Penn fraternity members have described a new rule, presently being enforced at Penn, limiting attendance at fraternity social events to 100 persons, as “outrageous.” For the purpose of this article, usage of the word “fraternity” shall include fraternities and sororities.
A recent editorial appearing in The Daily Pennsylvanian describes reports that the Penn Administration is again trying to reduce the influence of fraternities on campus by restricting social life at registered fraternity parties. It was written by The Daily Pennsylvanian Editorial Board.
It was not enough to force sophomores to live in Penn Housing. Fraternity houses were not considered to be part of the Penn dormitory system. Penn then required all sophomores to purchase a Penn dining contract. Also, every member of a fraternity at Penn must pay a $400 fee to Penn for the privilege of belonging to a fraternity.
Despite these measures, fraternity life continued to exist on campus because fraternities foster greater interaction among its members resulting in deeper friendships. In addition, fraternities provide a social life through its activities and parties. The Daily Pennsylvanian acknowledges that social life at Penn “entails going to parties largely hosted by fraternities and sororities.” Penn is now enforcing a 100-person maximum capacity limit on fraternity house parties.
Under the guise that this limitation is intended to provide a better safety environment and for logistical feasibility, the same 100-person limit is applied to fraternity houses both big and small. A “crowd counter” is assigned by Penn to stand at the entrance to the fraternity house to regulate admission to the event. The Daily Pennsylvanian characterized crowd counters as “‘school sponsored’ bouncers.”
A follow-up article in The Daily Pennsylvanian on September 9, 2025, written by Samantha Hsiung and Finn Ryan, portrayed situations where enforcement is not being provided in a consistent manner. At some parties, a “100-person limit” meant that 100 persons could be in the house at one time. If one person leaves the house, one person will be permitted to enter. At other parties, the new ruling was interpreted to mean that only 100 people could attend. As soon as the crowd counter determines 100 people have attended the party, no one else is allowed to enter even if someone leaves the party. The article does not address whether fraternity members that are in their bedrooms studying, sleeping, or otherwise not at the “party”, were being considered as part of the “100-person limit.”
Journalists Hsiung and Ryan, quote a fraternity member opinion of the new rule, “The school says it wants to make Penn’s social life more inclusive and less cliquey, but by imposing this 100-person limit on parties, it actually makes them more exclusive, worsening the very problem the school claims it wants to fix. We all go to class and study hard, so we should be able to socialize without the added stress of only being able to invite a few friends.”