Penn State’s Barron Calls for Frat “Early Warning” System

Penn State President Eric Barron is calling for an “early warning system” that would help the university confront misbehavior at frats and sororities on campus before it gets out of hand, the Morning Call reports.

Barron didn’t describe the details of such a system, but his proposal comes in the wake of this spring’s reports that the Kappa Delta Rho fraternity had posted photos of nude, unconcious women to a private Facebook page. That made international headlines, magnified when an anonymous fraternity member dismissed the matter as “humorous, albeit possibly misguided, antics of a bunch of college kids.”

“Barron said only a few of the fraternities have created problems but they are capturing national attention, and he said those in such groups are reasonably held to a higher standard,” the paper reported. “He said an early warning system would enable the school to alert chapter leaders and the fraternity’s national headquarters of potential trouble, rather than waiting to punish after a transgression occurs.”

A decision on university sanctions against Kappa Delta Rho could come as soon as next month.