Members and alumni of the Delta Kappa Epsilon fraternity at Wesleyan University have filed a discrimination lawsuit against the school over a recent decision that requires all residential fraternities to become coed within three years.
The university policy was announced after several highly publicized incidents at fraternity houses, including allegations of sexual assault.
Scott Karsten, a spokesman for the fraternity's alumni chapter, called the school's decision "political correctness gone wrong."
In a statement published in The New York Times, Wesleyan said DKE failed to take any meaningful steps or make any reasonable commitments toward residential co-education before the date students begin to select housing for next year. The statement in the Times continues:
“The D.K.E. house has historically operated very differently than other special-interest program houses at Wesleyan in many ways, but notably that it explicitly prohibits residence by females. This must change.”
Delta Kappa Epsilon said in a statement Thursday that it is seeking a temporary injunction in Superior Court after learning that students would not be given the option of housing at on-campus single-sex fraternities during the 2015-16 school year.
Wesleyan requires that all undergraduates live on campus.
Ryan King is an intern at WNPR. This report includes information from the Associated Press.