DePauw University Delta Zeta discrimination controversy
[2] In an emergency attempt to salvage the chapter, a team of national representatives came to the university in November 2006 to conduct a membership review, interviewing women individually about their dedication to the sorority.
A February 25, 2007 article in The New York Times quoted one former Delta chapter member as saying, "They had these unassuming freshman girls downstairs with these plastic women from Indiana University, and 25 of my sisters hiding upstairs.
[6] However, in early December 2006—shortly before finals week at DePauw—national headquarters sent out letters informing members that they were either still active or had been recommended for alumnae status and were to move out of the house by the end of January 2007.
[1] In the days following The New York Times article, other national media outlets picked up the story, including CNN, CBS News, Good Morning America, MSNBC, Newsweek, and People.
[6] During a February 26 interview with Paula Zahn of CNN, Cynthia Menges, then executive director of Delta Zeta, denied the chapter's allegations of discrimination based on religion, race, or ethnicity and maintained that the 23 affected women left voluntarily.
[8] As of March 6, the sorority's national website featured an apology to the evicted students but still includes a letter calling into question those women's loyalty to the chapter and blaming them in part for its recent struggles.
[10][11] Delta Zeta responded with a statement on the front page of its website expressing disappointment with Bottoms's decision and reiterating its position that the review was necessary, but conceding that the 23 alumnae should probably have been notified of their change in status in person and at a different point in the school year.
"[14] On March 29, 2007, it was reported in The New York Times that Delta Zeta's national office, based in Oxford, Ohio, had filed suit in U.S. Federal District Court in Indianapolis against DePauw University for expelling the sorority from campus.
[20] In 1999, eight former members of the sorority's Alpha Theta chapter at the University of Kentucky sued the national organization, claiming they had been forced to take early alumnae status based on their appearance during a similar reorganization.
[22] Concern was expressed by other students that at a meeting held February 2, 2007, an educational leadership consultant from Delta Zeta national stated, "Image, I'm not going to lie to you, is a huge part of it.
"[4] Texas Christian University selected Gamma Phi Beta International Sorority over Delta Zeta as a new member of its Panhellenic community on February 28, 2007.
