An inactive fraternity at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln that has been suspended twice since 2017 is suing a pair of administrators in federal court for allegedly violating members’ rights to free speech and due process.
UNL handed down a three-year suspension to Phi Gamma Delta — better known as Fiji — in 2017 for “reckless alcohol use, hazing and inappropriate sexually based behavior†following an investigation into members hurling sexually harassing comments at participants during the Jan. 21, 2017, Women’s March.
In a complaint filed Feb. 18 in U.S. District Court, the fraternity argued it was punished and retaliated against for its members’ political viewpoints and protected political speech in support of then-President Donald Trump.
The lawsuit, which names UNL Chancellor Ronnie Green and Director of Student Conduct and Community Standards Andrea Barefield individually, alleges the fraternity and its members suffered from investigations, suspensions and false and misleading public statements made by university officials.
It also accuses the university of failing to follow its Student Code of Conduct and Title IX policies, of enhancing punishments because of Fiji’s political viewpoints, stigmatizing the chapter and its members, and depriving the organization of its status and due process rights.
A spokeswoman for UNL declined to comment, citing pending litigation.
UNL opened a Title IX investigation into Fiji after participants of the Women’s March reported hearing sexually harassing comments being shouted by members at the chapter house at 1425 R St. as marchers passed the house on their way to a rally at the Capitol.
According to Brian Brislen, an Omaha attorney representing the fraternity, Fiji members were conducting their own political demonstration on the front lawn of the property.
The Title IX investigation did not result in any sanctions against the fraternity, but a second investigation focusing on violations of UNL’s student code of conduct was later opened, and by March 2017, the university announced it was suspending Phi Gamma Delta through 2020.
According to the lawsuit, subsequent action taken by UNL against the fraternity resulted from the Jan. 21, 2017, event, which the fraternity argued was protected political speech “in support of then-President Trump†that UNL administrators disagreed with.
“The chapter’s members’ political speech on or around January 21, 2017, played a part or a role in Chancellor Green and Director Barefield’s decision to revoke its recognition of the chapter as a student organization,†the fraternity alleged.
Fiji alleges UNL administrators had already decided the chapter should face a lengthy suspension when they met with representatives of the fraternity days after the Women’s March, and said the university based the suspension on a lesser violation of UNL’s Student Code of Conduct.
“‘Inappropriate sexually based behavior' and ‘sexually harassing conduct’ are charges that involve moral turpitude and depravity, and are not equivalent or comparable to violations of the university’s alcohol policy,†Brislen wrote in the complaint.
Fiji says it continued to face retaliation after its suspension was lifted in early 2021, being placed on probation again after two UNL police officers reported seeing members drinking in the basement of the chapter house.
While on probation, which the fraternity alleges was a continuation of being punished for its political speech, a 17-year-old student reported being sexually assaulted by a 19-year-old member of Fiji during the early morning hours of Aug. 24, 2021.
Word of the reported assault spread quickly on social media, and later that night, thousands of students gathered in front of the chapter house to protest the fraternity.
UNL placed Fiji under temporary suspension, but the protests continued for several more nights, including chants, marches and calls for the fraternity to be permanently banned from campus.
The 19-year-old fraternity member accused in the reported sexual assault has not been charged with a crime in Lancaster County. The Lincoln Police Department investigation into the incident remains open.
Fiji accused Green of stoking the “unverified rumors†in a statement he made on social media on Aug. 25, 2021, announcing the fraternity was on probation and would be temporarily suspended while the investigation moved forward without noting the previous punishment was for an alcohol violation.
The fraternity also alleged UNL ignored fraternity members’ offers to assist in the investigation by giving statements and helping collect evidence, and said the university refused requests from parents to meet to discuss their sons’ safety.
UNL, through the University Conduct Board, a committee of students and faculty, suspended Fiji through 2026 for violating several Student Code of Conduct rules related to alcohol use — but not sexual misconduct — and stripped the fraternity of its status as a recognized student organization.
The complaint says both Green and Barefield failed to train or supervise UNL staff “in a manner sufficiently calculated to prevent them from violating†fraternity members’ constitutional rights.
“Chancellor Green and his leadership promulgated an official policy or unofficial custom by which the chapter, for engaging in constitutionally protected political speech, was known to be a ‘bad fraternity,’ and subject to enhanced penalties based on that status,†Brislen wrote.
The lawsuit alleges the university violated the First Amendment rights of freedom of speech and freedom of association, as well as the 14th Amendment right of due process of both the chapter and the housing corporation that owns the 1425 R St. property.