Penn State Greek report cards are in: Which fraternities had the most hazing, alcohol violations? (2024)

The inside of the Beta Theta Pi house, now closed, at Penn State.

Photos by Mark Pynes

By Christine Vendel

Editor's note: This story was updated to correct an error in the information provided by Penn State on the number of fraternities with hazing violations. Only one fraternity had a hazing violation, according to updated information from the university.

After Timothy Piazza, 19, died in February from injuries he suffered during a pledge night party inside the Beta Theta Pi house, Penn State launched a crackdown of the Greek system.

The university took control of oversight and discipline of the fraternities and sororities that previously had beenoperatedby student-run organizations such as the local Interfraternity Council. The university also promised to publish "scorecards" that would reveal the grade-point averages and number of violations associated with each house, among other data points.

On Friday, the universityunveiledthe scorecards for the spring 2017 semester for the first time.

The data comes after the conclusion of recruitment for the fall semester, which was open only to upperclassmen. (That was another one of the university's reforms.)That means the information was not available to students or parents trying to select a Greek house this fall.

The Alpha Kappa Lambda house at Penn State, with 33 members, whichhad no violations, according to the university.

The data

The data released by the university doesn't include past infractions, only violations identified by the universityduring the spring semester.

There were zero sexual assault violations for any Greek organization, according to the data, and only one hazing violation covering the 57 houses.

There were several dozen violations for alcohol and "other,"infractions (which covers bylaws, recruitment, etc.) this spring.

Thirty houses had no violations, while more than two dozen houses had at least one violation. The mostviolations for any single house was four.

Five sororities also made the list for violations.

Addressing the low number of violations, a university spokeswoman saidofficialsare only aware ofviolations that are reported. Lisa Powers noted the spring semester was unusual in that socials were banned after Piazza's death and the university started drop-in monitoring so the violations "may not reflect all activities in a regular semester."

There was no data listed for the shuttered Beta Theta Phi house, where Piazza was mortally injured. Instead, the university noted the house lost its recognition "indefinitely" for hazing violations.

Phi Kappa Psi

The Phi Kappa Psi house was the onlyGreek house that was slapped with a hazing violation in the spring semester. No details about the hazing incident was provided by the university.

The house also had one alcohol violation. It has 74 active members with a 3.01 grade-point average. More than 14 percent of the members have a GPA lower than 2.5.

The data collected by the university also counts nuisance complaints byresidentsabout specific properties and assigns points based on the concerns. This house had zero nuisance reports.

Next we'll cover the seven houses with multiple alcohol violations.

Photo from Acacia Facebook page

Acacia

The Acacia house had two alcohol violations and two "other" violations, which weren't specified by the university. That total represents the most violations assigned to a single house.

The house also racked up five "borough points" for reported nuisances from January through May.

The house has 116 active members, making it the second-largest fraternity on campus. Its members have an above-average GPA of 3.32.

Phi Kappa Sigma house, from their Facebook page.

Phi Kappa Sigma

The Phi Kappa Sigma house had two alcohol violations and 12 borough points assessed against the house under the property ordinance nuisance system. That's the most of any house at Penn State.

The house, with 41 members, has a collective GPA of 3.13, but the latest class of new members had among the lowest GPAs of the fraternities at 2.19.

Pi Lambda Phi

The Pi Lambda Phi house racked up two alcohol violations.

The house has 74 active members with a collective 3.06 grade-point average. Nearly 14 percent of the members are struggling with GPA's under 2.5.

This house had zero "nuisance" points.

Photo by Mark Pynes, PennLive

Kappa Sigma

The Kappa Sigma fraternity had two alcohol violations for the spring semester.

The house has 68 active members,and 16 new members, with a chapter grade-point average of 3.02. Nearly 23-percent of the members had a GPA of less than 2.5.

There were no borough points assessed against the house in the spring.

Photo by Mark Pynes, PennLive

Phi Gamma Delta

The Phi Gamma Delta house had two alcohol violations this spring. There were no nuisance reports against the property.

The house has 67 active members, and 13 new members, with a chapter GPA of 3.17.

Sigma. Chi

The Sigma Chi house had two alcohol violations and no borough points assigned.

