Kappa Delta Epsilon yesterday filed a complaint with the Hanover Police hoping to recover the sorority's summer slush fund, approximately $600 in cash stolen a week ago.
Summer KDE President Gretchen Lanka '97 said sisters at first waited to see if anyone would come forward and confess after discovering the money was missing from the room of KDE summer social chair Lynn Thacher '97.
But by yesterday, KDE sisters had waited long enough. They decided to ask the police for help.
"Now that the police [have] started the investigation, what happens is in their hands," Lanka said.
Investigations of this sort usually take one to two months, said Detective David Luther, who is heading the investigation for the Hanover Police.
The police classified the crime as a theft by unauthorized taking, which is a misdemeanor, Luther said. Such crimes are punishable by up to one year in jail or a fine of up to $2,000, in addition to the repayment of the stolen sum, he said.
Luther said it is too early to pinpoint any definite suspects or leads.
"In terms of our house, in terms of dealing with the whole thing, it would be so nice to know who did it," Lanka said.
The police will prosecute less severely if the perpetrator comes forward quickly, she said. "The sooner the person comes forward the better."
Although $600 is a large sum of money and many sisters feel violated, Lanka said, "This portion of the house money is an insignificant portion of house money."
A "slush fund" is the money Greek houses collect from their members to purchase alcohol.
"We do have other social funds," Lanka said, adding that many of KDE's summer events will not involve alcohol, such as discussion groups and bands.
"A lot of what we do at KDE is nonalcoholic programming and we're going to continue with that," she said.
The presidents and social chairs of other houses have also been very supportive about co-sponsoring events with the house, Lanka said.
"Thefts occur on this campus a lot, but you'd like to think that no one would come into your home ... and take anything," she said.
Lanka said sisters living in the house have all started locking their doors.
"I feel hurt and at the same time naive for not having locked our doors. It's not in my nature to be suspicious or think that something like this would happen," she said.
Lanka said house members met Monday night to discuss the issue and "to express our individual feelings and concerns."
It is "important for everybody to vent together and to hopefully feel comfortable expressing themselves with their sisters," she said.
