Delta Nu’s formal ended with one attendee in the hospital and a lifetime ban from the Franklin Hotel.
The theme of the event, “The Great Gatsby,” is ordinarily very popular among sorority gatherings.
“We thought it would be cute,” said President Rebecca Yu. “Who doesn’t love those tasseled dresses?”
Apparently not everyone. It was evident upon entrance into the venue that this would not be a typical Gatsby-themed event.
“As soon as you walked in, there was an inflatable pool with a corpse floating face down in the water,” said Clare Jamison, formal attendee.
The corpse, it turned out, was a CPR dummy stolen from the Exercise and Sport Science department. Still, Jamison described the prop as “disturbing” and “kinda funny but in a weird way.”
Shortly after the discovery of the “corpse”, a Honda Civic was driven through the wall of the building, toppling the chocolate fountain and effectively rendering the dance floor unusable.
When asked about the formal, event coordinator Cecilia Beckett said, “Have you ever read ‘The Great Gatsby’? It’s messed up.”
Beckett’s date, Alex Cobb, said he knew she was acting out of character but initially didn’t think anything of it.
“She kept calling me ‘old sport’ and talking about her time in the trenches. I thought she was just stressed from planning," he said.
Beckett revealed that, had the event not been immediately shut down, more was planned.
“I was going to stand on the balcony in an expensive suit drinking scotch,” she said.
Beckett never got her chance, though. Shortly after the car came in through the wall, Franklin Hotel manager Hal Davies kicked the group out.
“I wish I could say I’ve seen worse,” Davies said. “But I really haven’t.”
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