The Monroe County Health Department announced Thursday it will shut down the Delta Upsilon fraternity house following a Halloween party in violation of the county’s 15-person gathering size limit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The house will be shut down through the summer of 2021.
Delta Upsilon was given a cease and desist order on Nov. 4. IU Police Department Deputy Chief Shannon Bunger said IUPD responded to a noise complaint the at around 1 a.m. Nov. 1. Officers saw approximately 45 people in the house’s courtyard unmasked and not social distancing.
Delta Upsilon was the sixth IU greek house to be placed on cease and desist this semester.
“The Department is currently attempting to verify the extent to which people may have been in contact and to what extent the gathering has resulted in the spread of COVID-19,” the Monroe County’s press release said.
The county reports members of the house were “less than cooperative” with law enforcement when the incident occurred. However, Monroe County reported leadership of the house ultimately “took responsibility and accountability for the actions of their members and their organization.”
Delta Upsilon is the second greek house Monroe County has shut down this year. The Health Department also shut down the Alpha Epsilon Pi house for COVID-19 policy violations in late September.
In this week’s IU’s COVID-19 dashboard, the school reported its largest weekly positivity rate increase on the Bloomington campus since August. The dashboard said Halloween parties were a reason for the increasing rates, along with football celebrations and weddings.
