"We've suspended intake for all organizations across the board," Selvin Basden, director of student activities and Greek affairs, said in an interview last night.
The school may later lift the suspension for some spring Greek activities, said Basden, who announced the decision in a memo addressed to students Tuesday, several days after the alleged incident involving Alpha Phi Alpha.
"We are reviewing each process individually," Basden said. There is no guarantee that we are going to approve anything."
"It really depends on the cooperation we receive from the organizations on campus," he said.
Alpha members at Lincoln are refusing to speak with police or university officials, authorities said yesterday.
"Who was there is not a secret. It's whether they'll testify," said Sgt. Thomas McClung of the state police barracks in Avondale. "The nature of a fraternity is everything is done in secret. It's a closed society, a private club. Today's victim is tomorrow's perpetrator."
Eugene Sanders, a sophomore from Ohio, remains hospitalized after undergoing two operations for intestinal injuries he sustained in the incident, which police say occurred between 11 p.m. Feb. 10 and 1:30 a.m. Feb. 11 in a deserted field off Route 896 in New London Township
Arnold Hence, vice president for enrollment and student affairs, said university officials had tried to meet with fraternity members yesterday. But Hence said officials received a letter from the fraternity saying members could not meet "until we can get legal counsel."
"They are not cooperating with us," Hence said.
University officials said that as many as 20 fraternity members and pledges drove to the field and witnessed the incident, details of which remain unclear.
After returning to their dormitories, Hence said, two students drove Sanders to the hospital. Hospital workers called police.
Hence said there were others present who were affiliated with the University of Delaware. John Brennan, a spokesman for that university, said those individuals, whose identities are unknown, were reportedly alumni.
Police are searching for witnesses in case the victim does not want to give information. If no one cooperates, police said, they will attempt to bring witnesses before a county grand jury.
Hazing is illegal in Pennsylvania and 35 other states, and Greek organizations have tried to combat the practice in recent years. Lincoln University has four fraternities and four sororities. About 100 of the school's 1,500 students participate in Greek life.
The mood on campus yesterday was somber, Basden said, a few hours after attending a student body meeting last night with more than 300 students.
During a press conference yesterday, Hence said students involved in this incident could be expelled. There is also a chance that Greek organizations could be eliminated from campus, he said. University officials have already suspended Alpha Phi Alpha from campus.
In 1994, Alpha Phi Alpha was suspended from Lincoln University by its national office in Baltimore and by the school's administration for illegal pledging.
The university lifted its suspension in 1996. The national office lifted its suspension last fall.
Sanders remained in stable condition yesterday at the Southern Chester County Medical Center. Stephanie Harnish, a hospital spokeswoman, said he was not taking telephone calls.
LINCOLN UNIVERSITY -- Lincoln University officials have suspended campus fraternities and sororities from enlisting members in the aftermath of an alleged hazing ritual that authorities say left a 21-year-old student with serious internal injuries.
