Two Penn events, sorority recruitment and a track and field meet, have been modified in response to the death of College freshman Madison Holleran, who died Friday night.
It is still unclear how she died.
The Panhellenic Council, Penn’s umbrella organization for sororities, announced this morning that formal recruitment will be postponed out of respect for Holleran. The announcement was made via text messages and in an email to all women who are taking part in recruitment.
Formal recruitment will resume tomorrow, according to the email. Skit Round — where sororities put on a short performance about their chapters — was postponed from today to tomorrow.
College junior and Panhel Assistant Vice President of Recruitment Caitlan Carberry confirmed that Holleran was taking part in formal recruitment, the process by which Penn students join sororities. There were no official recruitment events on Friday night.
Carberry called Holleran “a well-loved girl.” “We’ve been getting a lot of calls from Potential New Members [about her],” she added.
Holleran was a member of Penn’s varsity track and field team. Both the men’s and women’s track and field teams were scheduled for all-day meets in Bethlehem, Pa., on Saturday. However, upon receiving the news of Holleran’s death, members of each team were given a choice regarding whether or not they wanted to compete.
Her death was brought to the attention of the team’s coaches and staff early this morning, according to Eric Dolan, Assistant Director of Athletic Communications.
Holleran’s teammates were also made aware of the situation, Eric Dolan noted.
Though some of Holleran’s teammates did go to the Lehigh meet along with several assistant coaches, many remained on campus, and have spent the day in close contact with Director of Track and Field Steve Dolan.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with [Holleran’s] family and friends,” Steve Dolan said in a statement. “This is a challenging time for everyone involved with the program, but we will support each other in the weeks to come and help her teammates and friends find their own ways to honor her memory.
“We will always carry her in our hearts.”
Penn President Amy Gutmann also released a statement this morning about Holleran’s death.
“The entire Penn community is deeply saddened by the death of Madison Holleran,” she said. “She was bright and well-liked with an incredible future ahead of her. There are simply no words that can properly convey the sense of heartache that we all feel at such a tragic loss.”
“Our thoughts and prayers are with her family and friends at this very difficult time,” she added.
Anyone wishing to contribute comments for this story should email Managing Editor Amanda Suarez at suarez@thedp.com.
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