Chapter Closings/Hazing and Alcohol

[DeltAlum]

I've been reading "Fraternal News" for about a week now. They have reported at least three chapter closings for either hazing or alcohol or both in that amount of time.

DKE at Washington
TKE at Ohio State
Kappa Alpha Psi at LSU

Perhaps it will be instructive to keep this list going so we can all see what we are collectively doing by hiding our heads in the sand regarding risk management/hazing/alcohol abuse.

DeltAlum

[Tom Earp]

DA, what is that site? You and I have the same feeling even tho diff letters!

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Tom Earp LX Z#1
Pittsburg State U. (Kansas)

[Tom Earp]

By the way I argue with one of my Alums as he says well Tom they are just kids! Kids are the ones that get all of us booted or yanked! When they get to College they are on their own but must be young men that is why we have Fraternitys and not Frats! I was young once and started my own local and am proud to say I am a member of my Fraternity!

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Tom Earp LX Z#1
Pittsburg State U. (Kansas)

[33girl]

Silver Turtle (I believe it was her) published a link a couple weeks ago to the fraternal news Yahoo group, here it is:
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fraternalnews/messages/1

I'm going to suggest John add this link to the page somewhere so anyone who wants to go to it and read can do so. You don't have to sign up for the group to read the messages.

OK, flame me....I think keeping a list of negative Greek incidents going on this page is a horrible idea.

DeltAlum, I know what you are trying to say and I applaud your passion so long after your college days, but I'm not sure the way you go about it isn't counterproductive. I also don't think it's very cool of you to intimate that we are "sticking our heads in the sand" if we'd rather talk about thong sandals ( http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif newbie) or other aspects of Greek life rather than wringing our hands over hazing and alcohol abuse 24/7.

I don't think there's any regular on this board who isn't aware of hazing and alcohol problems - I've never seen a post called "my fraternity/sorority would never do that!" Not to mention some of the other problems we face like unfriendly schools, eating disorders, scummy landlords.....I could go on and on. I think I speak for all of us when I say I wish I could rip the paddles and/or bottles out of some of these idiots' hands.....but unfortunately, I'm not a genie. I can't blink my eyes and be there. I can (and everyone can) educate the people in my orbit with positive reinforcement and showing them better ways to do things, not constantly telling horror stories and threatening "this could happen to you!" Would you listen to that when you were 19? I doubt it.

Plus, this board serves as a good PR tool for the Greek system in general. Rushees come on here and see people from across the system and across the country interacting with what, it's easy to see, have become close bonds. I'd hate to have someone thinking about Greek life come on this site and see a list of hazing incidents (with no follow-up of what was done to remedy them) and chapter closings and get turned off to the whole system. "Just as I thought....all they do is haze and drink."

Plus that other thread that fancyface started asking for experiences/advice about chapter closure...was it really necessary to bring up the LSU SAE incident from FOUR YEARS AGO? (Hey, in other hot news, I hear Ford's going to pardon Nixon.) The alums of that chapter have had to hang their heads over that for 4 years now (I mean the old alums, not the ones that were there when it happened), why keep twisting the knife? She was asking about personal experiences - didn't you say that one of the chapters you advised was closed? Why not talk about that, instead of dragging 2 other fraternities through the mud? Pike4Life did, very well.

I just hate the idea of reprinting stories that we know nothing or next to nothing about. I would say unless you were in it, or very close to it, you don't know what the hell happened. I saw some very dear friends of mine have their fraternity ripped from them - the supposed reason, "risk management issues" but that was NOT the reason, I assure you. I'm not saying all the news stories are trumped up charges, but I've seen enough crap go down to know that I wouldn't believe anything unless I dug into it.

I think what I am trying to say with this rather lengthy post is that negativity very rarely smashes negativity.

[AlphaXiGirl]

I think that's a great idea. Keep 'em coming... of course, the "wishful thinking" side of me hopes that there are no more to add.

[DeltAlum]

Well 33Girl,

I will respectfully agree to disagree.

Without understanding the consequences of an action, change for the better seldom occurs. That's something you learn in parenting and in business -- really in much of life.

To point out past transgressions that people at the same school, in the same era, obviously didn't learn from, or chose to ignore, is an important factor in showing the disregard for the "good of the order." Besides, as any good journalist (which, although my background is in media, I've never claimed to be) or any good lawyer knows, the background (history) leading up to an event is important to consider when trying to decide the outcome and ramifications of the present circumstance. That's probably why the new article that Fraternal News quotes mentioned the SAE incident as well. It shows a pattern of unacceptable behaviors which aren't being corrected.

When you're standing at bat, you can't simply ignore those first two strikes. After the third, you know what happens.

As division officers and alumni volunteers, it is worrisome that someday we could be on the wrong end of one of those lawsuits simply because we are trying to help our fraternity. How foolish would we be to not have brought problems to the attention of those people and that system that we have dedicated our efforts to? And, no, none of the chapters I advise have ever been closed. A local chapter did close, probably for good, but it was before I became involved in the Division.

