Hunter
11/11/21
The violent nights of protests towards the University of Iowa’s Phi Gamma Delta fraternity over allegations of sexual assault the week of August 30th resulted in over $200,000 in damage and displaced the residents.
The Cedar Rapids Gazette reports an open records request showed UI officials moved the members out of the house and put them up at the Iowa House Hotel in the Iowa Memorial Union, the Hilton Garden Inn and Iowa City’s Hampton Inn. The costs were covered by the fraternity’s headquarters through September 12th. The displaced members then found alternative housing for the rest of the semester.
After the protests ended, it was discovered that damage to the FIJI house included over 120 windows, landscaping, a permanent gas grill, four doors and frames. Because of the extensive damage, UI Fraternity and Sorority Life Programs Associate Director ShirDonna Lawrence told students and parents that no one would live there for the rest of the fall semester. They hope to have repairs complete and reopen the FIJI house for the spring semester.
Lawrence also addressed the sexual assault that spurred the protests, saying that the UI takes every incident seriously and is responding to the allegations against FIJI.
There have been nine reports of sexual assaults at university dormitories since students returned August 15th .
