The Wharton School reinstated its chapter of the Delta Sigma Pi business fraternity as a University-affiliated student organization following an 18-month suspension.
The disciplinary measure was enforced after an investigation found that DSP members were responsible for posting “Missing Cow” flyers across Penn’s campus in November 2023, which were alleged to mock hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks on Israel. In a statement to The Daily Pennsylvanian, a Wharton spokesperson confirmed that Penn’s chapter of DSP had been “reinstated as an active business fraternity.”
According to DSP’s Instagram page, the chapter hosted open recruitment events on Sept. 6 and 7 — including an internship panel and affinity events with current members. The group also advertised a closed recruitment form for interested students.
Requests for comment were left with members of the fraternity.
At the time of publication, DSP has not been added back to the school’s list of registered business fraternities. Access to the group’s Facebook page has been restricted, and the official site for the fraternity chapter has not been restored from “maintenance mode” since it was stripped at some point between October 2023 and February 2024, according to internet archives.
The fraternity’s profile on Penn Clubs, a directory accessible to users with a PennKey, stated at the time of publication that there are zero active members. A site banner displayed says that there are “changes to this club page that are still pending approval from the Office of Student Affairs.”
An Oct. 31, 2024 report — titled “Antisemitism on College Campuses Exposed” — by the United States House Committee on Education and the Workforce included several pages of Penn’s disciplinary records, in which the DSP incident was described as part of an “‘initiation-week’ ‘prank’ by newly-recruited members.”
The document indicated that Penn placed DSP on an 18-month suspension and required the chapter to “comply with requirements to demonstrate cultural change” and accept reorganization. At the time, a Wharton spokesperson told the DP that the chapter was “working collaboratively with the National DSP Office to reorganize chapter operations and work towards reinstatement.”
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DSP’s National Executive Director Jeremy Levine wrote in a statement to the DP that the organization was “excited to be collaborating with the Wharton School of Business as the Beta Nu chapter regains recognition.”
“Chapter members are actively recruiting and participating in educational programming designed to strengthen operational knowledge and reinforce a culture of positive impact,” Levine stated. “We look forward to the continued partnership with Wharton in reestablishing the chapter and advancing its contributions to both the campus community and the Fraternity.”
The investigation centered on a Nov. 16, 2023 incident when hundreds of flyers were hung across Penn’s campus. The design of the flyers appeared to resemble the “Kidnapped” posters displaying the names and faces of Israelis being held hostage by Hamas.
At the time, a University spokesperson described the posters as “crude” and “deplorable,” adding that Penn was working to identify the individuals responsible for them.
An email address, howsthecow13@gmail.com, was included at the bottom of the posters. In response to a request for comment at the time of the incident, the email account stated that the poster was not intended to be antisemitic and was “a joke to promote veganism.”
“The format of the poster was an unintentional mistake that we now realize could be misconstrued,” the message read, adding that it “condemn[ed] the kidnapping of Israelis that took place and did not mean to allude to that situation.”
