A bench painted with the letters “PIKE” sits in front of CU Boulder’s Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
A number of University of Colorado Boulder freshmen are planning to lead a march to the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house on Friday to protest two accusations of sexual assault that allegedly involved the fraternity on Oct. 31 and Oct. 24.
“It’s not going to get swept under the rug. Not when our class is here, not anymore,” said Selena Powell, one of the organizers of the march.
The protest comes in the wake of comments made by the Boulder Police Department that said they were investigating two separate cases of sexual assault that happened in the vicinity of the Pi Kappa Alpha house, although the department did not name the fraternity specifically.
Powell and other organizers plan to gather at the underpass between Kittredge Central and Main Campus at 5 p.m. before walking to the fraternity house at 5:30. Several students will speak at the event. Organizers stressed they want the march to be peaceful.
Selena Powell, an organizer of a protest scheduled for Friday, November 5th discusses sexual assault on CU Boulder’s campus on Thursday, Nov. 4, 2021. (Io Hartman/CU Independent)
Although Powell is hopeful that the march she’s helped plan will benefit the larger university community, she also feels as though changing the culture surrounding sexual abuse is a daunting task.
“The momentum needs to be there or else it’s going to get swept over again and again,” she said.
Morgan Hughes, another freshman, said that she was a witness to the alleged assault that happened on Oct. 31. That night, she gave statements to the police about what she saw and talked to one of her friends. That conversation led to the creation of the event.
“I had spoken to one of my friends about what had gone on and he decided to post it on his Snapchat story…a group chat was started immediately after that [post] started to circulate around Instagram and Snapchat,” said Hughes.
Hughes also said that she wants to put pressure on the university to take action when it comes to sexual assault.
“We’ve found that [the university] likes to stay silent and they don’t do enough. So, we’re hoping that this will bring awareness to the situation and get them to speak up and do something about it,” she said.
“We are aware of recent allegations of sexual assault off-campus,” said university spokesperson Andrew Sorensen in a statement. “CU Boulder is deeply committed to continuously improving our prevention and education efforts and ensuring that our response resources meet the needs of our campus community.”
Sorensen also said the university cannot share details about specific cases because of privacy laws.
The university published a letter on Thursday evening addressing “sexual assault and misconduct.” They did not mention any incidents of misconduct in the letter but offered resources for those who have been impacted by sexual abuse.
Members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity declined multiple requests for comment from the CU Independent. However, the Independent Fraternity Council in Boulder, which governs the fraternity, said that they would cooperate with CU Boulder and Boulder Police investigations.
“We deplore inappropriate sexual conduct and when presented with evidence of such conduct we take action with a member chapter within the context of our constitution and bylaws,” an IFC on the Hill statement read.
The students leading the protest say they want their march to inspire action and accountability for the alleged assaults.
“Our goal is not to completely shut down the idea of Greek Life but it’s to hold those who are participating in horrid things…to be held accountable,” Hughes said.
Contact CU Independent Managing Editor Henry Larson at henry.larson@colorado.edu.