I will say this, 33 -- I admire your spirit and sometimes (perhaps even often) agree with you. And you make your points with eloquence. I wish we had been standing side by side in the 60's during those turbulent times of unrest when I was, in fact, 19. Even as we grow older, though, as you were so kind to point out, the "passion" does remain. But as we gain in our life's experiences it is not uncommon to become frustrated as errors are repeated time and again.

Finally, I don't believe that everyone on GC has his/her head in the sand. But read through some of the posts on "Hazing is good," or "Anti Hazing has gone too far." I submit that what you consider negativity (pointing out adverse and natural consequences) may be necessary to counter some of that stupidity.

Although I don't totally agree with concept of "tough love," my experience tells me that standing silent can be more damaging than pointing out those consequences.

Fraternally,
DeltAlum

[33girl]

Hey Delt Alum -

You're right - there are idiots out there who need to be told over and over. Unfortunately, the ones who need it most hear it the least. We haven't heard from Gaspard since his little "hazing is good" hit & run post.

I don't think we should be silent, but I think having the link would be sufficient. I just know how I would feel if every time I came on here, there was another "incident" listed involving my sorority. I feel I'm doing what I can (as probably a lot of alums & alum volunteers do) and it would be like getting slapped in the face.

Education is sorely needed. I just don't think this board is the place to do it, that's all.

Sorry if this ia a little incoherent but the caffeine has not kicked in yet. http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/wink.gif

[DeltAlum]

Hi again, 33,

You always make your point just fine, with or without caffeine. I wish I could agree with you. But again, respectfully, I can't.

I'm afraid that I don't think enough of the right people will link to Fraternal News to make a difference here. My gut tells me that this is the forum to get the information to the most Greeks.

And if I seem relentless, I simply recall something I learned in speech, advertising, journalism and marketing classes in that far distant past:

"You tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em, then you tell 'em, then you tell 'em what you told 'em."

Hopefully that will get the message through. Sometimes, though, like a mule, you have to smack someone in the head to get his/her attention before you can get any movement.

In the end the people who "get it" already aren't the ones we have to convince.

DeltAlum

[sigmagrrl]

Originally posted by DeltAlum:
"You tell 'em what you're gonna tell 'em, then you tell 'em, then you tell 'em what you told 'em."



I agree that posting these articles here is what has to be done. In this day and age when we all KNOW that our National organizations are DESPERATELY trying to get us to understand that ALCOHOL RUINS CHAPTERS AND LIVES, WHY does this continue to happen? What is it going to take for GLO's to STOP this irresponsible behavior and start taking responsibility for our personal choices...I feel you take on the honorable task of being an example of your GLO and your actions ALWAYS refelct back on your chapter and organization. When you pick up that second beer, what is going through your mind? What about when you pick up the 7th? When will binge drinking STOP running rampant through the Greek system, and when will it stop DESTROYING hundreds of years of history and hard work? Do you ever pick up a drink and wonder "What would one of my GLO's founders say if they saw me defaming the name of the organization they worked so hard to create?

Why is everyone so afraid to talk about it? When incidents happen that put us in a bad light, you want to sweep it under the carpet and no one wants to blame the feeble minded, selfish individuals who fu*ked their organization, but when you do something good, you want the praise. You have to take the good with the bad. We need the bad to become less frequent and start associating ourselves with service, love, and sisterhood/brotherhood...This CANNOT happen when alcohol has ANY role in your chapter activities...What you do on your own time is one thing, but the minute another sister or brother is with you, you become GLO members out drinking. As much as you may not like that statement, it is true....TAKE PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY FOR YOUR ACTIONS!! OWN YOUR BEHAVIOR AND CHOICES! When did it become ok to justify and defend illegal behavior because you believe it is the staus quo? Or because "everyone else" is "doing it"? Or "that's what you do in college"? These are EXCUSES that are used to pass the buck off of yourself! NO ONE PUT THE BEER IN THEIR HANDS OR ANYONE'S HANDS! And no one said you had to join a GLO. But you did, and with that comes privileges and duty to honor the name and those letters you worked hard for for 8 weeks. When you agree to become a member, you had better be damn sure that you are AWARE and ABLE to handle the consequences of your actions and the ramifications of poor judgement. Because, let me tell you, you are flagrantly disrespecting your ENTIRE organization when you disrespect yourself with alcohol and it affects your chapter!

OK, I think I'm done for now...

Signed,
A Sigma Sigma Sigma sister that wants Greek Life to PROSPER!

[gphi2k]

Okay, here's my problem with this whole thing. I completely agree that we greeks need to remain educated on the important issues surrounding hazing and alcohol abuse in fraternaties and sororities. No one on this site is going to suggest for a minute that it does not exist. But there is one major problem. If XYZ in cityland gets closed for hazing, it makes XYZ everywhere look bad.

