Fraternity Suspended in Registration Scam, CSUN Says

A California State University, Northridge, fraternity has been suspended by the school after allegations that its members were operating a system that allowed them to skirt registration guidelines and enroll in popular classes.

The suspension means that Phi Delta Theta fraternity will not be allowed to take part in social activities on campus for the rest of the school year, said Edmund Peckham, dean of students.

In addition, three fraternity members, who were not identified, face disciplinary action, Peckham said.

An investigation into the incident is continuing, he said.

The fraternity will lose the charter the school has granted it if, in the future, members are caught engaging in “proven incidents of serious nature,” Peckham said.

The suspension was announced after school officials discovered that fraternity members and some of their friends were able to enroll in classes that were full, college spokeswoman Judy Elias said.

She said the students would fill out registration cards for classes that were closed and give them to another fraternity member who worked in the registration office. That person would then approve the entry, Elias said.

The students were “caught red-handed,” and university officials confiscated more than 100 registration cards used in the scheme, Elias said.

Elias acknowledged that the university’s registration system is cumbersome and antiquated.

By early next year, she said, a computerized registration system “will resolve all our problems and prevent anything like this from happening.”