UVA Student Affairs Admin Leaves Amid Criticism Over Hazing Investigations

UVA fraternity members say a hazing policy makes students less safe because it deters them from calling for help during a medical emergency.
Published: October 3, 2024

A University of Virginia administrator has left his position amidst allegations that his hazing policies make students less safe.

Donovan Golich, now-former associate director of accountability for the Policy, Accountability, and Critical Events (PACE) unit within UVA’s Student Affairs, was responsible for handling hazing investigations and other cases relating to student safety, Cavalier Daily reports.

PACE reviews reports of student violations of university policies or standards of conduct after Student Affairs receives them. PACE then either issues an informal agreement with students, where students accept responsibility for the act and agree to participate in an educational intervention, or a formal resolution, where they refer students to either the Honor Committee or University Judiciary Committee (UJC).

In his role, Golich directly received reports filed through UVA’s incident reporting systems. When he started in the role in November, Golich reportedly sought to formalize the process for investigating reports by directly contacting the person who filed the report and promptly interviewing all witnesses and relevant parties before deciding if the case should move forward.

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UVA Fraternity Members: New Hazing Policy Makes Students Less Safe

While Golich’s department reviews various allegations of student violations, he has drawn significant criticism for handling hazing allegations within Greek Life. A new policy implemented during Golich’s tenure at PACE required him to contact both the involved chapter and its national organization if one of their members or an attendee at one of their events received medical attention for drugs or alcohol, according to the Cavalier Daily. The Greek Life community said the policy makes students less safe because it deters students from calling for help during a medical emergency.

“Greek organizations are afraid to call the ambulance now,” said one fraternity president who dealt with Golich directly when his organization was being investigated. “Which is the worst thing that could ever happen [to] an organization.”

At an event earlier this semester that involved multiple Greek organizations, an attendee received medical attention for alcohol-related reasons. A representative from one of the chapters who was at the event told the Cavalier Daily that their organization received a letter from Golich’s office accusing their organization’s members of contributing to an unsafe environment and threatening to refer students to the UJC.

“The top priority of the school should be ensuring that students are safe,” the student said. “When you have members of a division of Student Affairs sending a letter as accusatory and misguided as the one we received, it makes students think they can not call 911 out of fear of being in trouble.”

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Audio Leaked from Theta Chi Fraternity Hazing Meeting

Golich received additional criticism after an audio recording was leaked on Sept. 23. In the recording, Golich can be heard accusing a member of the Theta Chi fraternity of lying and evading his questions during a hazing investigation. UVA terminated its fraternal organization agreement with Theta Chi in July after its investigation revealed active members coerced or forced new members to consume “heinous foods” from which some got sick or lost feeling in their limbs. The investigation also found new members were asked to perform “pointless tasks and embarrassing activities” for active members.

In the recording, Golich said he did not care what disciplinary action the student faced and that he would “sleep at night just fine” knowing he held them accountable. He threatened to contact the member’s commanding officer at the Naval ROTC, file Honor charges against him, and file obstruction charges with the student judiciary. Golich warned the student could lose his ROTC scholarship and be temporarily banned from campus.

“I’m done with people like you,” he said. “I don’t *** around.”

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Golich has since admitted his words were harsh but maintains his conduct was justified by the actions of the accused students. He also claimed the video was heavily edited.

“I am not going to apologize for holding students accountable when they make grave errors that threaten the health and safety of other students on grounds,” Golich said.

In the span of six months, UVA sanctioned four other fraternities for hazing violations and also terminated its FOAs with Pi Kappa Alpha and Kappa Sigma.

“I have never seen a campus culture that has hazing so rampant on- and off-Grounds,” Golich said. “The level of the allegations, as well as the volume of reports I received, was alarming, to say the least.”

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