This reminds me of a huge expose 20/20 (I think) did on a hazing incident that caused the death of one of the pledges pledging a certain fraternity. It was a horrible tragic story, and forever tainted the name of the Fraternity involved. The story would have been just as effective by telling the story as an example, but leaving out the name of the actual fraternity. Countless other threads on this site alone have discussed the differences chapter to chapter, state to state, even country to country. Yes, it is true that every chapter of every greek org should consider the ramifications of their actions on the greater organization, beyond the bounds of their chapter. But should I be embarrased to say I belong to XYZ because of what some idiots in cityland did, when I live in nowheresville, thousands of miles away? One bad seed should not destroy the name of an entire organization. Singling out chapters and schools of organizations who have idiots running the show only speaks badly of the school mentioned and the greater organization. Share the horror stories if need be. Maybe we all need a wake up call now and again to remind us of what can happen or of what does happen. I will not debate the merits of sharing these stories. But what good does it do to single out the names of the particular school and Fraternity or soritity involved? If I hear a chapter at whatsville was closed for abuse of alcohol, it won't have anymore impact for me where that school was or what org was involved.

It is for percisely this reason that my school does not recognize the greek system on my campus. Because one person, or one chapter, can forever taint the name of an entire school, or an entire organization. That is a potential that I, as a greek, and as an aluma, would hate to see happen to my organization, or to anyone else's.


[This message has been edited by gphi2k (edited June 17, 2001).]

[DeltAlum]

According to Fraternal News, San Jose State University closed down the ATO chapter there recently due to alcohol and hazing.

I'm not going to get into details, but you might be interested in reading about it.

Stupidity reigns.

DeltAlum

[Tom Earp]

While I agree with most things said, we as Alums all know that alcohol is on the minds of all nationals and that is why they are going to Dry houses.
Let's get serious, there will be alchol at partys but how is it taken care of?
I rode one weekend with the designated driver to pick up Brothers of legal age who could not drive. !!! This is something that was started 3 years ago and I find it refreshing that someone would stay at the house to do this. It was explained to them, that it was better to have Des. Driver than carry the casket to the ground!
I find nothing wrong with alchol as I was in the Business for 22 years at all levels excet a bar business. The main thing is how it is used and how much. If to the detriment then I say No.
These young people are on their own for the first time and get a lot crazy. The older , maybe a year or 2 must guide them. It is not the first time they ever had the evil spirits as most partied in HS where it was great to get drunk and stupid. They soon learn that they are looked at with a jaundiced eye and will not be around long because
Lets admit folds the reason you go to college is to learn and graduate so you can work the rest of you lives. If not you are flipping burgers or greasing a car or mowing lawns, digging a ditch. Some steam has to be blown off and it is better you are with your Brothers/Sisters who can take care of you or on you own where you may caus a death, yours or someone elses.
The intolerence today has become a rebellion point an I will show them. That is where the problem stems!
As you see i never edit! I say in my heart!

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Tom Earp LX Z#1
Pittsburg State U. (Kansas)

[33girl]

Tom,

bravo....bravo....(applause sounds) http://www.greekchat.com/forums/ubb/biggrin.gif

[James]

Much as I love you guys some of you are killing me. I mean like slowly driving a stake through my heart . . . a very blunt stake and slow hammer strokes . . .

Drinking, partying, etc. are value neutral activities.

This means, if someone wants to make this into a negative issue they have to do exactly that: Create/spin a negative slant on the issue.

The operative word being SPIN.

Alcohol is a MORAL issue to most people against drinking. And most of the people I have met are careful to say that they aren't against drinking, just irresponsible drinking, however, they usually define irresponsible drinking as anytime that drinking impairs you. I have actually stood there and heard people shake their heads with disgust and say "Can you believe they drank to feel it! Or get drunk?"

Jesus Wept.

Earth to your planet: Alcohol does not taste good people drink it to feel it. Why else deal with the calories and the negative physiological effects?

If you have a personal thing against drinking alcohol, which is usually a matter of upbringing or a factor of control, you need to deal with it and not try to make others suffer for it.

About posting negative articles. It's a fine idea, shit happens, why hide from it? I understand the concerns of people not wanting to scare potential Rushes away, but posting these articles actually gives us the ability to place them in perspective and perhaps defuse rumors.

If alcohol is a moral issue to many people, for us as Greeks it must be a liability issue, and what we really need to do is sharpen our skills at avoiding or transferring liability. Risk Management is ABOUT avoiding and transferring liability. And maybe it would be more honest to teach it that way. The point of a third party vendor is to transfer liability to someone else for serving alcohol. If a tour group runs a ski trip, they have liability you don't. The first commandment of Risk Management, if something goes wrong, and it eventually will, you want someone else stuck with the bill and the responsibility.

[DeltAlum]

It is somehow appropriate that someone who shares a name with one of the twelve diciples would quote the shortest verse in the Bible -- although I think I missed the context.

Anyway, I pretty much agree with James with a couple of exceptions. Some people do like the taste of alcoholic beverages. I do and have since I was a small child. I have no problem whatsoever with drinking. I don't drink much anymore, but that's more of an age thing than anything else.

