Kate Delenick
Editor in Chief
The spring semester for the Alpha Nu Omega Sorority was supposed to be filled with community service, fundraisers, weekly meetings, and social events but that all changed after an investigation was launched by the McDaniel Administration after a student reported an incident directly to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Elizabeth Towle.
The investigative process was started a week before Spring Break and started with a phone call to the sorority’s president. Throughout the weeks to come the “Omegas” were unsure of the process or why the investigation was taking as long as it did. With promises made to hold different community service events and the administration telling the group during the investigation they could not meet as an organization many of their promises to the community were broken.
An anonymous Alpha Nu Omega sorority member said, “It’s frustrating, stressful, and embarrassing.”
As a result of the long investigation not only were the girls unable to congregate as a sorority but they were forced to join the housing lottery which essentially meant they would lose their floor in Blanche Ward Hall. Our source noted that they did not technically get housing “taken away” by the administration but because it took place over the time period that housing was being chosen for the following year the girls had to enter the lottery system.
When the investigation was finally over the administration left the girls with three options: Rebuild as a group, which according to the sorority will give them the opportunity to change and make additions to their current constitution. However it is an eight step process which will mean meeting with faculty and following benchmark points. “It’s good but it just takes a lot of time,” the source said. The second option laid out would be “to go National.” It is an option that the local sorority is looking into but having mixed feelings about. They just recently celebrated their 30th anniversary and there is a certain pride that they take in still being a local McDaniel Chapter. The last option given by the administration is one that the sorority is not even considering and that is completely dismantling or in Greek terminology, “dying out.”
When the administration was reached for comment Towle said, “I’m not going to comment on any investigation that has or hasn’t happened. If the community needs to know they will know whether that is the sorority telling them or me telling them.”
The sorority was told to make a decision by April 30 and according to our source have recently decided to rebuild. This means their current pledge class is given the option to rebuild with the sorority if they choose to.
While for some it may seem the hard part is over, the sisters are now facing a tough road ahead that will change the future of their sorority as well as patching old wounds that this investigation has left. The girls can now only think of what the semester could have been like and although they’re looking forward to a bright future the lingering feelings from the long investigation are still fresh.
“It might be nice if there was [an investigative] process in writing, not just for us but for other organizations,” our source said, “I want Greek life at McDaniel to thrive and in the future have organizations work with the administration to make it better. Greek life does have a place on campus just like clubs and sports. It just needs to be correctly monitored so it can live on.”
Towle had similar to say about the future of Greek Life, “I hope it continues to grow as a community because I think for students who are interested it a good way to get involved. I want to see Greek Life continue to grow.”
It has also been recently confirmed that the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity is also currently under investigation. When asked to comment a member of the fraternity told the Free Press they were “not able to comment at this time,” but “would be free to talk once the investigation is over.”