National Chapter closes Delta Zeta house
January 30, 2005
Leaders of the national chapter of the Delta Zeta sorority are scheduled to meet with sorority members of the University of Massachusetts chapter today after their house was closed down by the national chapter due to an unspecified drug violation.
The meeting is expected to take place behind closed doors to discuss the future of the sorority located at 11 Phillips St. Details surrounding the alleged violations have been unclear, but one published report said the sorority was shut down after a maintenance worker took a photograph of what he believed to have been a marijuana pipe. The worker then allegedly sent the picture to the national chapter in Ohio.
Amherst Police Det. Ronald Young said his department is in no way involved in the investigation of the sorority. However, national chapter members gave what was described as a "courtesy call" to APD, informing them of the situation.
The closing of the chapter forced 15 students who live at the house to move out by yesterday.
A security guard was seen on patrol outside the house Sunday. The women who lived in the house also reported their phone was disconnected and they had no access to the Internet since late last week.
Sorority members say they are afraid of the scar the sorority may have to bare now that news of the closure has spread around campus.
"I was always proud to wear my letters around campus, but now I'm afraid to," Lea Marshiano, a Delta Zeta member told the Daily Hampshire Gazette.
Michael Wiseman, director of the Office of Fraternities and Sororities said it's too early to say whether any charges will be filed against the students under the university's Code of Student Conduct. He also said the university is working to help the students find other housing.
Wiseman explained to the Hampshire Gazette that sororities often have stricter standards than fraternities.
"All of the sorority houses are supposed to be substance free, and a lot of them don't allow men in the sleeping quarters," he said. "The sororities tend to be more structured and more closely monitored. They're more quick to take action if there are violations."
Delta Zeta members pay $500 a year in dues, on top of paying $4,500 to live in the house.
According to Wiseman, the closure of Delta Zeta is the first time a UMass sorority has been shut down for violations of the national organization's policies in his 12 years as director of the Office of Fraternities and Sororities.
-Dan O'Brien
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