I do feel concern for those who drink to excess. There's real danger there. Just because I lived through it doesn't mean you will.

The liability issue (and thus the dry housing and third party vendor idea)isn't going to go away in the near future. Just today I read in Fraternal News that the parents of an ATO pledge who died after allegedly forced drinking at a pledge function has sued the Fraternity for $5.3 million dollars. I hope that National has very deep pockets or excellent insurance, because one judgement like that will close most Greek organizations.

On the good news side Lamda Chi is returning to Iowa (I think) after and absence there which was caused by an alcohol related death.

Fraternally,
DeltAlum

To correct a typo...


[This message has been edited by DeltAlum (edited August 01, 2001).]

[DeltAlum]

"IU Fraternity kicked off campus"
The Associated Press (From Fraternal News)

Another fraternity at Indiana University has been kicked off campus, this time amid allegations of repeated alcohol violations.

National organizers for Beta Theta Pi revoked the IU chapter's charter for violating national management policies, which usually apply to issues such as alcohol and pledge rules.

The fraternity's roughly 100 members were told about the move Monday.

In the past three years, the fraternity has had five alcohol cases brought against it by the university, including two that still are pending.

Richard McKaig, dean of students, said five cases is higher than average for the fraternity system, but not enough to have impelled the university to kick the group off campus.


Beta Theta Pi is the third fraternity chapter kicked off campus in the past two years.

Sigma Alpha Mu was suspended by its national organization for hazing and other activities in April, 2000. Theta Chi lost its charter in February after a freshman died as a result of an injury sustained at a party in the fraternity's house."

(What is interesting to me is that the Beta National apparantely took this action, not the university. IU has a huge Greek System. When I visited there I was absolutely blown away by the size of the houses and chapters. This story is really disturbing to me -- losing three chapters in such a short time is really bad news.)

[Tom Earp]

DA, what we as Alums must remember, is that the schools, not all are looking for ways to pare the Greek Organizations OFF campus!
I am so damn sick of this, that it is the Greek Organizations who do the most on campi. The Biggest contributors are Greeks Who Went to that school! It is to me a time of Revolt for the ALUMS to say enuff, if you wnat to kick my organization off campus for No reason, then forget My Donations to you School!
I Graduated from My School, but I Do NOT go back down to see My School, I GO DOWN TO BE WITH MY BROTHERS!
The Old Saying Money Talks and BullShit Walks in our Society!
We do more for the world and our schools than gdi's!
God Save the King!

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Tom Earp LX Z#1
Pittsburg State U. (Kansas)

[DeltAlum]

Tom,

Yup. Except in this case, the university said the Beta's hadn't been bad enough to pull their charter -- but their own Nationals closed them down.

It's that liability thing again, I suspect.

DeltAlum

[aephi alum]

OK, I have to weigh in on this one. At my univ. a chapter of a fraternity was closed due to alcohol issues. A pledge died from having 16 drinks in one evening.

All sororites on my campus were dry. If you were in a housed sorority and lived in the house, you were not permitted to have alcohol even if you were of legal drinking age. In any event you would not wear letters and drink at the same time. Alcohol awareness was part of every sorority's new member education program. The same was true of some fraternities - and in this respect, Greek life does good.

Alcohol is ok in moderation - you just have to take care, and not overdrink.

[This message has been edited by aephi alum (edited August 01, 2001).]

[DeltAlum]

AEPhi

That's exactly the point. Most things are OK in moderation. We just haven't been too moderate with alcohol.

DeltAlum

[DeltaBetaBaby]

A couple of random thoughts:

NPC rules state that all chapter houses be dry. Apparently there is talk of a resolution that would require any housing with 2 or more members of a chapter living there would have to be dry as well. This is ridiculous, for obvious reasons.

I am worried about dry frats because if guys do not want to live in the chapter houses, they are going to lose them. I am not saying alcohol is the only reason to live in your house, but it is more an issue of freedom. If you are 21 years old, and can not have alcohol in your room, I understand why that would be upsetting.

On our campus, many men pledge as sophomores or juniors. That means they live in the chapter house as juniors or seniors. It is a lot harder to tell a guy who has had his own apartment that he has all these rules, even if you could tell it to some sophomore who had just been living in the dorms.

[DeltAlum]

DeltaBeta,

I agree with much of what you say.

My strong preference would be what Delta Tau Delta calls "damp" housing. In that case, those members who are over 21 may drink in their rooms. There would be no alcohol in public areas of the house.

I prefer it, but don't believe it will work. How long would it be before everyone in the chapter ends up in the 21 year old brother's room drinking?

As the saying goes, "I may have been born at night, but it wasn't last night." I wish I was wrong.

DeltAlum

[finest_alum]

To respond to all of this... in every dry sorority I've ever run across either the sisters are sneaking in alcohol or they are going somewhere else to drink. Making greek houses dry does not stop people from drinking.
If someone is of the legal age to possess and imbibe alcohol, they should be allowed to make their own adult decisions on when and where they are allowed to drink. The LAW states that they are allowed to do this.

