HARTFORD, Conn. _ The University of Connecticut will no longer recognize a sorority and has permanently expelled a fraternity following the death of a student last year.
The sorority _ Delta Gamma _ announced Monday it was removing itself from campus after a member, Jeffny Pally, 19, died last year. UConn issued a statement Tuesday saying the school," also concurrently imposed sanctions on the chapter, including removing its recognition at the University."
Pally was a sophomore from West Hartford who died Oct. 16 after being run over by a campus fire department vehicle. State police said Pally, who had a blood alcohol level of .25, was leaning against a vehicle bay door and was hit by a firefighter's vehicle as he responded to a call.
The state medical examiner ruled Pally's death an accident. Dana E. Barrow Jr., the driver of the SUV that hit Pally, was not charged in her death. Matthew Gedansky, the state's attorney for Tolland, said there was no way he could have seen the girl as she lay prone.
However, Gedansky's investigation into Pally's death found that she had attended an off campus party held by the Kappa Sigma fraternity in the hours before her death. A police report filed in the case describes the party in great detail, including how it was organized by members of the fraternity, which is associated with Delta Gamma.
"In most cases, fraternities or sororities are given an opportunity to reorganize on campus after several years if they follow prescribed steps, including regaining their national charter," the school said in a statement. "However, the university determined in this case that Kappa Sigma will not have that opportunity, given that it has displayed "a pattern of behavior and organizational culture that has been dangerous to the members of the group as well as those associated with it."
Six members of Kappa Sigma face alcohol-related charges. The fraternity was suspended for 2 { years on Feb. 1 for two unrelated incidents
UConn issued a letter to the fraternity March 13 outlining the expulsion and violations of the student code, including disruptive behavior, endangering behavior and misuse of alcohol and/or other drugs.
A statement issued Monday from Delta Gamma President Stacia Rudge Skoog said "new information discovered during a recent University investigation into an unregistered event, coupled with repeated policy violations over the last several years" caused her organization to revoke the local chapter's charter indefinitely.
Skoog noted that the UConn chapter had been "on and off status" with both the national organization and the university itself since spring 2014 for "risk management concerns and policy violations."
"The tragic death of a new member greatly affected Delta Gamma Fraternity and caused Council to reflect on the member experience at Epsilon Pi," Skoog said. "The decision to close a chapter is never easy, but Council strongly feels it is in the best interest of the chapter and University of Connecticut community."
