Penn State Condemns Kappa Delta Rho, Banishes Frat for Three Years

For the next three years, Kappa Delta Rho is not a fraternity at Penn State.

Penn State officials handed down their decision on Tuesday, withdrawing the fraternity chapter’s recognition and condemning some members for committing serious violations of the university code of conduct. Kappa Delta Rho made national headlines in March for allegedly hosting a private Facebook page with photos of nude, unconscious women and drug use.

“The investigative report makes clear that some members of the KDR chapter promoted a culture of harassing behavior and degradation of women,” says Penn State Vice President of Student Affairs Damon Sims in a statement. “These are not acceptable actions within a student organization that is recognized and supported by Penn State.”

Although no charges have been filed in the ongoing criminal investigation, university leaders say some Kappa Delta Rho members sexually harassed women by repeatedly sharing degrading photos without their consent. This is in addition to problems including drug use, underage drinking and harassment of fraternity pledges.

“Pledges also were made to create stories containing pornographic images and a ‘sex position of the day;’ members regularly posted embarrassing photos of women; used demeaning language to describe females; and cultivated a persistent climate of humiliation for several females,” Penn State concludes in a news release.

Police began their investigation in March after a fraternity member came forward with the allegations. The media attention was sudden and intense as news vans swarmed State College. Protestors marched on the fraternity house and through town for weeks.

In response, Penn State President Eric Barron announced two special task forces. One is currently reviewing Greek life as a whole, while the other just revoked the KDR’s recognition by the university.

Although Penn State recognizes that not every KDR member is responsible, certain individual fraternity members will face punishment from the Office of Student Conduct – which may include expulsion. Details of individual student conduct cases are not made public.

The State College Police Department has repeatedly confirmed that officers are actively working on an ongoing investigation. Detectives involved with the case did not immediately respond when contacted for comment.

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