Come on.. non-greek college kids drink just as much as greek college kids.. if not more. It's just not publicized when something "bad" happens, because the parents don't have a National to sue.

[DeltAlum]

Finest...

Again, I find myself wishing I could agree.

You're correct about drinking in sorority houses from what I've been told. But I think that's beside the point. The rules are broken, and if the sorority decides to take action, the offender will face the consequences. Thankfully, most don't, but that may have to change someday.

The law does not "state" that person's of age can drink anywhere. I own my house, and if I don't want you to drink in it -- you can't. If a chapter says it's members can't drink in it's house -- they can't. That's assuming, of course that the chapter (or house corp) owns the house.

In addition, every "scientific" survey I've read has found overwhelmingly that college age Greeks drink more than non-Greeks.

You do point out correctly, however, that drinking is not a problem only to Greeks, but to other college students as well. We do seem to be the bigger culprits, though.

Even with the above said, I still don't like "Dry" housing. I just continue to think that if we don't clean up our own act, (and I see no evidence that we will) it's inevitible.

It's that damned liability thing again.

DeltAlum

NOTE: Actually, I need back up a bit. I think I misread what Finest_Alum said in one area. It is true that the law allows of age people to make their own decision on whether to drink or not. It just dosen't allow them to decide where. Sorry, Finest.

[This message has been edited by DeltAlum (edited August 08, 2001).]

[Corbin Dallas]

What one of our HQ guys told us was if chapters don't start following LXA's alcohol and risk managemenet policy, LXA will be dry within 5 years. If chapters do start following the policies, at least more closely, it will be at least 10 years. From his statement, the inevitable can be assumed. LXA has no intention of going dry, mainly because we shouldn't not be able to drink if it is legal. However, there are dry houses. i think Baylor is one of them, and of course, now all of the houses at IU are "dry".

------------------
Steve Corbin
Lambda Chi Alpha
Theta Kappa Chapter
Rose-Hulman Inst. of Tech.

[DeltAlum]

What we seem to be finding when trying to colonize on a new campus, or recolonize a closed chapter, is that many university administrations are demanding dry houses as a requirement.

They're getting named in the same suits as the GLOs.

DeltAlum

[Betarulz!]

A couple of things:

I live in a Beta house that is dry (as in the actual structure has no alcohol ever) but that certainly doesn't stop us from going and getting trashed nearly every thursday, friday and saturday night. The actives who are 21 recognize that this is beneficial to everyone, for several reasons--1)the younger members and especially pledges put a priority on studying on the nights when they need to study, 2) Our house is widely recognized as by far the cleanest house on Campus, and that is directly related to the fact that we never party in our house. 3) obviously it is somewhat safer to party in a single level duplex (as we normally do) as opposed to a three story structure that also has a very large deck on the second level. and 4) we never have to worry about getting busted by Campus Security for possesion of alcohol (all living units at Nebraska are supposed to be dry) and that prevents many problems--just ask the brothers at ATO here at UNL.

Basically my point is this--being a dry house doesn't mean that you are alcohol free, or even have to be.

Also, I think that we can all agree that greeks are unfairly targeted. I mean do you really think that if the chess team threw a party and someone died there that the university would close down every club on campus? Of course not, but if a problem happens at one house, the administration will automatically issue some statement to the effect "We are investigating the matter, and also the status of our Greek system as a whole" a prime example is the closing of the entire greek system at Bowdoin. That seriously is not cool.

I think basically that a lot of the greek anti-dry housing policy especially among frats is the product of a lot of misinformation. I would encourage any of my younger friends, when they rush to join a house that has dry housing--and I would tell them that it won't ruin their social life.

[shadokat]

Beta--

You make the point that nobody seems to understand. You do drink, can drink and have a good time. You just don't do it in the place where you live! Fraternity houses at some campuses are in such bad shape from partying, it's a sin that folks actually have to live there!

With all NPC groups already being dry, the only change to their mixing policies is really that they can't do it in the fraternity's housing either. But unfortunately, many undergraduates view this as a freedom issue rather than a safety/quality of life issue. It is proven that most sorority houses that are alcohol free, which they should be, are in much better shape than fraternity houses.'

Not only though are NPC groups and IFC groups passing these policies, but actual entire campuses are doing so as well. This isn't a thing that's going to go away. Big greek systems have this in place and it's working. I know this first hand from chapters of D Phi E where their CAMPUS has these policies.

[DeltAlum]

I'm not going to quote this entire article. You can read it in "Fraternal News," Digest #67.

"IU Fraternity suspended over alcohol" -- The Herald-Times, Bloomington, IN, Sept. 20, 2001

"Three years after an Indiana University student died at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house, the chapter has again been suspended for an alcohol-related incident.

The good news this time: No one died.

