The Badger Herald

NEWS

National sorority files federal suit

Looking for a print version?
Simply choose ‘Print’ on your computer and a printer-friendly document will be generated.

Also by Cassie Kornblau:

Legislator looks out for taxpayers (December 11, 2007)
Added cost of studying abroad (December 10, 2007)
Representative brings 'traditionalist' view to college (December 7, 2007)
When hate disrupts the classroom (December 6, 2007)

by Cassie Kornblau

Monday, April 9, 2007

The national chapter of Delta Zeta sorority announced its plan to file a federal lawsuit last week after DePauw University's president announced Delta Zeta would no longer be a campus organization.

Last month, national officers for the Delta Zeta sorority told 23 women at the DePauw chapter to leave the sorority because the national body believed a decline in membership was directly related to the negative reputation the girls had on campus.

The members' dismissal drew controversy following allegations of discrimination, and DePauw President Robert Bottoms responded by removing the Greek organization from campus.

According to a report issued by Pam Propsom, associate professor of psychology at DePauw, national officers deemed the former members overweight and "socially awkward."

In a statement, Delta Zeta said they filed a federal lawsuit alleging the university defamed the organization and its members, broke its contractual obligations to the sorority and interfered with their business relationships.

"While a lawsuit was our least preferred alternative, … DePauw University must be held accountable for this unprecedented attack on our members and on the legitimate membership activities of our organization," the national chapter said in a statement.

According to Delta Zeta, DePauw's leadership had engaged in an intentional campaign to defame Delta Zeta and inflicted significant harm on many of the student members of the sorority by exposing them to national ridicule.

In a release, DePauw Director of Media Relations Ken Owen said DePauw University has worked to protect its students from the beginning of the incident.

"We are disappointed in Delta Zeta's decision to initiate legal action," Owen said in the release. "We believe that this lawsuit completely lacks merit and have every confidence that the courts will determine that the university acted lawfully and in the best interests of its students."

Owen added the administration has supported the tradition of Greek organizations and will continue to do so.

DePauw, Owen said, has more than 160 years of history — with 70 percent of the student body belonging to fraternities and sororities.

Following the controversy surrounding Delta Zeta, a group called KwizU Team recently emerged and has been sending emails to collegiate chapters asking them to complete a survey about their reaction to the events.

Sororities at the University of Wisconsin and other universities across the country have been receiving such surveys more frequently.

According to a member of a sorority who wished to remain anonymous, the purpose of this group is to collect information and to forward it to the media.

The goal of this group, said the sorority member, is to display the negative perceptions of Greek life, which she said are constantly being combated.

But she said sororities across the country have been asked not to participate in these surveys and hope to continue to show the positives of Greek life.

Feedback

Show all comments

Hide anonymous comments

Anonymous (April 9, 2007 @ 7:39am):

Good for Delta Zeta for filing the lawsuit!

Anonymous (April 9, 2007 @ 8:33am):

...one to call her dad, and two to the get the diet coke

Anonymous (April 9, 2007 @ 11:50am):

easy dz

Anonymous (April 9, 2007 @ 2:34pm):

So Delta Zeta wants only babe-alicious hotties? The U should have just released the feminazis upon them!

Add a comment

We welcome your thoughts, but please keep your feedback thoughtful, on-topic and respectful. Offensive language, personal attacks, or irrelevant comments may be deleted.