WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 26, 2015
THE DAILY PENNSYLVANIAN | THE INDEPENDENT STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF THE UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA
The Pi Kapp national fraternity alerts members that their chapter is suspended in the fall of 2014 due to hazing allegations from the previous year.
SEPT. 3-4, 2014
JULY 14, 2014
ON JUNE 9, 2015, PENN’S CHAPTER OF PI KAPPA PHI HAD ITS CHARTER REVOKED, ENDING A NEARLY TWO-YEAR SERIES OF SANCTIONS, SUSPENSIONS AND HEARINGS.
Pi Kapp is caught by alcohol monitors on two separate occasions throwing a party. Pi Kapp is cleared after one disciplinary hearing, but has to pay a fine after the other hearing.
National officials hold a membership review of all Pi Kapp brothers, where members say over 25 percent of the fraternity is cut out. Members who are abroad or otherwise can’t attend the review sessions are automatically cut
Pi Kapp contributes $815 of chapter funds to a St. Patrick’s Day Party outside their house. They are placed on “cease-and-desist” — effectively banned from gathering in any context as a fraternity.
LATE 2014 INTO EARLY 2015
Pi Kapp members vote unanimously to go off-campus in the fall. APRIL 10, 2015
JUNE 9, 2015
MARCH 21, 2015
EARLY MAY 2015
Pi Kapp throws its annual War of the Roses philanthropic event. OFSL says the event violated the chapter’s “cease and desist” condition.
Pi Kapp is notified by its national organization that its charter has been revoked.
PI KAPP’S CHARTER REVOKED OVER SUMMER Pi Kapp joins ranks of off-campus fraternities after losing its charter DAN SPINELLI Senior Reporter
Penn’s Eta Nu chapter of Pi Kappa Phi had its charter revoked over the summer, fraternity members and chapter emails confirmed last week.
The group — now christened “Phi” — will operate without supervision by the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, making it the seventh currently active off-campus Greek group. Most recently, the sorority Alpha Chi Omega voted to move off-campus in April. Phi will still recruit students normally during the spring rush process and will continue
PENN STUDENTS IN THE WHITE HOUSE PAGE 9
holding philanthropic and social events. Because their chapter house at 4042 Walnut St. was not owned by the national chapter or the University, the chapter members could continue renting it from Campus Apartments. Their two-year disciplinary battle with the Penn administration included controversy over the definition of a party, an unannounced search of the chapter
DWINDLING NUMBERS AND MORALE The fraternity’s troubles began in early 2014, when the chapter was suspended for the fall semester over a hazing allegation, and chapter members came increasingly under fire for
violations of their probationary agreement. One person affiliated with Pi Kapp and familiar with these negotiations said that most discussions left out the chapter members completely. “Predominantly we felt that the entire situation was handled horribly. We didn’t have any input into the process,” he said. “And more so than that, we had just gradually felt that
everything that had been going on was forcefully and directly making it so we couldn’t be friends.” Other fraternity members contacted over the weekend deferred comment to this source. A membership review, conducted by the national chapter in early September 2014, sparked SEE PI KAPP PAGE 12
Convocation addresses campus depression President Gutmann encourages Penn freshmen to ‘ask for help’ JACK CAHN Senior Reporter
One of Penn’s greatest achievements and one of its greatest downfalls is its competitiveness.”
house and the fraternity’s decision to hold a philanthropy event.
Regal music accompanied thousands of Penn freshmen as they marched down Locust Walk, sober and in business casual for their first time since arriving at Penn. The excitement was palpable; but few expected convocation to pointedly address the mental health crisis that has rocked Penn’s campus since six students committed suicide within 15 months. “Challenges are inevitable. Setbacks will occur. But you are not alone in navigating them. You are right here with others who are ready, willing and eager to help,” Penn President Amy Gutmann said. “Asking for help, far from signaling weakness or failure, is a most positive sign that you appreciate something very profound.”
Gutmann’s speech came at the heels of the suicide of Penn junior Timothy Hamlett, who was found dead earlier this summer. For months prior, the Penn community called out the administration for a perceived lack of action to fight depression and destructive perfectionism — or “Penn Face.” “I think Penn can do more to help students who are overwhelmed and need someone to go to and trust,” said Jim Holleran, the father of Madison Holleran — a Penn freshman who died in spring 2014 — in a February Daily Pennsylvanian article. Logan Gardner, a friend of Madison’s and a Wharton junior, agreed. “I think the approach of cultural change as an overarching theme is a very good step forward for Penn. But that being said, I don’t think you can get much accomplished without concrete goals,” he said. Gutmann’s speech does not indicate SEE CONVOCATION PAGE 12
IRINA BIT-BABIK | NEWS PHOTO EDITOR
Convocation speeches by President Amy Gutmann (above) and other administrators discussed mental health as a key campus issue.
— Emily Hoeven PAGE 4
MANAGING EXPECTATIONS BACK PAGE
Penn ranks among most LGBTQ-friendly schools Princeton and Cornell were the only other Ivies to make the list ISABEL KIM Deputy News Editor
Penn is the most LGBTQfriendly Ivy, according to Campus Pride, an organization that tracks un iversity accepta nce of the LGBTQ community. On Tuesday, Campus Pride released its top 25 LGBTQ-Friendly “Best of the Best” colleges and universities, with Penn earning a top
score in the Campus Pride Index, as well as being part of the top 25. Campus Pride Index is the “premier LGBTQ national benchmarking tool for colleges and universities to create safer, more inclusive campus communities,” according to its website, and it ranks colleges and universities through a stringent set of categories and rules. Penn was one of only three Ivy League schools that made the list. By .5 points, Penn beat out Princeton and Cornell in the Campus SEE LGBTQ PAGE 6
ILANA WURMAN | SPORTS PHOTO EDITOR
The Philly Pride Parade is hosted every summer just outside Penn’s campus in Center City.
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