University of Maryland: Guilt by Association Imposed on Fraternities and Sororities

On March 1, 2024, the University of Maryland banned 32 fraternities and sororities from hosting new member activities and communicating with “prospective new members” because of unspecified misconduct allegations. FIRE wrote UMD on March 7 calling on it to rescind its prior restraint on student speech and limit its punishment to only those groups found responsible for misconduct. Several impacted fraternities sued UMD on March 13, asserting violations of their First Amendment and due process rights. After national news coverage of the punishment and subsequent litigation, UMD rescinded all restrictions on the groups on March 15 while continuing to investigate a few allegedly delinquent chapters.