IU sorority seeks court order to keep house open

A sorority at Indiana University is going to court Thursday to keep their doors open at least until the end of the semester.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. (WTHR) - A sorority at Indiana University is going to court Thursday to keep their doors open at least until the end of the semester.

The national office of IU's Tri Delta sorority shut the house down and ordered all the members out of the house by Sunday evening for "activities that do not represent our high standards or align with Tri Delta's purposes." The national chapter said the house was on probation three straight semesters and it appeared "they had no intention of making positive change."

The chapter has been fighting to get reinstated for the past month after the sorority's national leadership withdrew its charter.

"I've been here for 16 years and I've had the nicest girls on campus. We have done nothing wrong," said Tri Delta house mother Ellen McPherson.

The university says it wants to meet with the 75 students who live in the house and help them with alternative housing, counseling, and psychological services.

"Our priority is the safety of the students and assistance to them during this difficult transition," IU officials said.

They're hoping for judge's help to keep the house doors open.

"You can't really get a lease for like a month and an apartment, so a lot of us are just trying to figure out housing situations and the school's been really helpful with that as well," said sorority member Sami Hart.

"(We) want to stay together as long as we can and with the housing on campus, we would all be split up into different dorms, and living in hotels, we'll be kicked out every weekend because they're booked, so we're just bouncing back and forth between ideas right now," said Ellie Schoch.

"I spent last evening in the house with them. They are sick, they're tired, they're frustrated, they hurt. These young ladies can't even focus on school, on academics, which is what they are there for," said Jim Harris, the father of one of the sorority sisters.

Harris says Tri Delta's national office won't disclose specifics about alleged violations here.

"What are they guilty of?" Harris asks. "And we get no answers. So false accusations. These young ladies are at a critical time. They've got five weeks left in the semester."

That's why they're going to court, seeking at least a temporary restraining order that would keep them in the house until the end of the semester.

"Our main hope is just to be able to stay in the house for the rest of the semester. This is our home," Schoch said.

"We don't want any trouble with nationals. We just want to be able to spend the last month of school in the house," Hart said.

Both sides could be in Monroe County Court as early as Thursday.