Campus Alert Archive
MSU

Sexual assault report, September 22, 2023

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Confirmed Threat

On September 22, 2023, Montana State University Police received two separate reports of sexual assault at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house in Bozeman. The incidents were determined to be unrelated and involved different individuals; both were reported on September 23 and 25. MSU issued a formal Clery timely warning on September 28, 2023, at 3:30 PM, and placed the chapter on interim conduct probation the day before.

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Montana State University
Public R1 · MT
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~16,800 studentsMSU Crime Alert
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Read when and how MSU says it will use MSU Alert: summarized, quoted, and analyzed.
Documented Timeline

Alert Sequence

1 message in sequence · 1 verified verbatim

INITIAL ALERTEmail
Verified verbatimMSU Police Crime Alerts archive — Timely Warning Sexual Assault (Sep 28, 2023)2708 chars
Timely Warning: Sexual Assault: This Timely Warning is being issued in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). The purpose is to provide preventative information to the campus community to aid members from becoming the victim of a similar crime. Montana State University received two reports of sexual assault at the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity on Friday, September 22nd, 2023. Other than the location, these two incidents appear unrelated and do not involve any of the same individuals. Montana State University’s top priority is the safety and wellbeing of all members of the campus community, and we encourage you to consider the following: • Rape and sexual assault are never the fault of the survivor. Responsibility lies with the perpetrator. No one deserves, asks for, or provokes sexual assault. • The most common type of sexual assault occurs between individuals known to one another. Sexual assault occurs in all communities and people of all genders can be survivors. • Sexual assault is any sexual activity that occurs in the absence of consent. If you engage in sex, be sure you understand your partner’s limits, and communicate your own limits. Do not engage in sexual activities without affirmative consent from your partner(s). Affirmative consent occurs by continual, enthusiastic “yes” by all partners engaging in sexual activity. • If you do not feel comfortable intervening in any situation, notify someone who can. • Never take an open drink from someone you do not know. • When you go out, ensure that someone you trust knows where you are, and watch over your friends if you go out in a group. • If you consume alcohol, do so responsibly and know your limits • The MSU VOICE Center offers resources and advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. Advocates can be reached 24/7 via call or text at 406.944.7069. • The Montana DPHHS Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Services Program can be found here. • If you or someone you know is a survivor of a sexual assault or any other crime, please call University Police at 406-994-2121 or 911 in an emergency. The Office of Institutional Equity and MSU VOICE Center provide resources and reporting options for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Reports to law enforcement can be made anonymously using the Silent Witness program, accessible through the SafeCats app, or by emailing silentwitness@montana.edu. MSU’s Office of Counseling Psychological Services can also provide resources and services for victims of relationship violence or stalking.
The 3:30 PM timestamp comes from the Bozeman Daily Chronicle's contemporaneous coverage, which noted the warning was sent 'on Sept. 28 at 3:30 p.m.'
MSU issued two separate Clery offenses as a single combined timely warning because the shared location (Pi Kappa Alpha house) created a continuing-threat nexus even though the incidents and individuals were unrelated
Warning was issued six days after both incidents occurred; the delay reflects the time required for reports to surface (September 23 and 25) and the university's assessment period
The concurrent fraternity probation (imposed Sept. 27) meant the house was already alcohol-free when the timely warning was distributed on Sept. 28
Message elements

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To check this alert, Claude (an AI) read it in full 25 separate times, independently. Each read decided whether the message answers each of the six questions and gave a short reason. A final reviewer then weighed all 25 and wrote the plain-English verdict you see when you open a row. The score (for example 22/25) is how many reads agreed; the 25 individual reads are tucked underneath if you want to check them.

Timely Warning: Sexual Assault: This Timely Warning is being issued in compliance with the Jeanne Clery Disclosure of Campus Security Policy and Campus Crime Statistics Act (Clery Act). The purpose is to provide preventative information to the campus community to aid members from becoming the victim of a similar crime. Montana State University received two reports of sexual assault at the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity on Friday, September 22nd, 2023. Other than the location, these two incidents appear unrelated and do not involve any of the same individuals. Montana State University’s top priority is the safety and wellbeing of all members of the campus community, and we encourage you to consider the following: • Rape and sexual assault are never the fault of the survivor. Responsibility lies with the perpetrator. No one deserves, asks for, or provokes sexual assault. • The most common type of sexual assault occurs between individuals known to one another. Sexual assault occurs in all communities and people of all genders can be survivors. • Sexual assault is any sexual activity that occurs in the absence of consent. If you engage in sex, be sure you understand your partner’s limits, and communicate your own limits. Do not engage in sexual activities without affirmative consent from your partner(s). Affirmative consent occurs by continual, enthusiastic “yes” by all partners engaging in sexual activity. • If you do not feel comfortable intervening in any situation, notify someone who can. • Never take an open drink from someone you do not know. • When you go out, ensure that someone you trust knows where you are, and watch over your friends if you go out in a group. • If you consume alcohol, do so responsibly and know your limits • The MSU VOICE Center offers resources and advocacy for survivors of sexual assault, relationship violence, and stalking. Advocates can be reached 24/7 via call or text at 406.944.7069. • The Montana DPHHS Sexual Violence Prevention and Victim Services Program can be found here. • If you or someone you know is a survivor of a sexual assault or any other crime, please call University Police at 406-994-2121 or 911 in an emergency. The Office of Institutional Equity and MSU VOICE Center provide resources and reporting options for victims of domestic violence, dating violence, and stalking. Reports to law enforcement can be made anonymously using the Silent Witness program, accessible through the SafeCats app, or by emailing silentwitness@montana.edu. MSU’s Office of Counseling Psychological Services can also provide resources and services for victims of relationship violence or stalking.

