Despite campus-wide rumors that the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority would be disassociated this fall from the Panhellenic Council, the sorority is still affiliated with Panhel and will continue to participate actively in campus Greek life. The sorority is, however, under evaluation by its national organization for a number of minor infractions and has been on notice -- and banned from holding social events -- since January. The sorority will not "turn into the next Tabard," Theta President Katie Samuels said, referring to the private social organization not affiliated with Panhel. "There was never more than talk about that," the College senior added, noting that such a move would require a lot of long-range planning. And Panhellenic Council President and College senior Becca Iverson assured, "Theta is currently a member of Penn's Panhellenic Council. Any changes to that position right now would come from the chapter itself, not from anything Panhel would do." As for the reasons behind Theta's evaluation, Samuels conceded that "over the years our chapter at Penn maybe has fallen short in complying with all the little rules that national wants us to follow." But she stressed that no major violations have occurred. "They're not big rules," she said. "They're little tiny things that add up, like turning forms in on time. It's not like we've done one huge thing." Administrators maintained that the University was not involved in any disciplinary action against Theta. "At this point," said Leah Smith, a spokesperson for the Office of the Vice Provost for University Life, "any issues or infractions that resulted in the national office taking a more active role with the chapter are strictly between the chapter, its individual members and the national office." A representative from Theta's national office did not return several calls for comment on the specifics of the chapter's violations. Neither the parameters nor the results of the national's evaluation of the sorority will be available until after the first chapter meeting at the end of September. Samuels said she was certain, however, that the Theta pledging system will not require re-evaluation and that rush will continue as usual in the spring. The sorority decided not to renew its lease with Campus Apartments for the property at 4039 Walnut Street when its 10-year contract expired this past spring, making it the only Panhellenic Council organization without a nationally recognized house this fall. Samuels said the decision not to renew the lease was not directly related to the re-evaluation by national and was an issue of finding a more desirable location for the sorority. "The housing core of nationals decided not to renew the lease because if they renewed it they'd have to sign down for the next five years and we didn't necessarily want that location for the next five years," Samuels said.
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