Michigan State University’s IFC canceled all in-person recruitment activities on Thursday after the death of one of its members. The change hit during fraternity recruitment week, leaving chapters with phone bids as the only live option.
Cole Reeves was in the middle of recruitment when he heard the news, and he said the council made the right call. “Honestly, there’s bigger issues than just like rushing a frat. And we heard like how tragic that news was. So, our reaction was that’s probably the right move to cancel all the events last night. Let everyone collect their thoughts,” he said.
MSU recruitment shifts to phone bids
The council posted the cancellation in a statement on Instagram on Thursday, and all in-person events were called off. That left recruitment moving in a narrower format: chapters could still extend bids over the phone, but the face-to-face parts of the process stopped at once.
For participants, that meant a quick change in pace. Reeves said he received a bid from Fiji, and he described a response that was less about the mechanics of recruitment than about the loss itself. “Everyone’s just trying to wrap their head around it, I guess. This is a time where they all need to come together. Like, ask each other how they’re doing. It’s really the main thing I’ve been seeing,” he said.
MSU Counseling and Psychological Services support
Sources told News 10 the council reached out to every one of its members to provide mental health resources, and the MSU Counseling and Psychological Services crisis line is available 24 hours a day at 355-8270. That gave members a direct place to turn while the recruitment schedule shifted around the death.
Benjamin Layer, a former Greek life member, said the atmosphere felt heavy. “It was tragic, you know, it’s terrible that something like this can happen in our community,” he said. “The mood in general, I’d say, is kind of melancholy. People should be able to talk more,” he added.
Benjamin Layer on the loss
Layer said the moment called for reflection inside the community. “It’s a sad moment. We need to take a second, as a community, to think about it, and how we can prevent this from happening again,” he said. The council’s decision left recruitment active only by phone, while the larger conversation inside MSU’s Greek life shifted to support, contact, and the unanswered question of who the deceased member was and what caused the death.
