Yesterday afternoon, the Panhellenic Council asked its member sororities to cancel all socials scheduled for that night. The email, acquired by Onward State, was sent by Panhellenic Vice President for Standards Ceili Stahl to all chapters, saying:

Presidents-

There is a MANDATORY meeting tonight at 9:30pm in 129-C HUB. YOU MUST BRING YOUR ENTIRE EXECUTIVE BOARD AND NEW MEMBER EDUCATOR – this is a serious problem.

Also, EVERY CHAPTER MUST CANCEL SOCIAL FUNCTIONS FOR TONIGHT, the rest will be discussed at the meeting. Any questions, call Sara [Linkosky] or me.

According to additional emails sent to sorority members and obtained by Onward State, the focus of last night’s meeting was on issues of risk management stemming from the hospitalization of multiple new sorority members due to alcohol poisoning. The same issue was discussed at PHC President’s Council on Tuesday night, but the hospitalization of members from two different sororities that night necessitated last night’s meeting, according to anonymous sources familiar with the events.

In addition to the Executive Boards of each chapter, Dr. Roy Baker, Director of Greek Life and Advancement; Susan Legalley, Panhellenic Advisor; Max Wendkos, President of the Interfraternity Council; and other individuals were present.

In an email to Onward State, PHC President Sara Linkosky confirmed that a meeting was held Wednesday night to address “incidents that occurred the previous weekend in in regards to excessive drinking.” She also said,

Binge drinking is an ever-increasing problem on college campuses across the country; within, and out of the Greek community.  The Panhellenic community at Penn State recognizes this fact and is at the forefront of making changes within their chapters to curb this trend and hold their members accountable.

I am confident that the Panhellenic chapters at Penn State are dedicated to educating their members on the importance of responsible drinking.

Socials will begin again this evening.