National fraternity cuts ties with ZBT after student’s death

An official from the national headquarters said activities at the Greater Philadelphia chapter of ZBT will “cease immediately,” but its expulsion is unrelated to James Orlando’s death.

The Greater Philadelphia Area chapter of Zeta Beta Tau, which is mainly made up of Temple students, is no longer associated with ZBT’s national headquarters. This decision is unrelated to the death of an initiated member on Saturday, officials said.  

James Orlando, a junior Fox School of Business student, died from an accidental drug overdose on Saturday in his off-campus residence, police said. Orlando was the junior class president of the fraternity, according to his obituary.

“Prompted by this situation, we learned that – unrelated to this tragedy – the chapter violated ZBT policies this fall, including those associated with recruitment and social events,” Laurence Bolotin, ZBT’s executive director at its Indiana-based headquarters, wrote in a statement to The Temple News. “For this reason, the Fraternity’s Board of Directors decided to revoke the chapter’s charter and activities will cease immediately.”

Activities at the fraternity will “cease immediately,” Bolotin wrote.

He added that ZBT will continue to work with Temple to ensure the former members can receive the support they need.ZBT is not recognized by the university. Students are “discouraged from associating” with ZBT, according to the Student Activities website.

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