Michigan Daily: "Metal Frat kicked out of house by alumni board over admission of women" . . .
Metal Frat kicked out of house by alumni board over admission of women
by Glenn Hedin
August 31, 2026
Metal Frat, a fraternity in North Burns Park known as an influential cornerstone of Michigan’s alternative music scene, was recently shut down as part of a controversy relating to it’s admittance of women and non-binary people into its ranks — a practice it began in 2016.
According to multiple members’ accounts, Metal Frat’s alumni board have removed the organization’s membership of about 20 people from their house at 907 Lincoln Ave. to make way for a traditional all-male fraternity.
Metal Frat was initially established in 1858 as the University of Michigan’s branch of Sigma Phi Society — a national fraternity that has been protective of its all-male status. When Sigma Phi’s national board discovered Metal Frat’s co-ed policies in 2019, it sued the fraternity and revoked its charter, but was unable to shut it down for years due to the protection of a sympathetic local alumni board.
This changed in October 2025 when anti-inclusion alumni launched a surprise election and took control of the board. The election was marred by controversies and accusations of underhanded conduct by anti-inclusion alumni — allegations those alumni deny.
According to interviews with impacted individuals, Metal Frat members were told to vacate the house by the end of August 2026 after several failed attempts at compromise. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA senior Juno Albright, Metal Frat president, lamented the loss of the space.
“Instead of being able to live it up as any college kid should be able to, (we’re) having to spend it fighting with these old dudes who have nothing better to do,” Albright said. “It’s really sad. I think that it’s pretty pathetic on their part.”
Metal Frat intends to continue as a fraternity without a house, though its chances of doing so are uncertain — as are Sigma Phi’s prospects of, in its words, “recolonizing” the fraternity as an all-male organization starting with all-new members.
Metal Frat members and their allies call Sigma Phi’s actions sexist. LSA senior Samantha McLaughlin, Metal Frat house manager, said the attempted recolonization was particularly insulting to the women of the fraternity who helped keep it alive through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Metal Frat would not be here if it weren’t for the women in the space at that time,” McLaughlin said. “They decided to lead. … They reached out to alumni to try and find as much history as they could; they pretty much revived the frat. If it wasn’t for the women in the space, they wouldn’t have a frat to recolonize.”
PIC CAPTION: The former Metal Frat house at 907 Lincoln Ave. in Ann Arbor. Photo courtesy of Glenn Hedin.
Link: https://www.michigandaily.com/news/metal-frat-kicked-out-of-house-by-alumni-board-over-admission-of-women/
by Glenn Hedin
August 31, 2026
Metal Frat, a fraternity in North Burns Park known as an influential cornerstone of Michigan’s alternative music scene, was recently shut down as part of a controversy relating to it’s admittance of women and non-binary people into its ranks — a practice it began in 2016.
According to multiple members’ accounts, Metal Frat’s alumni board have removed the organization’s membership of about 20 people from their house at 907 Lincoln Ave. to make way for a traditional all-male fraternity.
Metal Frat was initially established in 1858 as the University of Michigan’s branch of Sigma Phi Society — a national fraternity that has been protective of its all-male status. When Sigma Phi’s national board discovered Metal Frat’s co-ed policies in 2019, it sued the fraternity and revoked its charter, but was unable to shut it down for years due to the protection of a sympathetic local alumni board.
This changed in October 2025 when anti-inclusion alumni launched a surprise election and took control of the board. The election was marred by controversies and accusations of underhanded conduct by anti-inclusion alumni — allegations those alumni deny.
According to interviews with impacted individuals, Metal Frat members were told to vacate the house by the end of August 2026 after several failed attempts at compromise. In an interview with The Michigan Daily, LSA senior Juno Albright, Metal Frat president, lamented the loss of the space.
“Instead of being able to live it up as any college kid should be able to, (we’re) having to spend it fighting with these old dudes who have nothing better to do,” Albright said. “It’s really sad. I think that it’s pretty pathetic on their part.”
Metal Frat intends to continue as a fraternity without a house, though its chances of doing so are uncertain — as are Sigma Phi’s prospects of, in its words, “recolonizing” the fraternity as an all-male organization starting with all-new members.
Metal Frat members and their allies call Sigma Phi’s actions sexist. LSA senior Samantha McLaughlin, Metal Frat house manager, said the attempted recolonization was particularly insulting to the women of the fraternity who helped keep it alive through the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Metal Frat would not be here if it weren’t for the women in the space at that time,” McLaughlin said. “They decided to lead. … They reached out to alumni to try and find as much history as they could; they pretty much revived the frat. If it wasn’t for the women in the space, they wouldn’t have a frat to recolonize.”
PIC CAPTION: The former Metal Frat house at 907 Lincoln Ave. in Ann Arbor. Photo courtesy of Glenn Hedin.
Link: https://www.michigandaily.com/news/metal-frat-kicked-out-of-house-by-alumni-board-over-admission-of-women/
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- Michigan Daily: "Metal Frat kicked out of house by alumni board over admission of women" . . .