I have absolutely no law training, but here is what I fear. Even if DZ's membership selection processes are brought into evidence, and even if they are kept out of the public record, there will still be people who see them. Lawyers, legal assistants, jury members, etc. Given the public nature of this thing, should it actually see a trial, there will be jury members who will want to talk. Their quotes will be along the lines of "I can't believe they judge potential members and actually tell girls they can't belong."

Thus perpetuating the myth that sororities are all snotty elitists.

I had thought this whole mess was dying down. Even the thread on GC has been a little cool as far as posts go. Perhaps it would have been more prudent to cut their losses and let it all go away naturally. Come fall recruitment it would have been old news. The media would have found something new to talk about. While some people may have thought twice before joining DZ, if the issue is no longer in the forefront, it probably wouldn't have had that devastating an effect.

This action just ensures that the story continues to be told. All sides of the story will be told, and whose side is more compelling as far as the media goes? The women who feel discriminated against or the national organization who files a lawsuit?

I personally do not agree they should have any legs to stand on because they have never handled this situation in a manner that leads me (and many people) to believe they are completely innocent in all the things that happened.

If they are going to take on the "OMG WE'RE A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION AND WE SHOULD BE ABLE TO DISMISS WHOEVER WE WANT TO BECAUSE WE'RE A PRIVATE ORGANIZATION AND WE ARE ON THIS CRUSADE FOR ALL OF GREEKDOM" then hey, more power to them, but not everyone is going to buy it.

This lawsuit business makes me want to bang my head against the wall. I may be overreacting, but I'm estimating it's going to be close to a decade for DZ to recover from this.

I totally agree that it could affect PNMs, especially ones without Greek networks they can turn to for guidance. My mother and I were both Greek, so we know enough to help my sister see that every chapter is different and she should be looking for the best fit at HER school. But I have definitely already had two senior students ask me questions about whether they should rush at all because of articles their parents read in the papers about this whole situation (neither mentioned DZ; they were concerned that this was general practice for all sororities). I wonder if we will see a decline in rushers overall because girls will get a bad taste of NPC orgs from the DePauw incident and from all of the media coverage... I hope not.

I'm sure it will happen. But I feel any "fall out" isn't going to be restricted to just Delta Zeta but perhaps sororities (and fraternities) in general.

In any case, you did the right thing and pointed out that this was an isolated incident and that her daughter would be fine. (We hope.) As such, the daughter didn't de-pledge. This is what I anticipate to be the likely scenario for a while. Initial concern, followed by reassurance at the chapter (local) level.

And unfortunately, I am acquainted with a few. Bless their hearts.

I believe one of the points in the lawsuit is that DePauw did not follow their established guidelines regarding the Code of Conduct and Hearings before deciding to expel Delta Zeta from their campus.
Their Code of Conduct and Hearing Procedures are posted on the DePauw website:
http://www.depauw.edu/univ/handbooks...5&parentid=420

This process is applicable to individual students or recognized campus organizations.




Hearing RulesWhenever a hearing is to be held regarding an alleged violation of the University’s Code of Conduct, the respondent shall be given at least 72 hours notice of the charges and of the date and time of the hearing. Failure of the respondent to attend the hearing will result in the case being heard in his/her absence.
All hearings shall be closed to everyone except the judicial board, appropriate staff, the respondent, advisor to the respondent (if students desire), observer/recorder, and witnesses during the actual time of their testimony.
The respondent is entitled to be present at the hearing, to hear and respond to evidence regarding the charges, and to present witnesses and other evidence.
The respondent is entitled to be accompanied by a DePauw faculty, staff or student hearing advisor. The advisor may not address the board but may consult with the respondent prior to and during the course of the hearing.
Witnesses must be members of the DePauw faculty, staff or student body unless the chair of the judicial board rules that others may appear in the interest of the case. The respondent must give names of all relevant witnesses to the Associate Dean of Students at least 24 hours prior to the hearing. The respondent will have access to the names of all witnesses. The judicial board may call additional witnesses or seek further evidence relating to a case if the board desires clarification or further information. It is the responsibility of the respondent to notify all witnesses of the date, time and place of a hearing. If witnesses fail to appear, the hearing shall be held in their absence.
All relevant information will be admissible. The chair, in consultation with the board, will determine relevance.
All evidence and testimony presented to the judicial board are expected to be truthful, accurate and complete. Failure to give truthful and complete testimony at a hearing may result in judicial action.
The judicial board will tape-record the hearing. The deliberations of the judicial board are not recorded. Following a hearing, students may request to review tapes in the Office of Student Affairs for purposes of preparing an appeal. Hearing tapes will not be released to students, and copies will not be made for students. Once the student has exhausted all avenues of appeal, as described in the Community Standards Process, the tapes will be destroyed.

If they are serious about this lawsuit, by the time they are done with it and stuff...I don't think your overreacting at all.

That's what NPC should be afraid of right now. I think every sorority will have to have a way to answer questions about this during recruitment for the next couple of semesters for sure.

I don't know, it's not as far-reaching as some might think. As a current collegian at a school with a chapter of Delta Zeta, I have seen no effect from this story whatsoever. It's almost as though no one heard about it, which is surprising, but I think there are going to be plenty of schools and chapters of DZ (and other sororities) completely unaware and uneffected by this whole ordeal.

Though if this lawsuit business is largely publicized I can see it being an issue during formal recruitment in the fall.

Wow, this is the story that just will not die. If this is the "right" course of action for DZ nationals, I don't know. However, what I am absolutely sure of is this... for however long this drags out, the headlines will read as follows:

Discriminatory Sorority files lawsuit.

Racist Sorority fights back.

Sorority on kicking out minorities and fat girls: "It's our right".


Total PR disaster. Their position, to the public, is indefensible. They should release a mea culpa, or crawl into a hole and hope the world forgets about this little snafu.

well it's not quite at that point yet, but the headline on yahoo does read "controversial sorority sues university over eviction"

Why don't they just let this die?!

It seems to me that DePauw should have the right to choose what organizations they have official ties with, especially as a private institution. I doubt they wanted the media sh*tstorm that surrounded this whole thing, and entirely kicking DZ off campus was the easiest way to get rid of it.

Seriously, DZ's HQ needs to realize DePauw doesn't want them and GET OVER IT. Move on, try to let the whole thing blow over.

And a federal judge would probably laugh at that. You could maybe get away with that with a trial level state court judge. But membership selection is the heart of this issue.

I don't want to see anyone's ritual get put into public record, but at the same time, DZ needs to realize that this could very likely come out.

Oh man. Saw this news on another site and had to come over here to see what everyone was saying.

I don't see how this can possibly help DZ IHQ, and it's the members (their own - and all of the other NPC's too, because you know most people don't know DZ from any other sorority) who are going to suffer.

What's the chances of the case being a) thrown out or b) settled out of court? DePauw may not want to fight, but they hold what looks to most people like the high moral ground here, so they might be willing to stick it out.