ORLANDO, Fla. — A University of Central Florida sorority currently under quarantine on campus was suspended Wednesday after an alleged violation of the school's COVID-19 policy.
What You Need To Know
- Zeta Tau Alpha sorority under interim suspension
- Members accused of holding unauthorized social gathering on campus
- Fraternity and two students also suspended for unrelated offenses
Members of Zeta Tau Alpha were accused of holding an unapproved social gathering on campus recently, school officials said.
The sorority and three others on campus were already under orders to quarantine for two weeks after some members tested positive for COVID-19.
University officials did not say how many people were infected, but indicated that 79 women from Zeta Tau Alpha, Kappa Alpha Theta, and Alpha Epsilon Phi, were affected by the quarantine.
According to information from UCF, Zeta Tau Alpha followed the school’s process for applying to host an event, “but the event was still pending a decision from UCF when they elected to hold it anyway.”
The event in question also “willfully disregarded the university’s COVID-19 policies and guidelines,” school officials said in a news release.
A UCF fraternity, Sigma Alpha Epslion, was also placed on interim suspension after the university accused it of hosting a large off-campus gathering.
Two individual students were also suspended — one for allegedly breaking quarantine after testing positive for COVID-19 and the other for allegedly hosting large off-campus social gatherings.
School officials did not say how long the suspensions would be in effect.
A sophomore student said he thought university officials handled the situations appropriately.
“I think that punishment should be pretty harsh," Ethan Symonds said. "It’s a global pandemic right now.”