IU Dean of Students Dick McKaig suspended Pi Kappa Alpha after learning from the parents of an IU sophomore that the fraternity pledge had been taken to Bloomington Hospital on Sunday night or Monday.

The alumni housing corporation of the fraternity suspended the chapter Monday, according to a statement released by the chapter.

The national fraternity is also conducting an investigation.

Since April of last year, four fraternity chapters have been thrown off the IU campus. At least three of those cases involved alcohol violations.

The student had been in the fraternity house for a pledge activity known as Dad's Night, in which an active member beomes the pledge's house dad. Later that night, according to McKaig, the student drank heavily.

The student recovered and was released from the hospital.

'He feels primarly responsible,' McKaig said. 'He said he was not forced to drink and it was his choice.'

Even so, having alcohol in a fraternity house is a clear violation of university rules and a serious matter, McKaig said.

The chapter was suspended in 1998 when Joe Bisanz died after a party. The official cause of his death was listed as choking on his own vomit, but his parents have challenged that finding.

Several members of the chapter were kicked out and the house was reorganized, but it never lost its charter and was never kicked off campus.

(McKaig said...) he believes fraternity members can be educated, even if the evidence of chapter closings and violations would tend to indicate otherwise.

(IU IFC President Ben Schmidt) said he hoped it was a case of a few indivduals breaking the rules and not part of a chapter-sanctioned event.

Pi Kappa Alpha member Scott Flannagan is a member of the Interfraternity Council Executive Committee who has been working on policies and progams to respond to alcohol problems at IU fraternities.

Schmidt expressed relief that this latest alcohol incident did not end in a student death -- as happened in Bizanz's case and earlier this year when Seth Korona died after attending a party at Theta Chi.

Korona died after being returned to his dormitory with what turned out to be a fatal head injury. He did not get medical attention for more than 24 hours after his injury.

Eric Wulf, executive director of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity International, said he doesn't know much about the incident yet, but will be investigating.

'We are gathering facts,' he said. 'If there was an incident such as it sounds like, then it would also be a violation of the fraternity policy.'

'We are very concerned about what has happened give what we just went through three years ago.'

The fraternity, which was established at IU in 1950, had 73 members at the end of Spring Semester."

(apparantely continuing the same article as a sidebar...)

"Four Fraternities already kicked off IU campus...

In the last 18 months, four Indiana University chapters have been kicked off campus. Pi Kappa Alpha, which was suspended this week, could be the fifth, depending on the actions of IU and the fraternity's national organization.

Sigma Alpha Mu: The fraternity's national organizations closes the chapter for hazing and other unspecified conduct, April, 2000.

Alpha Sigma Phi: The chapter is suspended by IU inNovember, 1999 after numerous hazing and alcohol violations, including some that require medical treatment. The fraternity's national organization closes the chapter in August, 2000 after a party in the house violates its probationary status.

Theta Chi: While under a no-alcohol police imposed by its national organization, the chapter holds two parties within three days in late January of this year. At the second party, IU freshman Seth Korona falls and strikes his head. He dies a week later in Bloomington Hospital. The chapter is kicked off campus in February.

Beta Theta Pi: The student representatives of Beth Theta Pi chapters across the country vote overwhelmingly to close IU's chapter for repeated alcohol and hazing violations and for ignoring previous disciplinary sanctions. The chapter was facing a lawsuit from a January, 2000 beating of an IU student when it was closed in July of this year.

Other incidents

IU sophomore Joe Bisanz dies after a party at Pi Kappa Alpha in December, 1988. The fraternity is suspended but not kicked off campus.

Zeta Beta Tau fraternity closed in 1997 after a scavenger hunt for new members required them to perform tasks and collect photographs that mocked a variety of racial and ethnic groups as well as homosexuals and women. They also were encouraged to steal pulic and private proterty. The chapter returned to the IU campus last fall.

[DeltAlum]

Text of another article on the situation above:

The Herald-Times
Bloomington,IN
September 21, 2001

IU's efforts to curb drinking criticized
Father of student who died three years ago wants stronger response

By John Meunier,
Herald-Times Staff Writer

Gary Bisanz wasn't surprised to learn of another Indiana University student having a dangerous bout with drinking.

His son, Joe, died in 1998 after a party at the Pi Kappa Alpha
fraternity house where he was a member.

On Monday, another IU sophomore was rushed to the hospital after drinking a large quantity of whiskey at Pi Kappa Alpha, 1012 E. Third St. His stomach was pumped and he survived.

The chapter was suspended by IU Dean of Students Richard McKaig on Wednesday and it is being investigated by its national organization and its local housing corporation.

While IU has taken steps in recent years to crack down on problem drinking among its students, this week's incident makes clear that some students still don't get the message.

In this case, Gary Bisanz doesn't believe IU will take strong enough action to keep more problems from happening.

After his son died, the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter was suspended and some students were kicked out of the fraternity, but the house was allowed to remain on campus.

