De Pauw University Delta Zeta Discrimination Controversy - Background

Background

Founded in 1909, the Delta chapter was the sorority's second oldest active chapter and its fourth oldest chapter overall. Despite its long history at DePauw, however, the Delta chapter in recent years had struggled with declining membership and acquired a negative reputation on campus. In August 2006, national representatives, concerned about the Delta chapter's inability to recruit new members, announced that the chapter would be closed at the end of the 2006–7 school year if they failed to increase their numbers substantially or elected not to participate in active recruitment or informal rush. At a school where an estimated 70% of the student body belongs to a fraternity or sorority, the ΔΖ house was two-thirds empty. According to some former members, the chapter was known on campus as "The Dog House," and a DePauw psychology professor's survey of students found that ΔΖ was considered "socially awkward." The sorority attracted "brainy women", many with science and math majors, along with the gifted disabled. Many current members felt that it might be in their best interest to let the chapter close without recruiting new members. In anticipation of Delta's 2009 centennial, ΔΖ Executive Director Cynthia Winslow Menges had originally planned to close the chapter temporarily. In September 2006, however, the university informed ΔΖ headquarters that if the chapter were closed, it would not be allowed to reopen on the sorority's chosen timetable.