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Kappa Omega Alpha pre-law fraternity votes to dissolve following alleged misconduct

December 9, 2021
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Beaumont Tower is a landmark at Michigan State University.

Photo by Chloe Trofatter | The State News

The Beta Chapter of Kappa Omega Alpha, a professional, pre-law fraternity at Michigan State University, has been dissolved following an organization-wide vote.

According to former Beta Chapter vice president Caitlin Finerty, the dissolution originated after a member of the most recent executive board and a member of a previous executive board, both of who were male, allegedly committed misconduct.

Allegations include the accused members ranking female fraternity members by their appearance and making romantic advances towards younger members.

Sources could not confirm the identities of the accused members. Both have reportedly denied all of the claims made towards them.

The vote for dissolution occurred on Nov. 18, following a meeting on Nov. 15 that reportedly “ended in a yelling match,” Finerty said.

The original purpose of the Nov. 15 meeting was to enact the impeachment of one of the accused e-board members. However, a large portion of the attending members left the meeting before a vote for impeachment could take place.

Following this volatile meeting, a vote for dissolution was sent out to all members of Kappa Omega Alpha on Nov. 18. Finerty said the vote was close — but ultimately was in favor of dissolution.

Semester dues for all members were refunded, according to Finerty.

MSU Deputy Spokesperson Dan Olsen said that the fraternity has officially been removed from the university's registered student organizations following a request from the former e-board of Beta Chapter.

Olsen could not confirm or deny if any investigation into the alleged misconduct was taking place. However, he urged students who had information regarding sexual or relationship-related misconduct within the former fraternity to contact university officials.

Editor's note: This story was updated on Dec. 9 at 11:30 a.m. to correct that one of the alleged members was on a previous executive board, not the most recent one.

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