STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — Penn State’s president has told the university community an investigation into the Facebook posting of nude photographs by a now-suspended fraternity could lead to a re-evaluation of the overall fraternity system.
Eric Barron sent a statement late Wednesday night to faculty, staff and students that said some senior university leaders believe there is a need for such a review.
He said the school is working with the national leadership of Kappa Delta Rho, which suspended the Penn State chapter for a year earlier this week, to see if it “will have a presence” on campus and what conditions might be required.
Hazing, excessive drinking and sexual assaults are “issues within fraternal life” that need to be addressed, he said.
“It also brings us to a point where we must ask if a re-evaluation of the fraternity system is required. Some members of the university senior leadership believe it is, and we are considering our options,” Barron wrote.
In interviews earlier Wednesday, he had stressed that the focus should be on individual actions rather than blaming entire institutions. More than 4,000 undergraduates at the State College campus belong to 50 fraternity chapters.
“Fraternities do offer leadership and service opportunities and when fraternity members take up their role as citizens with noble intentions, good things can happen,” Barron wrote. “But when individual members deviate from the positive goals they can pursue, they not only tarnish the reputation of their brothers, but also the university community. They also may cause a great deal of harm to themselves and others.”
