Friday, October 27, 2017

Letter to the Lehigh Community from the Interfraternity Council

 
Please see below for a message shared with the campus community from the Interfraternity Council earlier this week.  

Dear Campus Community,

As many of you are aware, a Lehigh University student and a guest to our community were
engaged in an incident involving a racially motivated statement.


While we respect the due process of an ongoing investigation, Lehigh University’s Interfraternity
Council (IFC) wants to be clear in stating that the executive board and all of its participating
organizations not only condemn racially motivated remarks, but condemn any action that
discriminates against another person or group.


Lehigh University prides itself on fostering a welcoming campus climate. The Interfraternity
Council accepts and appreciates the differences amongst the members of our community, and
will continue to stand up in support of The Principles of our Equitable Community.
 

The Interfraternity Council is committed to holding its participating organizations and all general
members accountable for their actions. We engage in discussions with Lehigh University’s
Office of Diversity, Inclusion, and Equal Opportunity as well as the Office of the General
Counsel to enhance our ability of promoting equity on campus while also developing a better
understanding of the process for Title VI investigations. Pending the outcome of the ongoing
investigation, the IFC will follow its own procedure to ensure that the responsible organization(s)
and student(s) understand the consequences of their behavior and the resulting negative impact
on Lehigh’s community.


If Lehigh University students, faculty, staff, or guests to our community experience and/or
witness harassment, retaliation, or sexual misconduct, we encourage them to visit this link for
options on reporting the incident. Additionally, in an effort to further hold the organizations in the
IFC community accountable for their actions, students, faculty, and staff can submit an incident
report via this link, which the IFC judicial committee will review in determining an appropriate
course of action. We do want to emphasize, however, that using the IFC’s link for reporting
should not be used alone, and that any person reporting should also go through Lehigh
University’s options for reporting as well.


If you would like to reach out to us with any questions or concerns, please email
lehighifc@gmail.com.


Only together can we truly be Lehigh Strong.


Sincerely,
Lehigh University’s Interfraternity Council