Sorority Kicked Off Campus for 'Reprehensible' Scavenger Hunt

Quests were 'morally questionable,' Lehigh says
By Rob Quinn,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 12, 2018 3:19 AM CDT
Sorority Kicked Off Campus for 'Reprehensible' Scavenger Hunt
Alumni Memorial Building at Lehigh University.   (Getty/CynthiaAnnF)

A "reprehensible" sorority scavenger hunt that "involved the use of drugs and alcohol, sexual activity, and other activities that violate Lehigh University policy" counts as hazing even if participants took part willingly, the university has decided. The Alpha Chi Omega has lost its status and been booted off the Pennsylvania campus until May 2020 at the earliest after being found responsible for hazing and other offenses, reports the Morning Call. In a blog post, the university says the dubious acts involved in December's "Road Rally" scavenger hunt may not have been "required for affiliation into the organization, but are clearly considered a rite of passage and a consistent part of membership."

Alpha Chi Omega will be ordered to vacate its sorority house and the university says that by the time the sorority can resume operations on campus, all the current members will have graduated, breaking a link with the tradition, Lehigh Valley Live reports. "This incident was a significant, reprehensible event that the entire chapter was aware of and leadership endorsed," says the university blog post, which accuses sorority leadership of creating "a situation that occurred on and off campus involving morally questionable quests." Alpha Chi Omega, which cooperated with the investigation by turning over scavenger hunt lists, will be allowed to appeal the decision. (More sorority stories.)

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