×
  • Home
  • About
    • Firm Overview
    • Experience
    • Fraternal Law Conference
    • Conference Sponsorship
  • Our Attorneys
    • Overview
    • Timothy M. Burke
    • Sean P. Callan
    • John E. Christopher
    • Amy M. Hebbeler
    • Patrick K. Hogan
    • Micah E. Kamrass
    • Ilana L. Linder
    • Jacklyn D. Olinger
    • Jacob W. Purcell
    • Jeffrey C. Sun
  • Practice Areas
    • Overview
    • Real Estate and Housing
    • Tax
    • Employment Issues
    • Corporate Governance
    • Grant-Making
    • Litigation
    • Risk Management & Hazing
    • Fundraising & Stewardship
    • State Registration for Greek Foundations
  • Client Resources
  • Anti-Hazing
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Join Our Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
  • Newsletter

The health and safety of our employees, customers and communities are our top priority. Read about our response to COVID-19.

  • Home
  • About
    • Firm Overview
    • Experience
    • Fraternal Law Conference
    • Conference Sponsorship
  • Our Attorneys
    • Overview
    • Timothy M. Burke
    • Sean P. Callan
    • John E. Christopher
    • Amy M. Hebbeler
    • Patrick K. Hogan
    • Micah E. Kamrass
    • Ilana L. Linder
    • Jacklyn D. Olinger
    • Jacob W. Purcell
    • Jeffrey C. Sun
  • Practice Areas
    • Overview
    • Real Estate and Housing
    • Tax
    • Employment Issues
    • Corporate Governance
    • Grant-Making
    • Litigation
    • Risk Management & Hazing
    • Fundraising & Stewardship
    • State Registration for Greek Foundations
  • Client Resources
  • Anti-Hazing
  • Contact
    • Contact Us
    • Join Our Newsletter
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
513-721-5525
Fraternal Law

Fraternal Law Newsletter

Publications

Newsletter


Articles

  • Lawsuit Filed After Tragic Death of Northwestern Student
  • Are Mandatory Study Tables Considered Hazing?
  • Who is Discriminating Against Whom?
  • Two Lawsuits Filed Against Harvard
  • Were Single Sex Fraternities Bullied Off Campus at UMW?
  • Male Assailants Claim Victimization Against Their Universities
  • Lawsuit Filed Following Criminal Plea Bargain
  • Largest Ever Settlement Reached in Hazing Case
  • K-12 Case with Potential Future Implications for Greek Groups
  • Investigation into Tragic Death of Ohio University Student Focused on Hazing
  • Florida Supreme Court Rejects Challenge to Hazing Statute
  • Court Finds for Alpha Chi Rho in Zoning Challenge

Search

Newsletter > January 2019 > "Are Mandatory Study Tables Considered Hazing?"

Are Mandatory Study Tables Considered Hazing?

Ilana Linder, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com


A federal Complaint was recently filed by Sigma Lambda Upsilon (SLU) against the University of Virginia (UVA) that begs the question of whether requiring pledges to study at least twenty-five (25) hours per week
constitutes “hazing.” UVA and the individual administrators named in SLU’s suit answered this question
affirmatively when it decided to suspend SLU from participating in fraternal activities on campus. The
suspension followed what the Complaint deems to be a “sham investigation” by UVA after one student told a professor about the burdens of adjusting to college life and trying to pledge a sorority. Importantly, this
student never indicated that she was being hazed, abused, assaulted, or otherwise mistreated by SLU.

The predominately-Latina sorority asserts multiple claims against UVA and the individual defendants,
including deprivation of free speech and association rights under the First Amendment, denial of equal
protection rights under the Fourteenth Amendment, conspiracy to deprive SLU of civil rights, disparate
treatment discrimination, and negligence. SLU’s Complaint points to multiple instances in which all-male
student groups or organizations—such as the profitable sports teams—engaged in similar behaviors that
required participants to commit a certain number of hours each week, yet those groups were not similarly
sanctioned by UVA. The sorority also challenges UVA’s hazing policy as not being clearly written so as to put groups on proper notice of what sort of conduct violates it. UVA’s hazing policy currently prohibits action that is “designed to or produces mental or physical harassment, discomfort, or ridicule.”

Fraternal Law will continue to follow this case and provide future updates.

JOIN OUR NEWSLETTER

Attorney Advertising. The laws governing legal advertising in the state of Ohio require the following statement in any publication of this kind: "THIS IS AN ADVERTISEMENT." This website is designed for general information only. The information presented at this site should not be construed to be formal legal advice nor the formation of a lawyer/client relationship.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Copyright © 2023 Fraternal Law Partners. All rights reserved.

Privacy Policy Disclaimer
Fraternal Law

Newsletters

Sign Up For Updates

Get the latest news from Fraternal Law Partners in your inbox.

    By submitting this form, you are consenting to receive marketing emails from: Fraternal Law Parnterns. You can revoke your consent to recieve emails at any time by using the SafeUnsubscribe® Link, found at the bottom of every email. Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.