K-State’s Interfraternity Council passed a resolution on Monday in support of a change in the university’s sexual assault policy.
“As the leaders of our Greek community and in the interest of all students at Kansas State, we are specifically calling on our university to begin investigating allegations of sexual violence off campus,” the resolution reads.
The resolution comes less than a week after two K-State students, Sara Weckhorst and Tessa Farmer, both juniors in social work, filed separate lawsuits against K-State that said the university did not investigate their rapes because they occurred at off-campus fraternity parties.
The resolution states that the actions of Weckhorst and Farmer have “shed light on a university policy, which has negatively impacted the lives of students for far too long.”
Additionally, the resolution states that the fraternities have previously attempted to have the university change its policy, but the attempt was unsuccessful.
“Over the past two years members of the IFC Board of Directors and Panhellenic Council Board of Directors have met with University officials requesting a change in policy to allow the Office of Institutional Equity to investigate Title IX violations that occur off campus. These meetings have provided no clear plan of action.”
The resolution also called for more funding for the Center for Advocacy, Response and Education, as well as the hiring of an additional investigator at the Office of Institutional Equity.
The Interfraternity Council, which is comprised of 25 member chapters at K-State, also said in the resolution that it is committed to the end of rape:
“As member organizations part of a university which holds Family as its core value, we will collectively be taking further steps to educate, train, and prevent sexual assault from happening within our community. … As members of the K-State family we are committed to End Rape on Campus, and off.”
