Trial by Jury

The University of Pennsylvania will bring charges through its internal court against students involved in the alleged gang rape at Alpha Tau Omega fraternity last winter, a source close to the investigation process said last month.

The court will be made up of six students--four undergraduate and two graduate--chosen by Judicial Administrator Gail Levin from a pre-selected pool.

The court will hold the hearing before the end of the school year, and will be able to recommend punishment up to and including expulsion from the university.

Not Appropriate

But while fraternity representatives had no comment on the proposed hearing, some students familiar with the case objected strongly to the idea of having a student jury try such a sensitive case.

"I don't think it's appropriate at all. The student panel was set up to be a jury of peers with incidents that tend to come up in daily university life," said former Undergraduate Assembly chairman Liz Cooper, who organized a support rally following the announcement of the gang rape allegations.