet operation that infringes students’ civil liberties and subverts the school’s own administrative procedures,” Fraternity Forward Coalition spokesman Wynn Smiley said. “This new ‘guilt by association’ standard affects not only the one in seven University of Maryland students who are in fraternities and sororities, but it also creates a chilling effect throughout the student body that administrators can, on a whim, violate their rights to freedom of association and due process and then coerce them into participating in a meritless interrogation rife with innuendo and speculation.”
The halt that came from university administrators noted multiple allegations of misconduct that ‘threatened the safety and well-being of members of the university community.’
The cease-and-desist letter mentioned an emergency meeting where all Fraternity and Sorority Life Councils were warned that further allegations could result in a cease-and-desist order for one or more councils. Despite the warning, more accusations were reported the following day.
“Instead of teaching and promoting the First Amendment, the University of Maryland hoped it could intimidate students and prevent them from understanding that their constitutionally protected rights are being violated. They were mistaken,” Smiley said. “If the University of Maryland is willing to take such unwarranted and drastic action against thousands of fraternity and sorority students, it is naïve to assume all other students would not be subject to similar tactics. Therefore, we are prepared to pursue any and all legal remedies and restorative actions that allow Greek organizations to resume normal activities on campus and hold to account those who unlawfully violated students’ civil liberties.”
In a statement, the University of Maryland tells WMAR-2 News:
"The University of Maryland expects to update its campus community tomorrow on the status of the investigation that was launched to prioritize the well-being of our students. We won't comment further on the recent court filing, other than to state that our process is in line with university policies and puts safety at the forefront."
Below is a copy of that filing.
