Florida State University bans Greek life following student death after frat party
On Monday, Florida State University announced an indefinite suspension of all fraternities and sororities following the death of a student after an off-campus fraternity party, the Tallahassee Democrat reports. In a statement posted to the website of the FSU Office of Fraternity and Sorority life, Florida State University President John Thrasher said that he wanted to "send a serious message. ... We've got a serious problem."
On Friday morning, 20-year-old FSU student and Pi Kappa Phi fraternity pledge Andrew Coffey was found unresponsive after a house party a mile from campus. Although Coffey was given medical treatment, he died on the scene. Pi Kappa Phi's operations at FSU were immediately suspended.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
FSU also announced a ban on alcohol at all events sponsored by recognized student organizations — of which there are more than 700. USA Today notes that 22 percent of all FSU undergraduates belong to a Greek organization, which amounts to 7,588 students for this year.
In July, a Harvard University faculty committee proposed banning undergraduates from joining fraternities and sororities in an attempt to limit "pernicious behavior." Pennsylvania State University also announced restrictions on Greek life and a permanent ban for the Beta Theta Pi fraternity earlier this year after a student was killed in a hazing event.
-
Into the Woods: a ‘hypnotic’ productionThe Week Recommends Jordan Fein’s revival of the much-loved Stephen Sondheim musical is ‘sharp, propulsive and often very funny’
-
‘Let 2026 be a year of reckoning’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Why is Iran facing its biggest protests in years?TODAY’S BIG QUESTION Iranians are taking to the streets as a growing movement of civic unrest threatens a fragile stability
-
A peek inside Europe’s luxury new sleeper busThe Week Recommends Overnight service with stops across Switzerland and the Netherlands promises a comfortable no-fly adventure
-
Son arrested over killing of Rob and Michele ReinerSpeed Read Nick, the 32-year-old son of Hollywood director Rob Reiner, has been booked for the murder of his parents
-
Rob Reiner, wife dead in ‘apparent homicide’speed read The Reiners, found in their Los Angeles home, ‘had injuries consistent with being stabbed’
-
Hungary’s Krasznahorkai wins Nobel for literatureSpeed Read László Krasznahorkai is the author of acclaimed novels like ‘The Melancholy of Resistance’ and ‘Satantango’
-
Primatologist Jane Goodall dies at 91Speed Read She rose to fame following her groundbreaking field research with chimpanzees
-
Florida erases rainbow crosswalk at Pulse nightclubSpeed Read The colorful crosswalk was outside the former LGBTQ nightclub where 49 people were killed in a 2016 shooting
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
