Kappa Sigma Chapter Sues Purdue University Over Sanctions

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. ― Purdue University is being sued by its Kappa Sigma chapter over allegations that the school unfairly sanctioned the campus fraternity following an incident involving an underage student’s alcohol consumption.

The lawsuit filed last Friday in Tippecanoe Circuit Court alleges that the university didn’t allow the fraternity to fully defend itself against claims that an underage student was served alcohol at its chapter house last winter. The chapter denies any involvement with the student and claims it didn’t host a social function on Feb. 20, 2015, the night that the university claims the chapter supplied alcohol to the student.

“We didn’t have a fair chance at explaining ourselves and we thought (the university’s) decision had already been decided before we got a chance to explain,” former chapter President Adam Hoffard said.

The fraternity didn’t register to host a function on the night in question because many of its members were at sorority events, which the chapter proved to the university, according to Hoffard.

Kappa Sigma asked the school to provide the names of the chapter members who were allegedly involved in the incident and the names of the witnesses who supported the allegations, but the university denied the requests, the complaint said.

The chapter is seeking damages and all records related to the university’s investigation of the incident. It’s also asking for the university to be restrained from further enforcing any related sanctions on Kappa Sigma until the chapter’s requests for the documents have been addressed by the court.

The university declined to comment, but it’s currently examining the lawsuit, spokesman Brian Zink declined said in an email Wednesday to the (Lafayette) Journal and Courier.

The chapter is on probation until next May due to the sanction.