"They treat these young adults as children and they slap them on the wrist," Gary Bisanz said. "These are serious, life-threatening
conditions, so I think the response should be at a level that is
comparable to the offense."

He said the police, not the IU dean of students office, should
investigate such matters.

IU police were not notified of the incident or the chapter's
suspension by IU until the department received a news release sent out by IU Wednesday. The department has not been asked to look into the matter.

Bisanz accused McKaig and IU President Myles Brand of failing to
protect the health and welfare of IU students.

"Their lack of immediate and long-lasting provisions just encourages further hazing and alcohol abuse on their campus," he said. "If they were serious about making their campus safer, my son, Joseph, and his classmate Seth Korona would not be dead."

Korona was an IU freshman who died in February after sustaining a fatal head injury at a party at Theta Chi fraternity.

That fraternity chapter was closed down by its national organization and all the fraternity members were evicted from the house.

"I understand a parent's grief," McKaig said. "I think the university deals as forthrightly as it can with violations of its rules.

"I presume he believes the closing of the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter
should be the result of this process. We will see what happens as that process has 14 days before it concludes."

McKaig believes the university took the right action after Joe Bisanz died.

He believes the members of the fraternity who remained were serious about turning around the chapter and bringing it into line with the ideals of the national fraternity.

He doesn't yet know exactly what happened at the chapter house Sunday night.

After talking with the student - whose name he would not reveal out of concerns for his privacy - and the student's mother, McKaig
offered the following version of the events that night.

At a ceremony, each potential new member was paired with an active member, who would become that new member's dad.

The new members are traditionally called pledges but Pi Kappa Alpha prefers the term "associate member."

The sophomore student and his new dad went to a room in the chapter house after this ceremony. Another dad and son pair may have been there as well.

The student was given a bottle of whiskey and according to him was not pressured to drink it. He was told he didn't need to finish it if he didn't want to.

McKaig said the student was told by his dad that his "family" drinks Jim Beam.

The student told McKaig he didn't like the taste of whiskey so he
drank it as fast as he could.

He wasn't sure how much he drank.

Sometime early Monday morning he was taken by one or more fraternity members to Bloomington Hospital where his stomach was pumped.

In the discussion with McKaig, the student or his mother told McKaig that the student's blood alcohol level had reached .375.

To reach a blood alcohol level that high, a 180 pound man would have to drink 18 to 20 shots of whiskey over an hour's time.

At much more than a .40 blood alcohol level people can fall into
comas and the risk of death rises as the level climbs.

McKaig said the student insisted that he was solely responsible for his own conduct.

His mother, however, made it clear that the blame goes farther than that, McKaig said.

"She told him, 'You need to know that if you died, I would be holding someone responsible for manslaughter,' and then she looked at me," McKaig said.

The fraternity chapter released a statement Thursday saying the
student's blood alcohol level was not .375. The statement did not say whether that number was too high or too low.

The chapter's statement said two fraternity members have been
suspended from the chapter, seven students have been fined and placed on probation and three students are still under judicial review. The statement did not say how the sanctioned students were connected to the incident.

McKaig said the chapter's actions would be considered as part of the IU judicial process.

He admitted to frustration over the difficulty in changing student
behavior. Closing down a fraternity doesn't stop drinking, but he
hopes messages are getting through to the next generation of students even if some of the current ones don't appear to listen.

"We know the extent of abuse of alcohol among students across the country is pervasive," he said. "We know this issue isn't going to turn around overnight. And we know it's not going to be addressed with a single prong."


A couple of personal observations:

One. The IU Dean, even after two deaths and several other problems did not simply jump to any conclusions and expell the chapter outright. He seems committed to the University judicial policy. He says that he believes alcohol education can be successful, although expressing frustration at the lack of quicker progress.

Two. The young pledge's mom's implication made it clear in her quote that she would have held the University responsible in any lawsuit had her son died. That's one reason administrations are becoming much more proactive in these cases. They don't want the liability. Welcome back to In Loco Parentis. You could reasonably assume that the National and possibly the house corporation and advisors might also be named.

Three. Along the same lines, Nationals and, in this case, local house corporations are becoming quicker to close or suspend chapters -- even before the university. Same issues. A couple of major lawsuits can bankrupt a national fraternity.

Four. This chapter had a previous death.

Finally. How is it that on a campus that has lost four chapters over the past year and a half, the message hasn't gotten through?

A lot of us keep sleeping through the wake up calls.

DeltAlum

[shadokat]

DeltAlum--

You know, I thought exactly the same thing when I read the digest this morning. What does it take for folks to wake up and realize that what they're doing is so detrimental?? I can't understand how, after losing a brother in their own fraternity, this group can continue to practice this way. It's so disheartening to know that people just don't get it. I hope we all look out for our brothers and sisters, and have the sense to just not participate in this behavior anymore. Animal House is over!

[DeltaBetaBaby]

I have been to IU, and I am going to share my opinion, whether you all want it or not.

IU houses are all located in a "Greek Village," a decent distance from anything else.

