Bottoms delays DZ statement; chapter moves forward with reorganization

By: Andy Bruner

Posted: 2/16/07

Editor's note: An updated version of this article will appear in the Feb. 20 issue of The DePauw.

After planning to release a statement on the controversy surrounding Delta Zeta sorority Friday, President Robert G. Bottoms has decided to release the statement Monday.

In December, DZ nationals asked 23 members of DePauw's Delta chapter to take alumnae status in an effort to reorganize the chapter. Many of the women now on alumnae status have expressed discontent with DZ nationals' actions, sparking a campus-wide debate on the issue.

DePauw administrators have remained largely silent on the question of whether or not DZ nationals' actions were fair to the women involved.

"It's a difficult time for all the students on both sides, and all along we've been trying to support the women who remain with the chapter and those who have left," said Tom Hansen, director of fraternity and sorority affairs.

Dean of Students Cindy Babington invited active DZ members and alumnae to dinner Thursday to discuss ways to move the situation forward. She said that in her talks with the students, she has developed concerns with the way DZ nationals conducted the membership review process by which the organization chose who would remain active and who would be asked to leave the chapter.

"Membership reviews do happen on our campus, but the way they normally happen is you're looking to put on alumni status members who have behavior issues or are creating disruptions … That just wasn't the situation with this one," Babington said.

Babington also echoed concerns expressed by DZ student alumnae who contend that they were told they would have a choice to stay or leave the chapter, but were then forced out.

"I have a couple of big concerns: What criteria was used to place these women on alumnae status?" Babington said. "Maybe the bigger point of contention that I have is that the women … have all reported to me that they were told it would be their choice whether to continue or not. … I just don't think that's what happened."

Since roughly half of the chapter's members were asked to leave in December, DZ nationals representatives have maintained that they plan to reform the chapter's identity and rebuild its numbers. But during recruitment earlier this month, 11 freshmen accepted bids to DZ, and since bid night on Feb. 4, eight have chosen not to participate in pledgeship activities to become members of the sorority.

DZ nationals Executive Director Cindy Menges said the chapter will continue with reorganization plans despite the small number of pledges.

"We're going to continue with three or none or 30," she said. "I don't know that you can say that you're off-track in a situation like this."

A freshman, who asked to remain anonymous, said she had originally accepted a bid to DZ, but the controversy surrounding the chapter partially influenced her decision not to pledge.

"They had girls from other schools [come to help with recruitment], and they tried to make it sound like the typical perfect sorority, but you knew it wasn't going to be like that," she said.

The freshman said she asked DZ members during recruitment about the women who took alumnae status and the chapter's plans to move forward.

"They never got specific. They just said they were trying to reform things," she said. "Every time I tried to ask them a question, they didn't really have an answer."

The freshman said some of her friends also received bids from DZ, and they met to discuss the possibility of joining the chapter.

"We all got together and talked about it and tried to have an open mind," she said. "But all of us were really against what they did, and we didn't want to be associated with it."

-Mike Morris contributed to this article