Alaska News

UAA fraternity investigated for sexual harassment

The University of Alaska Anchorage has temporarily suspended Tau Kappa Epsilon from hosting on-campus recruitment activities as it investigates reports of sexual harassment recently filed against the fraternity.

Female students reported Monday that while walking by a TKE informational table in the university's student union, fraternity members made derogatory comments about the women's physical appearances, said Marva Watson, the director of Campus Diversity and Compliance at UAA.

"(They were) comments about size and other types of attributes," Watson said. "We will just not tolerate that."

By Tuesday, university Title IX investigators (who enforce the law that guarantees gender equality in education) had alerted the fraternity of the investigation and temporarily suspended its on-campus recruitment, Watson said.

The president of TKE at UAA declined to comment on the investigation. Alex Baker, the chief information officer of the TKE International Fraternity, said in a statement that he was "aware of the alleged actions" at UAA.

"We have been in contact with the university officials and will be partnering with them on their investigation," he said. "In addition, Tau Kappa Epsilon has begun our own investigation."

Watson said TKE has been "fully cooperating" with the investigation. She said that UAA does not have sufficient evidence to connect the reports of sexual harassment to specific fraternity members.

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Next week, she expects Title IX investigators to host a 90-minute to two-hour educational session with the fraternity. After that, UAA will work with the fraternity to lift its recruitment restriction, she said.

TKE is one of two fraternities active at UAA.

Tegan Hanlon

Tegan Hanlon was a reporter for the Anchorage Daily News between 2013 and 2019. She now reports for Alaska Public Media.

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