Wildcats accuse Penn singing group of lewd behavior

Members of the Princeton Wildcats, an all-female University a cappella group, were met with an unexpected reception while at the University of Pennsylvania last Thursday.

During the group's performance at the annual spring show of the Pennsylvania Six-5000, several members of a Penn fraternity allegedly streaked the stage, according to Wildcats president Jessica Williams '01.

The Penn Six-5000, an all-male a cappella group, invited the Wildcats to perform at the April 6 show — titled "Busted Interface." The invitation was made after the Penn group performed at Princeton on March 25 with the Roaring 20, another Princeton a cappella group.

In a draft of a letter Williams plans to send to Penn president Judith Rodin, Williams said the Wildcats "were slightly wary of accepting the invitation due to the tasteless antics of the Penn Six-5000 when they performed at Princeton the previous month."

But the Wildcats, "in good faith," said Williams, decided to do the show in Penn's Irvine Auditorium anyway. And during their 20-minute performance, the group endured relentless whistling and heckling by "audience members seated at the front of the auditorium and identified as Penn Six-5000 alumni," according to Williams.

In addition, the show's program listed sexually suggestive names in place of the Wildcats' names, Williams said.

Williams said she believed the fraternity members who streaked had ties to the Penn Six-5000. And during the group's last song, "members of the Penn Six-5000 came on stage behind us without prior notification, wearing costumes stuffed with balloons and fake foam breasts, to mock our dance."

Williams also said the letter will make reference to "some unwanted physical contact between the streakers and our members."

"They didn't grab any of our girls, but [the streakers] went behind them and various body parts made contact," she said.

Penn Six-5000 business director and junior Jake Peters denied the group had any involvement with the streaking incident.

"I can tell you right now that it definitely was not members of the Penn Six-5000," Peters said. "There were no plans beforehand for anyone to be on stage nude."

Peters said the group was practicing backstage for its routine when the audience exploded with laughter.

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"I don't even know where they came from," he said. "We didn't even know that's what the audience was laughing at."

Peters said the dance his group did during the Wildcats' rendition of "Respect" was a traditional part of Penn Six-5000 shows.

"We go out and do a little dance for two seconds for guest groups," he said. "One of our guys was dressed as Michael Jackson. He did a little Michael Jackson move."

Peters said Penn Six-5000 members were unaware of the streaking incident until after the performance, adding that they likely would not have done their joke dance routine had they known of the streaking.

He added that he sent the Wildcats an e-mail yesterday apologizing for the incident.

Williams said she received an e-mail Friday from another Penn Six-5000 member explaining what had occurred as "just the Penn 6 way." She said the e-mail the group received from Peters was very short and rather "unofficial."

Williams said she would send the letter of complaint to Rodin on behalf of the Wildcats today and then await an official response from the Penn administration.

Penn officials would not comment on the incident yesterday.