Phi Gamma Delta faces suspension after anti-gay slur

Martha Sanchez, News Editor

The fraternity faces interim suspension following the release of a spreadsheet that used an anti-gay slur to reference several students. (Staff Photo)

Tulane University placed Phi Gamma Delta on interim suspension on Tuesday after a document circulated that shows the fraternity used an anti-gay slur in a spreadsheet to reference several students undergoing fraternity recruitment. 

University spokesman Mike Strecker called the comments “reprehensible and counter to our core values.”

“They are deeply hurtful to both individuals and to our campus community as a whole,” he said in a statement. 

The Tau Upsilon Executive Board said the chapter has temporarily suspended members involved pending a full disciplinary process. 

“Phi Gamma Delta stands against intolerance and discrimination and we are deeply disappointed by this ugly, discriminatory language and action,” the Board said in a statement. 

The national office of Phi Gamma Delta, or Fiji, is cooperating with an investigation by Tulane’s Office of Student Conduct, Strecker said. 

The spreadsheet includes over 60 student names and uses a color code to denote status and favorability. Several names are highlighted in red, which corresponds to the slur written at the top of the spreadsheet.

The document includes student phone numbers and comments from fraternity members in reference to students undergoing recruitment. 

Fraternities across the country have faced scrutiny for instances of anti-gay rhetoric in recent years. In 2019, Phi Gamma Delta at the University of California Berkeley appeared in a video repeatedly chanting a homophobic slur. Last month, a fraternity at Illinois State University vandalized other fraternity and sorority houses with homophobic slurs. 

The document has since been deleted. It was shared with The Hullabaloo through the email of a fraternity member who appeared to have mistakenly left access to the document open on a computer. 

Strecker said Tulane is committed to diversity and inclusion and urged students looking for support to call Student Resources & Support Services at 504-920-9900.

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