UC Berkeley Frat Row Parties Suspended After Sexual Assault Reports
BERKELEY (KPIX 5) -- Recent reports of sexual assault at UC Berkeley frat houses have led to a voluntary suspension of on-campus parties for fraternities and sororities.
There's a football game Friday, but on Cal's frat row you won't see any organized tail gates or partying. The suspension comes as police investigate at least two alleged sexual assaults at campus parties.
Daniel Saedi, president of the Inter-Fraternity Council, says his group along with the sororities voluntarily decided to shut down all parties at Cal for the time being, following reports of two alleged sexual assault at a fraternity house last weekend.
Read Also: 2 Female UC Berkeley Students Sexually Assaulted At Fraternity Houses
"This is really the heart of the college experience for a lot of these kids and I don't want seem entitled when I'm saying this but, it is really taking away from their experience here. So making a decision like this is relatively unprecedented..." Saedi said.
"For now we have no reason to believe that these were committed by fraternity men. However, despite that, it's still alarming it occurred on our property," Saedi said.
And even off frat row -- around campus -- women are saying the mood has changed.
Cal student Leona Chen said, "It's kind of scary walking around at night when you have to worry, not only about classes, but also sexual assault."
Cal student Connie Meza said, "There's definitely more tension."
Carrie Zheng, also a Cal student, said "It's definitely scary. At night I don't feel comfortable walking home from the library by myself."
The Greek organizations say the goal of banning all their parities is to keep their members and students safe.
"We just need to pump the brakes, take time off and really just assess the situation and come up with the best solution possible," Saedi said.
Campus officials say they are beefing up security and patrols.
The fraternities and sororities will be meeting Friday to discuss safety and security. They are hoping to come up with solutions . Until they do, the organizations say parties will continue to be suspended.
