DKE, TEP events said to charge at door

The well-known presence this weekend of state Liquor Control Enforcement agents on campus and the InterFraternity Council's recent stiffening of its penalties for charging may have deterred most fraternities from charging door fees at their Spring Fling parties -- but perhaps not all of them. Students said hosts of at least two of the weekend's parties charged money to enter, violating city regulations. Several partygoers at the Delta Kappa Epsilon house and at a party hosted by Tau Epsilon Phi brothers in an off-campus house -- both on Saturday night -- reported having to pay money to enter. One student who wished to remain anonymous said DEKE charged $5 to enter its "DEKE 'Till Dawn" party at the house at 307 S. 39th Street. DEKE President Joseph Beiting, a College junior, denied the allegations. "We didn't charge," he said. "The monitors came twice and they found out we didn't charge." One student at the party in one of TEP's off-campus houses at 4041 Walnut Street said members of the band that played at the party were charging, not the brothers themselves. Another guest of the TEP party said he was "pretty disappointed" to learn they were charging him to enter. TEP Chancellor Mark Metzl, a College sophomore, said he was unaware of whether any charging occurred, adding that he did not attend the party and does not live in the house. According to several students, both parties went on without any LCE presence. Due to miscommunication among University students and officials, The Daily Pennsylvanian previously reported that a recently passed Pennsylvania state law prohibits fraternities from charging at parties. But according to Penn Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Assistant Director Tom Carroll, city regulations require any establishment serving alcohol to obtain several permits -- including a liquor license -- before the owners or residents may charge door fees. Without these licenses, Carroll explained, a house that charges money and serves alcohol is considered an illegal "speakeasy," and members of the house can be subject to arrest. The regulations apply not only to fraternity houses, but also to off-campus houses and private residences. Without an entertainment permit, the TEP brothers who hosted the party could still be held responsible for charging -- even if the money was to cover the costs of a band, and despite the fact that the party was not held in the fraternity's main house. In late March, the IFC -- which began enforcing the regulations about a year ago with the creation of the graduate-observer system and the Judicial Inquiry Board -- increased the penalties for houses that charge door fees to a $30 fine per brother and an automatic 10-week social probation. No house has been sanctioned since the change in penalties. Prior to that decision, a $10 per-brother fine and four weeks' probation were levied for the first offense. IFC President Josh Belinfante said he was unsure how the judicial board would handle charging at an off-campus house. "I have a feeling that it would be considered one and the same," the College junior said. "But I can't speak for the board." Belinfante, an Alpha Chi Rho brother, added that whether or not the off-campus party would be considered a fraternity function would depend on the degree to which it was promoted as a TEP event.