AKA Sued

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com

On February 28, two students at Howard University sued in an effort to become  members of the Alpha Chapter of the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority. They claim that they have been denied membership in the organiza­tion because they refused to participate in the hazing which was a part of the membership intake process. The suit named the national Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority and Howard Univer­sity as the only two Defendants.

The suit identified the potential members as legacies of Alpha Kappa Alpha and high achievers with strong GPA’s. The Plaintiffs claimed that Howard University’s restrictions on the number of members that Alpha Kappa Alpha could admit in any year as well as Alpha Kappa Alpha’s own policies violated Plaintiffs rights. Plaintiffs sought compensatory damages in excess of $75,000, an order of specific perfor­mance that they be admitted into the membership intake pro­cess and injunctive relief prohibiting any new members from being admitted during the pendency of the lawsuit.

Within a week of the lawsuit being filed, the Federal District Court considering the case had denied both the Plain­tiffs request for a temporary restraining order and the request for injunctive relief. The suit remains pending.