Many at Penn have speculated that members of Penn's former Zeta Beta Tau chapter will join the ranks of other disbanded fraternities and create a secret society or unofficial pseudo-fraternity.
In January of last semester, Penn's chapter of ZBT was forced to shut down after an unsanctioned event left two participants in the hospital for alcohol poisoning and bodily injuries. The incident was the fraternity's fourth violation in three years.
Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs Director Scott Reikofski has expressed concern that ZBT may go underground.
"It is always a concern that they will undermine legitimate fraternities who are living by school policies, living by their values and doing what they are supposed to be doing," Reikofski said.
Currently, many members of Penn's former ZBT chapter are living at 4036 Spruce St.
"A bunch of guys living in a house is a bunch of guys living in a house. With a pseudo-fraternity the difference is they function like a fraternity -- continue or start new rituals, [and] actively recruit and participate in pledging activities," Reikofski said.
Approximately 30 Penn users on thefacebook.com list Zeta Beta Tau under "House."
According to OFSA, it is illegal for expelled members of the fraternity to refer to themselves as Zeta Beta Tau.
"There have even been cases [unrelated to ZBT specifically] where individuals were sued by the national organization," OFSA Associate Director of Programming Lea Shafer said.
According to the University, there is no possibility for ZBT recolonization for at least the next three years.
The University will be "much less likely to entertain [a] petition by ZBT to return to the University" if members of Penn's former ZBT chapter go underground, according to Reikofski.
However, this may not act as a strong deterrent to former ZBT members who were all expelled from the national organization when the Penn chapter was closed.
"They were all expelled, but had the ability to appeal under our process. ... Most of the appeals were not granted. There may have been one that was and there are several pending," said Jonathan Yulish, executive director of the national ZBT organization.
Only one former ZBT member was available for comment.
When Wharton junior and former ZBT house resident Adam Wyden was asked whether he lived with former fraternity members, he responded, "I don't think it's relevant."
Underground organizations, such as Theos and the Owls, have been the target of InterFraternity Council policies over the last couple of years.
Inciting controversy regarding the purview of established Penn organizations, the IFC and OFSA have sent out pamphlets to entering freshmen to educate them about the difference between recognized and unofficial fraternities.
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