All five Penn students charged with assaulting a Princeton University student have been connected with the secretive Owl Society -- an underground organization with over a decade of history on Penn's campus.
The society was formed in 1990 by several former members of the Psi Upsilon fraternity, now located in the Castle at 36th Street and Locust Walk, after an incident that led to the chapter's indefinite suspension.
In January of that year, a group of Psi Upsilon brothers kidnapped a member of a rival fraternity, handcuffed him to a pole and taunted him for over two hours.
Although Penn's Psi Upsilon chapter was allowed to reorganize in October 1995, it was prohibited from admitting members of the Owl Society.
College sophomore Thomas Bispham Jr., Wharton sophomore Tavraj Banga and College senior Steven Stolk are all members of the Owl Society, according to two students who did not want their names printed.
The two College freshmen -- David Hochfelder and Philip Balderston -- are prospective members, according to one of the sources.
Bispham's lawyer, Jeff Kolansky, however, said he did not know of any association between his client and the secret society.
"I am generally aware of the Owl Society but am not aware of any connection between [Bispham] and the Owl Society and vice versa," Kolansky said.
The society remains very secretive about its selection process. Its members choose certain freshmen to receive invitations to participate in rush events during the fall semester, according to one of the students who revealed the link between the students and the society.
The student said he was recruited to join the "the secret, underground, illegally-operated frat at 4000 Pine Street" last fall.
However, the members remained evasive about how he had been selected.
"Last year, when I asked the brothers of the fraternity how I was selected, they wouldn't even tell me and just remained really shady about it," the student said. "I definitely don't want to be associated with anything like that."
Members of the elusive group are known around campus to live in a house at 4000 Pine Street. Both Banga and Bispham currently reside at that address. Stolk lived at the house last year.
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