St. Elmo's, previously Penn's only co-ed social fraternity, has chosen to admit an all-male pledge class this year.
The fraternity, also known as Delta Phi, is the oldest one on Penn's campus and has been admitting both men and women as members for more than 20 years. Its current membership includes between 15 and 20 people.
Although Delta Phi Undergraduate President John Perry would not comment on the fraternity's reasons for choosing to recruit only male members or release the process' specifics, he said that the decision was made through a series of discussions with house members andÿ"a very active alumni group and board."
"We have active female membership, but this year we decided to rush all male," said Perry, a Wharton junior.
Perry said he was unable to provide any information about the size of this year's pledge class.
He stressed, however, that all current fraternity members -- including women -- were involved in the decision to rush only men.
"Everyone in the house has an equal vote," Perry said. "It's not something one person can unilaterally decide. It's a collective house decision."
InterFraternity Council President Conor Daly said that the IFC was not involved in the decision.
Daly added that although there have been some rumors about why St. Elmo's decided to recruit only males this year, the IFC does not know the fraternity's exact reasons for doing so.
Delta Phi National Fraternity Executive Director Stu Gittelman said that the chapter is free to make its own recruitment choices.
"Their goal is to be the pre-eminent chapter on Penn's campus," Gittelman said. "The big picture to me is that nothing has really changed here. As long as they are going for the best people, it's going to be fully supported by the national organization."
Gittelman added that all other chapters of the fraternity on various college campuses are all-male organizations.
According to Renny Ponvert, the alumni president of Penn's chapter, the house's decision to admit an all-male pledge class this year will not affect the status of current female members, whether they are current undergraduates or alumna.
Ponvert added that it is possible the house will decide to return to a co-ed format in the future.
"I hope that next year they will rush women," he said, noting that women make up a large percentage of the chapter's graduate board and that board members are divided on the matter.
Although there were some discussions last spring about the possibility of becoming a strictly male fraternity, Ponvert said that so far this year, Penn chapter members have not brought up the issue of no longer accepting women.
Ponvert said that he believes the chapter's decision to rush only males this year may be an attempt to make the fraternity appear more competitive to prospective members.
"I think they feel it's a tough time to maintain [a fraternity] on Penn's campus," he said.
He went on to say that current members may see the change as "the best way to attract new members," and noted that the decision came at a time when it is increasingly difficult to maintain a full membership.
Ponvert said that although the alumni board tries not to intervene in the decisions of the undergraduate members, it actively monitors the recruitment process to ensure that selections are made on the basis of merit.
Ponvert added that St. Elmo's "operates a little differently" than most campus fraternities.ÿHe described current members as "part of a much larger group of people," and said that while they have the independence to select a pledge class, they do not have the authority to change the fraternity's policies as a whole.
