A Penn State fraternity has been suspended for a year after the discovery of a secret Facebook page with inappropriate pictures. Just after the public announcement that Penn State’s chapter of Kappa Delta Rho would be suspended for a year, fraternity brothers were playing football on the lawn of their house.
“Beautiful day, guys," said one of them. "Great day to be a brother.”
But they wouldn’t comment on allegations that frat members had posted graphic pictures of nude female students who appeared to be sleeping or passed out.
At the nearby campus student union, Freshman Felipe Moraes said he wasn’t really surprised to hear about the photos.
“I think there’s probably a lot more stuff that’s not, like, super out there for everybody, but just kinda kept under the covers,” said Moraes.
Sitting at tables across from Jamba Juice, doing homework and chatting, some Penn State students say they’ve heard about the pictures, which are also said to include images of drug deals and hazing. A former member of the fraternity went to police when he found out about the private Facebook group.
Sophomore Nicole Barros says she was shocked and disappointed when she heard about the pictures. She thinks this was an isolated incident.
“I mean I have a lot of friends that are in fraternities," said Barros. "They have all said they think it’s ridiculous. They’d never do anything like that. Their frats don’t do that. I hope people don’t take it as, ‘All frats are these disgusting people that do this,’ you know?”
Joann Foley-Defiore is an instructor in Biobehavioral Health at Penn State. She thinks it’s a small percentage of male students who are doing things like this. But she worries for her daughter, who’s in middle school now.
“As a future parent of a Penn State student, or hopefully a Penn State student, I’m terrified," said Foley-Defiore. "And my daughter, who hears this same news, she comes home terrified."
Freshman Smith Sopp thinks the one year suspension is a good start for the fraternity, and that it might eventually get kicked out for good. He thinks the students should be charged criminally as well.
“I was shocked, a bit disgusted," said Sopp. "I mean, I don’t like hearing things, especially things like that. Especially when they’re related to the school. I think it gives us a bad name.”
Police haven’t made any arrests yet, but they say charges could include invasion of privacy and harassment.
