Sorority hazing ritual divides house
The DePauw
DePauw University
GREENCASTLE, Ind. (U-Wire)
- Three Kappa Kappa Gamma
Sorority members whom the univer
sity found guilty of branding pledges
with cigarettes face a semesterlong
suspension and other sanctions after
winning an appeal last month. Their
original punishment was expulsion.
The three women, sophomores
Amanda Heldt, Sarah McKinney and
Jennifer. Miller, appealed their expul
sion on the grounds the punishment
was too harsh. Within the week, a
three-member appeals board met and
reduced their sentence to a semester’s
suspension and various community
service and probation requirements.
Eight other Kappa members who
participated in a pre-initiation hazing
ritual are on social probation, and two
have received formal warnings.
According to Theresa Bryant,
vice president of public affairs, an
administrative board heard the soror
ity’s case and punished Kappa with
social probation until June 2000.
Members of Kappa’s national sorori
ty will have to live in the house until
the probation ends.
During rush in the fall of 1998,
Kappa must say it hazed its pledges.
Kappa will be limited to a pledge
class of 10 in 1998 and 15 in 1999.
Kappa is appealing the punishment.
The university had some trouble
deciding how to try the cases against
the students and the sorority last
month. In the absence of a greek judi
cial board, the cases against the indi
viduals and the sorority should have
gone before the Student Conduct
Board.
Alan Hill, dean of students, said
he chose not to convene the Student
Conduct Board to hear the cases. He
said the timing was bad because it
was so near the end of the semester.
But he said the biggest problem was
finding student representatives who
did not have relationships with peo
ple in Kappa.
So instead of convening the
Student Conduct Board, Hill brought
the cases before what he called the
Administrative Hearing Board - a
group that looks like the Student
a-—
When they voted those girls back in the house, I knew I could
never wear the letters. I could never be proud of the house. ...”
« • • • - . •
Julie Egner
former Kappa Kappa Gamma member
Conduct Board minus one student
and one administrator. The Student
Handbook, which contains students’
rights and disciplinary procedures,
never mentions this board by name.
Julie Egner, a freshman who
depledged Kappa, disagreed with the
sentence reduction the appeals board
gave.
“I don’t think those three should
be allowed back on campus,” she
said. “I don’t understand why (the
university) backed down on this.
While they’re not condoning it,
they’re saying it’s not that bad.”
Egner said she decided to
depledge when Kappa voted not. to
kick the members out of the house.
“When they voted those girls
back in the house, I knew I could
never wear the letters,” she said. “I
could never be proud of the house
because they condoned (the hazing).”
Egner acknowledged that many
Kappas did vote to expel the mem
bers. The social probation also
applies to the pledges over the winter
term. For the pledges, that means no
official functions. No more than 20
Kappas are supposed to gather at any
one function. House meetings are the
only activity allowed.
A Kappa pledge who wished to
remain unnamed said she thinks the
heavy sanctions against Kappa will
cause more members to depledge as
they realize what the sanctions will
result in.
“I would imagine that there’s
going to be a mass exodus as it gets
- i V " • r
closer to initiation,” she said.
The Administrative Hearing Board
began hearing the cases on December
12.The Appeals Board consisted of
three trained members as well.
Twelve members pleaded “not
responsible,” similar to a not guilty
plea in a criminal court. The
Administrative Hearing Board found
all of them to be responsible for the
charges of hazing and contributing to
the illegal use of alcohol by minors.
One Kappa member had her case
heard by an administrator in the
Student Affairs office because she
pleaded guilty to the charges, Hill
said. The administrator suspended
her for a semester. The Appeals Board
reduced the suspension to social pro
bation.
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Convocation honors
King contributions
KING from page 1
“All the lessons in physics and
in math and in advanced sciences
and all the other subjects and disci
plines ... will be of naught if they
fail to learn the lessons of brother
hood taught by Dr. King,” Shanks
said.
fsfos Myles’ voice, loud and
-assertive, boomed through the audi
torium as he represented King, illu
minating what he felt King would
say if he were alive today.
Myles, who resembled the slain
civil rights leader, spoke about the
work that remained in the fight for
social justice.
“You have fo pick up the
weapons of love, you have to pick
up the weapons of truth. You have to
pick up the weapons of humanity,”
he said.
The convocation focused on
King’s dneam to work toward social
jjustie^l&y encouraging audience
members to pledge time to the com
munity. They were asked to fill out
cards provided in their programs
and drop the cards into red boxes
labeled with different Lincoln orga
u
You have to pick
up the weapons of
humanity”
Jessie Myles
speaker
. / ..qfiusc ii jjsoJ JO y.,.
nizations which needed volunteers.
Chancellor James Moeser pre
sented a new award, the
Chancellor’s Fulfilling the Dream
Award, to Keith Parker, sociology
professor and director of the
African American and African
Studies program.
The award will be given annual
ly to a member of the university
community who has helped contin
ue King’s dream.
Twice during the convocation,
the audience stoocfand sang with
the Voices of Destiny.
Moeser accompanied the audi
ence on the piano for the final song,
“We Shall Overcome,” where many
in the audience and on stage stood
and held hands. :
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