  • Sourceabsent0/0

    Who is sending the alert and who is responding. People act faster on a message from a clearly identifiable, credible sender, such as a named department, the police, or a branded alert system, than on an anonymous notice. A branded signature counts.

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  • Hazardabsent0/0

    What the threat actually is. A complete warning names the specific danger, such as a shooter, a fire, a tornado, or a gas leak, rather than a vague emergency, because people decide what to do based on what they are facing.

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  • Locationabsent0/0

    Where the threat is. Saying whether danger is in a specific building, a part of campus, or area-wide lets people judge their own proximity and choose a safe direction. Without a where, a warning is hard to act on precisely.

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  • Guidanceabsent0/0

    The protective action to take. A clear, specific instruction, such as shelter in place, evacuate, avoid the area, or run-hide-fight, drives faster and more correct protective behavior than describing the threat alone.

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  • Timeabsent0/0

    When the message applies. A timestamp, the word now or immediately, or a phrase like until further notice tells the reader whether the danger is current and how quickly to act.

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  • Impactabsent0/0

    What the hazard could do to the people in its path. Beyond naming the threat, a complete warning conveys its potential consequences or severity, such as that a tornado can level buildings or that a leak could be explosive, so recipients grasp how much danger they are in. Research on warning message content finds that a concrete impact statement helps people personalize their risk and act sooner.

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Systematic AI judgments with visible reasoning, not human-validated codings.

About this analysis
Context

Background

Montana State University is a land-grant public R1 with roughly 16,800 students in Bozeman, Montana. In September 2023, the university's Pi Kappa Alpha chapter became the site of two separate, unrelated sexual assault incidents on the same evening -- September 22. Both incidents were reported separately: one on September 23 and another on September 25. On September 27, MSU placed the fraternity on interim conduct probation with mandatory alcohol-free status, and on September 28 at 3:30 PM, MSU Police issued a formal Clery timely warning, notifying the campus community that two reports had been filed from the same location but by different individuals in unrelated incidents. The warning noted there was no criminal investigation underway at that time. Less than two weeks later, MSU received new information alleging additional violations by Pi Kappa Alpha including hard alcohol usage, hazing, and bystanding on October 6, 2023, which escalated the chapter's status from probation to interim suspension. The episode drew national attention via NBC News and illustrated how a Clery pattern warning may be issued when a single location generates multiple offense reports, even when the incidents themselves are not connected. MSU's practice of combining both incidents into one timely warning is consistent with Clery Act guidance on shared-location pattern warnings.
Analysis

Key Findings

MSU issued a single combined timely warning for two unrelated sexual assaults that shared only a location (Pi Kappa Alpha house) -- a pattern-warning approach consistent with Clery Act guidance
The six-day gap between the incidents (Sept. 22) and the timely warning (Sept. 28) reflects the time required for both reports to surface and for the university to assess the continuing-threat condition
MSU placed the chapter on interim conduct probation one day before the timely warning -- a dual-track response using both Clery notification and student-conduct enforcement simultaneously
The case escalated when additional violations (hazing, hard liquor) were alleged just two weeks later, leading to a full interim suspension
No criminal charges had been filed at the time of national coverage, highlighting how Clery timely warnings can precede (or substitute for) criminal process
Outcome
No criminal charges filed; fraternity placed on interim conduct probation with alcohol-free status. The chapter received a second alleged violation in October 2023 (hard alcohol, hazing, bystanding), leading to an extended interim suspension.
Provenance

Sources

  1. News
    MSU fraternity on probation following two reported sexual assaults -- Bozeman Daily Chronicle
    bozemandailychronicle.com
    archived copy
  2. Student Paper
    Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity suspended following violations of fraternity standards -- MSU Exponent
    msuexponent.com
    archived copy
  3. News
    Montana State University fraternity on probation after 2 reports of sexual assault -- KPAX
    kpax.com
    archived copy
  4. News
    Montana State University imposes hard liquor ban at fraternity amid rape allegations -- NBC News
    nbcnews.com
    archived copy
  5. Official
    Crime Alerts -- MSU Police
    montana.edu
    archived copy
Cite this case

Campus Alert Archive. "Montana State University: Sexual assault report, September 22, 2023." Incident of September 22, 2023. Added May 2026; last updated July 2026. https://campusalertarchive.com/case/montana-state-university-pike-fraternity-sexual-assault-2023-09-22/

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Alert text quoted on this page remains the work of the issuing institution; the archive is a secondary source.

Tags
sexual-assaulttimely-warningfraternitypi-kappa-alphamontana-state-universitypublic-r1montanagreek-lifepattern-warningclery-actbozeman
Added May 2026Updated July 2026Via ingestion