Public Safety was called to the quad on April 16 at approximately 6:15 p.m. when students reported that alleged members of Epsilon Iota were fighting in front of MGC, obstructing entry into and out of the building.
Four people were detained on the quad by Public Safety, but were released shortly afterwards.
Two of the detainees declined comment to The Eagle.
“They were, like, tackling each other, putting each other in headlocks,” junior Cameron Schuette said, “with no regard for anyone walking by.”
Around 15 members total of EI, some wearing shirts with the fraternity’s greek symbols, were gathered in front of MGC around 6 p.m., Schuette said.
Six Public Safety officers arrived soon after calls were made by students, Schuette said.
“It was really nice to see Public Safety's response because, like, three public safety cars showed up,” Schuette said. “They seemed really responsive.”
Rebecca Wolf, a junior in the College of Arts and Sciences, said she saw several Public Safety officers outside of MGC around 7 p.m.
“One of the officers came up to us and told us that they had barred a person from campus,” Wolf said. “They had gotten a call about 40 minutes ago about a fight that happened. And a couple of hours ago, we saw them running around playing some sort of game outside of SIS.”
Public Safety Captain Kevin Barrett was on the scene at 7 p.m. but declined to comment on the situation.
EI is a group unaffiliated with AU that sprung off from Alpha Tau Omega, a fraternity which was disbanded in 2001. A chain of emails between members of EI was widely leaked last year, and the episode earned EI heavy criticism, The Eagle previously reported.
Junior McKinley Doty said she saw people wearing EI shirts nearby campus at the nearby Chef Geoff’s restaurant prior to the incident. Doty called the non-emergency number of Public Safety but was told Public Safety could not respond unless someone was causing a scene, she said.
Doty said Public Safety thanked her and said they could not simply respond to people wearing EI shirts because wearing the shirts is an expression of free speech.
