Content warning: This article mentions sexual assault.
The University of Oklahoma and the OU Police Department have concluded their investigation into Beta Theta Pi, according to a release sent to The Daily.
OU began investigating Beta Theta Pi in August after screenshots circulated social media alleging prospective members were encouraged to complete a “rape initiation.” A university spokesperson said the investigation found no evidence of these rumors.
“The university has concluded its review and no evidence was found to support the claims. As a result, no charges will be filed against the organization or any of its members, and this matter is considered closed,” an OU spokesperson wrote in the statement. “The university takes all allegations and incidents of sexual misconduct very seriously and is committed to creating a safe campus environment for our students, faculty and staff.”
Sam Atkinson, OU’s Beta Theta Pi chapter president, and Zach Allen, the president of the Beta Theta Pi Corporation of Oklahoma, said the investigation found no evidence connecting the allegations with any of its members.
“In late August, certain inflammatory rumors concerning our fraternity were circulated in social media and reported by The OU Daily. We stated then, and we restate today, that those rumors were irresponsible, obviously and absurdly false, and extremely defamatory,” Allen and Atkinson wrote in the statement. “With our encouragement and cooperation, the University and OU Police Department investigated the allegations and found no evidence whatsoever to support them or any wrongdoing by our fraternity. In fact there is no evidence of any link at all between the allegations and our fraternity or its members.”
Allen and Atkinson also said the rumors were started by a fictional story that was “irresponsibly asserted in social media by someone with absolutely no factual foundation.”
“It’s a lesson about how social media can be misused and how the truth can get lost among rumor, innuendo and herd mentality,” Allen and Atkinson wrote in the statement. “Our fraternity takes issues of sexual assault very seriously, and we are committed to promoting the safety and well-being of all students at the University of Oklahoma.”
