UCLA fraternities ban booze at in-house events

UCLA fraternities no longer can host parties with alcohol at their houses, the university’s student-led Interfraternity Council announced Wednesday.

A collection of fraternity leaders “self-proposed an indefinite ban on events involving alcohol that take place within IFC chapter facilities,” and approved it unanimously Tuesday, according to a statement from UCLA’s Interfraternity Council Executive Board.

“Safety will always be the main priority when evaluating the IFC community and we are working towards enacting measures to promote security and prioritize safety,” the statement read.

As the Daily Bruin noted, the ban comes days after a student, Benjamin Orr, was arrested on suspicion of sexual assault. He was president of a fraternity last year, according to the Bruin.

Orr, 21, is a fourth-year student at UCLA and was arrested on Sunday on charges of assault with intent to commit rape and oral copulation, according to UCLA officials. Orr was released on $100,000 bond, UCLA police Lt. Kevin Kilgore said.

The Los Angeles district attorney’s office has not filed charges against Orr, according to a spokesman for the office.

Kilgore would not say whether the incident of which Orr is accused occurred in a fraternity house.

“The IFC’s decision to place an indefinite ban on in-house events with alcohol is a step in the right direction to strengthen the safety within the community,” UCLA spokesman Ricardo Vazquez said in an email statement. “[W]hile UCLA does not confirm or discuss student conduct cases, student safety is of paramount concern to the university. UCLA works together with UCPD and CARE [the Campus Assault Resources and Education program] to respond quickly and effectively to reports of inappropriate behavior, which includes but is not limited to, sexual violence and sexual assault.”

Reach Sonali Kohli at Sonali.Kohli@latimes.com or on Twitter @Sonali_Kohli.