The house has 37 active members,and 60 new members. The chapter has a grade-point average of 2.72, but the new members have a higher GPA of 3.26.

Photo from psu.edu

Tau Kappa Epsilon

The Tau Kappa Epsilon house had two alcohol violations in the spring semester and six points assessed by the borough for nuisance reports. That'stied for second-highest number of borough points assigned to a Greek house this spring.

The house voluntarily closed this fall, after Piazza's death at the Beta house, so its members could renovate the property and reevaluate their policies and programs.

Alpha Epsilon Pi

Five fraternities logged one alcohol and one "other" violation, including the Alpha Epsilon Pi house.

The house has 43 active members with a 2.90 grade-point average. Nearly 15 percent of the members had a GPA of below 2.5.

Chi Pi

The Chi Pi house had one alcohol and one "other" violation.

The house has 60 members with a 3.10 grade-point average.

Delta Sigma Phi

The Delta Sigma Phi house logged one alcohol violation and one "other" violation.

The house has 98 members, making it among the larger houses, with a 2.97 grade-point average.

Delta Upsilon

The Delta Upsilon house had one alcohol violation and one "other" violation.

The house, with 73 active members, had a 3.11 grade-point average.

Sigma Tau Gamma

The Sigma Tau Gamma house got one alcohol violation and one "other" violation this spring.

The house has 35 active members with a 2.93 grade-point average.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon

The Sigma Alpha Epsilon house was one of about 10 fraternities that gota singlealcohol violation. The others (not pictured) include:

Beta Sigma Beta

Lambda Chi

Pi Kappa Alpha

and the following houses pictured:

Alpha Tau Omega

Alpha Gamma Rho

Phi Kappa Theta

The PhiSigma Kappa house at Penn State.

Phi Sigma Kappa

In addition to a single alcohol violation, the Phi Sigma Kappa house got assessed six borough points for nuisance complaints.

Delta Chi

The Delta Chi house was among two houses that had one "other" violation. The other fraternity was the Pi Kappa Alpha house, with 117 active members, which makes it the largest fraternity at Penn State.

The Delta Chi house also logged two borough points for nuisance reports.

Sigma Alpha Mu

The Greek scorecards from the university also noted that eight fraternities had lost their recognition in recent years.

The Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity lost its recognition April 20, 2017 for two years for "violation of expectations."

The other houses that lost their recognition include the Beta Theta Phi house, the Sigma Lambda Gamma house and:

Kappa Delta Rho

Kappa Delta Rho lost its recognition May 27, 2015 for three years for hazing and policy violations.

Alpha Chi Rho

The Alpha Chi Rho lost its recognition July 17, 2017 for one year by Interfraternity Council (before the university took control) for hazing.

Phi Kappa Tau

The Phi Kappa Tau house lost its recognition on May 1, 2015 for three years by Interfraternity Council for hazing violations.

Pi Kappa Phi

The Pi Kappa Phi house lost its recognition on April 2, 2015 for three years by Interfraternity Council for hazing violations.

Phi Mu Delta

The Phi Mu Delta house lost recognition on July 10, 2017 for one year by the Interfraternity Council for hazing violations.

Delta Tau Delta

The Delta Tau Delta house is currently under suspension after police found an 18-year-old student unconscious after a fall in the borough. University officials suspected he may have been drinking at the house prior to tripping on the sidewalk on his way back to the dorms. The investigation is ongoing.

The Delta Tau Delta house did not show any violations or borough points for the spring semester.

Sororities

The sororities at Penn State don't have their own houses, but rather, occupy floors of dormitories.

No sororities logged any hazing violations this spring.

Five sororities were cited for a single alcohol violation this spring. They are:

Alpha Chi Omega

Alpha Sigma Alpha

Kappa Delta

Kappa Kappa Gamma

Pi Beta Phi

One multicultural Greek house also had a single alcohol violation: the Iota Nu Delta fraternity.

The following housesare among those with no violations:

Theta Chi

Delta Kappa Epsilon

Chi Psi

Delta Phi

Zeta Beta Tau

Theta Delta Chi

Phi Kappa Epsilon

Alpha Rho Chi

Tau Phi Delta

Lambda Chi Alpha

Triangle

Alpha Zeta