In response to a fight that occurred early Saturday morning at a member organization's event, the National Pan-Hellenic Council (NPHC) has decided to adopt a zero-tolerance policy toward violence.

Wole Adegbonmire, president of the NPHC, which serves as the governing body of historically black greek organizations, said his group has formed a committee to ensure the safety of guests at its events and in the community as a whole.

One of the measures being discussed is finding a way to encourage people to take responsibility for their actions by reporting those individuals involved in altercations. Adding more security at events is also under consideration.

The NPHC is also looking to partner with other organizations, including the Undergraduate Student Government, Interfraternity Council and Penn State administration, to spread the message that violence will not be tolerated.

According to Adegbonmire, the fight, which occurred at the Greenberg Ice Pavilion at the end of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity Inc.'s "Black Ice" party, was the latest in a series of events sponsored by NPHC organizations to be marred by physical confrontation dating back to last semester.

"For the first time in three or four years, we're going to take an active stand against violence at our events, because it could have been any organization, not just Alpha Phi Alpha," Adegbonmire said.

Chris Johnson, president of Alpha Phi Alpha, 218 HUB, said the NPHC needed to take action to preserve its reputation.

"It's getting to the point where people really don't feel safe, or they don't have the desire to go to functions because they know functions are going to end early because of physical altercations," Johnson said.

Johnson said there was also concern about the escalating level of the violence.

"If we don't take a stand against violence, what's going to happen is guns are going to come into it eventually, and bullets don't have names on them," Johnson said.

Aside from reputation, there is concern because NPHC fraternities and sororities rely on income generated by parties to fund philanthropic events. For example, Alpha Phi Alpha traditionally uses the proceeds from the "Black Ice" party to fund its Thurgood Marshall Speech Contest in the fall, in which a $500 scholarship is awarded.

The fear, Johnson said, is that these fraternities and sororities will not be able to carry out community service projects as extensively as in the past.

While Adegbonmire said he is not concerned about finding ways to raise money, he is worried the connection NPHC organizations have with the minority community could be damaged if people do not feel safe coming to parties.

"We have a tradition of influence in the minority community, and if we have to stop having parties, we lose some of our influence," Adegbonmire said.

University Police said Saturday's fight, which Johnson said included Penn State football players, is still under investigation.

The Penn State Athletic Department issued a statement on Monday saying it believed student athletes did not instigate the altercation but might have been victims.