Gamma Phi Beta disqualified

The Little 500 has been no stranger to controversy this year, and the women's race was no exception. Gamma Phi Beta rode in the race unofficially and was not counted in the final standings after being told on race day one of its riders was ineligible. \nThe IU Student Foundation was informed on race day from Gamma Phi Beta Nationals that senior and captain Deirdre Finzer, who is also an IDS photographer, was not in good order with the sorority and could not participate in extracurricular events. \n"The national organization of Gamma Phi Beta notified us that Deirdre was not in good standing with her sorority," IUSF assistant director and Little 500 coordinator Alex Ihnen said. "For our rules, you have to be in good standing with your organization in order to represent them. So, she was notified and told she would not be able to represent her team."\nAfter a several week ordeal that had Finzer optimistic she could race, Finzer found out hours before the race that she could not. She met with her teammates, who made it clear that without their captain, they didn't want to participate. \n"She expressed her strong desire to ride and asked what we could do," Ihnen said. "We said 'We don't physically remove people from the track. We're not going to use force to remove people from the track in the middle of the race or after the race has started.' So we said, 'It's your choice, if you take the track and race, we just won't keep track of how many laps you do. We didn't score the team."\nGamma Phi Beta decided just to be disqualified and race anyway. Finzer ended up leading for the team.\nThe ruling goes back to an incident in the fall when Finzer and her roommate were accused of smoking marijuana in their room. As reprimand, Finzer had to give up positions on Riders Council and as a rush counselor and was put on probation. \n"I've suffered enough punishment for this," Finzer said. "Everything I was fighting for was to be in Little 5."\nIn the weeks leading up to the Little 500, the issue was rekindled as members of Gamma Phi Beta wrote letters to bring the issue in front of the executive board. Both sides -- Finzer and the sorority -- hired lawyers. Finzer hoped to represent the house in the race and believed the issue could be resolved, opting not to deactivate from the house and race independently.\nTwo weeks prior to the race, Finzer received a letter informing her she wasn't kicked out of the house, but that her membership privileges were suspended. Thus, she couldn't participate in the race.\n"They made our life a living hell this year," Finzer said. "Mind you, we're seniors, we're supposed to be enjoying this year. This is our last year. I seriously would have deactivated and lived out this year if I'd known all the hell I would have had to go through. It's ridiculous. The only reason I stayed in the house was to ride in Little 500." \nFinzer had intended to participate in the race despite the letter while hoping that no one from Nationals found out. Finzer alleged that sorority president Kristin Modrowski informed Nationals in an act of personal spite. \n"It was a personal vendetta," Finzer said. "I have no doubt. She's told people 'Deirdre won't ride. Deirdre will not ride.' But I proved her wrong."\nAs president, Modrowski said she could not comment on the situation. But she said Finzer's claims were erroneous. \n"It's not true," Modrowski said of the claims. \nEven though they won't count in the final standings, Gamma Phi Beta believes it would have finished sixth. After the race was over, Finzer thanked IUSF director Jonathan Purvis and Ihnen for giving her the opportunity to ride in her last Little 500, even under the circumstances. \n"They won't have a finishing position," Ihnen said, "but she got to ride"