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Phi Delta Theta House Credit: Tiffany Pham , Tiffany Pham

In the wake of the national controversy surrounding Phi Delta Theta’s holiday photo featuring a dark-skinned blow-up doll, many freshmen say the incident has not majorly affected their decisions during fraternity recruitment.

Penn’s chapter of Phi Delta Theta was placed on probation following an investigation by its international organization, precluding its members from participating in social activities until its completion of cultural sensitivity and sexual and relationship misconduct education programs. However, the chapter is still allowed to participate in recruitment.

In response to calls for cultural competency training by UMOJA, the Penn Consortium of Undergraduate Women and the 5B Coalition, Phi Delta Theta president and College senior Jimmy Germi, who is also the president of the Interfraternity Council, said that the fraternity plans to participate in educational programs in collaboration with on-campus minority groups.

“When we collaborate with other organizations, we are going to meet a more diverse group of prospective members,” Germi said.

Several Penn students participating in fraternity recruitment said that the controversial holiday photo itself didn’t exert a major influence on their choices during the process, but added the subsequent publicity did influence their perceptions.

“As for the incidents, I don’t think they necessarily did the wrong thing entirely. I think that if I heard about it, but it wasn’t so viral, it wouldn’t necessarily turn me away from that fraternity,” College freshman Dan Kutzin said. “But because the story indeed came out, I would say I was less inclined to attempt to attend their events.”

However, Kutzin said that he continued to be interested in Greek life because of the many options on campus.

“It seems like some people rushing are just forgetting about it because there are so many fraternities on campus and there are a lot of options for the people rushing,” Kutzin, who attended various on-campus recruiting events, said. “I like being able to meet other freshmen and sophomores who are rushing, as well as different people discussing Greek organizations. It’s a positive social experience for me.”

One Wharton freshman, who requested to speak under anonymity, said that the controversies haven’t altered his choice of which fraternity he hopes to join. “I originally planned to rush a business frat, and the event hasn’t changed my plan. However, the release of the photo indeed influenced my perception of Phi Delt,” he said, adding that he now views the fraternity in a more negative light.

A College freshman, who also asked not to disclose his name, agreed that his decisions were not impacted strongly by Phi Delta Theta’s controversial photo. He chose to rush a fraternity where he already knew a lot of the brothers, so the Phi Delta Theta controversy didn’t influence his recruitment choices, nor his experience.

“We are now so focused on what we are doing, that this story didn’t really come across when I was rushing,” he said, adding that, “I understand that it was supposed to be a joke, but it wasn’t smart to publish that.”

Phi Delta Theta hopes to show that they are an inclusive community.

“It reflects negatively on the Greek community but we are hoping to respond in a positive light so that even if it has an impact on rush this semester that it becomes clear that we are an accepting organization, we are an accepting community,” Germi said.

Each of the students interviewed agreed that the most important factor for them in which fraternity to join lies in the community with which they want to acquaint themselves.

“I would say the number one factor for me is that I feel I can fit into that group of guys. I met people that were from the same areas as me, I met guys that shared similar interests,” Kutzin said. “I think because it is a pretty intense commitment, especially for this whole semester, it doesn’t make sense to join a brotherhood that you don’t feel like you share the same values with.”

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