Sorority asks 6 to move out

After appearing in footage on a college humor Web site, six Chi Omega sisters are being forced to leave their house for breaking several national chapter rules during the taping. Four Chi O sisters deactivated and two other members were made inactive last week. They must all move out of the sorority house, located at 3926 Spruce Street, by December 22. All four of the deactivatees were members of the chapter's executive board. One student who deactivated said she and her sisters felt they had little say in the decision to resign. "I didn't feel like I had a choice," she said. "It's more that they kind of made it seem like they were making this decision in my best interest and that this was the best thing." Explaining that she is "bound by the rules," Chi O Chapter President Susan Kenney, a College senior, offered no comment on the situation other than saying "I have absolute confidence that this chapter will continue to be strong and that recruitment will be a success." The chapter personnel board met with the sisters individually last Tuesday. Three were asked to deactivate while three others were asked to become inactive members as a result of violating national rules, according to sources close to the situation. While inactive sisters still pay dues, they are required to move out of the house and cannot attend functions for a certain period of time. Chi O National President Mary Anne Fruge issued a written statement noting that "because the chapter quickly addressed the situation, the National Fraternity has not placed restrictions on the Beta Alpha Chapter." The national organization did not return repeated phone calls for further comment. According to the Director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Scott Reikofski, Penn has not been involved in the situation thus far, and is still investigating what happened and what actions have been taken. "At this point, what we normally do is we work in partnership with the national and the alumni to work with the chapter," he said, adding that OFSA "would help support them in upholding their own rules." The show, produced by SexViolenceCollegeHumor.com two months ago, featured three bikini-clad members taking a shower with the male host, two sisters kissing each other and three others raiding underwear from a neighboring house. The footage went online in November. Several weeks later, the sisters featured in the video were individually summoned to meet with the chapter personnel chair, personnel adviser and Kenney. Kenney declined to comment on the proceedings of the meetings. The three-person committee presented each sister with the specific charges against her, after which she was allowed to defend herself. The sister left the room while the group deliberated, and was then told what action would be taken and was asked to sign a contract. The deactivation or inactivity papers were ready for their signatures at the personnel meetings. Charges stemming from the video shoot included allowing male guests above the first floor, publicizing the sorority in a questionable way, having alcohol in the house and engaging in conduct "unbecoming of a Chi O." Some also violated the national chapter rule of inappropriately publicizing a Chi O song. Not all sisters faced the same charges. The personnel committee asked three executive board members to "resign," which was clarified as stepping down from the board and deactivitating from the sorority as a whole. These three women had been filmed showering, in bathing suits, with the male host of the show. The committee told the involved members of the executive board that their punishments were harsher because they were expected to be "role models" for the sorority, according to sources close to the situation. Three others were told they must become inactive members for a certain period of time. Two chose to abide by this proposal while one -- also a member of the executive board -- instead chose to deactivate altogether. While the committee presented the charged sisters with an option to appeal, one such sister said that the offer was ambiguous enough to be misunderstood and overlooked. "When they asked me to resign, I guess it could have been no. But it didn't seem like that at the time," said the now-former Chi O sister. By Chi O rules, a sister has three options when presented with such disciplinary action: accept the mandate to deactivate or become inactive, appeal the decision or take 24 hours to decide whether to appeal or accept. The status of the other members involved in the video is unclear, although one sister did note that she thought 11 sisters in total had been punished in some fashion. Sources close to the situation said that they had been encouraged by Kenney to participate in the filming. Kenney declined to comment on these allegations. The sources said that back in October, Kenney announced that a Penn Chi O alumna -- a producer at the Web site -- had contacted her to see if any current Penn Chi O's wanted to be involved. According to some sisters, she did not warn them of possible consequences or impose limitations on their behavior. Kenney, the chapter president, was out of town when CollegeHumor.com came to film the show. "It was a way that we could help out a Chi O sister, and [Kenney] pretty much just endorsed it as a Chi O event," said a source close to the situation. Entitled "Hangover Special," the online broadcast gave $50 to each of the five Chi O girls who participated in the shower dare and the kissing act. The three girls involved in the underwear raid were paid either $10 or $20.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.