Women who pledge an NPC group generally live in their chapter house sophomore, junior, and senior year (I am not sure if this is similar to fraternities), unlike other campuses where the older members usually get apartments.

The bar age in Bloomington is 21.

Basically, the students at IU have nowhere to party. We all know you can't tell college students not to party, especially not at a Big Ten school. So they are going to find a place, in this case, the Greek houses.

IU administration mandates that all Greek houses are dry.

As long as a chapter is breaking the rules, they may as well go all out: free-flowing alcohol, jungle juice, kegs, etc. Additionally, if there is an emergency, no one wants to get busted, so a member with alcohol poisoning is not likely to get medical attention. Instead, his brothers are likely to feel that they are qualified to "take care of him" (read: throw him in the shower until he sobers up).

So what would happen if alcohol was allowed at the houses? Maybe there could be a peer-monitoring system. The university could know in advance who was having parties and when. Maybe alcohol could be restricted to canned beer. Maybe the chapter wouldn't be afraid to seek medical attention if someone needed it. Maybe several sober monitors would be required.

Is this a crazy idea? Not really, it seems to be working just fine on my campus.

[DeltAlum]

D.B.B.

I think the point(s) here is/are:

Underage drinking is against the LAW whether houses are dry or not.

Right or wrong, the rule is dry housing at the university.

There is a history of violations, particularly at Pike.

There have been two deaths -- both alcohol related -- one at Pike.

If anyone or any group knowingly didn't get medical attention form someone who needed it, that's beyond comprehension. And it's probably leagally actionable.

The University, Chapter, Nationals, officers and advisors can all be sued, and may be liable.

Greeks have enough problems as it is now getting liability insurance.

You are only partially correct in you comment about a Greek Village. I've also been to IU to guest lecture. There are actually two or three major Greek areas on different sides of the campus. And it seemed to me that there were bars and clubs in the town.

Bottom line to me is that while I don't agree with dry housing -- it is the rule and the rule was broken. Maybe it would be better to make the beer drinking age 18 as it was in Ohio when I was in college. I don't know whether it would be or not. But it isn't.

I suppose what bothers me most is not learing from past problems and mistakes. That's just plain dumb.

It is just really sad to see FIVE chapters closed on any campus. At least four of them for alcohol violations. It isn't like they don't know the rules.

It doesn't help the Greek System -- it hurts. Especially on one of the major Greek campuses in the country.

[33girl]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
Maybe it would be better to make the beer drinking age 18 as it was in Ohio when I was in college. I don't know whether it would be or not. But it isn't.

I think this would help a great deal - even if it was 3.2 beer. Kind of alcohol training wheels so to speak. If you were 18 and that was legal, I think people would stay to it and not break the law. As I see now people are "learning" to drink on Wild Turkey and the like.

I suppose what bothers me most is not learing from past problems and mistakes. That's just plain dumb.



(sounding like your parents comment ahead) When you are 19 years old in 2001, 1998 sounds like it's 50 years ago. You were in high school then - your whole life is different. There is a turnover at colleges every 4 years and a very short memory. lifesaver said something about "college time" - that is very true - when I look back I can't believe that was only 4 years of my life because so much happened.

The main thing this says to me is that alcohol free housing (at least at IU) is doing very little to improve the safety, health or drinking habits of students. This might be working at other schools, but at this one, it seems all it's doing is taking liability off the school and the groups and actually encouraging dangerous behavior. It's a bridge that only goes halfway across the river.

[DeltaBetaBaby]

DeltAlum,

You are right; I am totally arguing the wrong issue. If dry housing is the rule, that is what should be followed.

I am not saying it is in any way right, but remember, we are teenagers. We still think we are invincible. Sometimes we just need our hands to be held a little.

[shadokat]

In a system as large and thriving as the Greek System at IU, you would think there would be more to do than drink. I agree with you Delt, that the drinking age should be lowered. I mean, I drank a hell of a lot more at a frat house when I paid $2 at the door, was given a cup, and was there from 10-2. On the other hand, at the bar, I was more apt to drink less, because it was $2.50 a beer!

On a campus like IU, which I've never been to, the university has to help themselves when it comes to liability, and that's why the alcohol free housing went into place. I can understand that people want to party and drink...that's fine! But this chapter obviously hasn't learned from its mistakes, and while alcohol education is useful, apparently it hasn't worked there. I hope that IU's fraternities see that five of their brother groups have been banned and think twice when they choose to break the rules.

[DeltAlum]

I'm tired. Our daughter presented us with our first grandchild today, so I hope the following makes some sense.

My thoughts on this thread have absolutely nothing to do with changing anyone's drinking habits. Dry housing won't do that. I think it was James who correctly pointed out that this is totally a liability issue. But that's important. Chapters can't survive without liability insurance. People are bringing suits against everyone these days. As an alumni volunteer, that scares me.

On the other hand, I don't think that you could successfully argue that enforced dry housing causes more people to drink. I think the bridge goes all the way. It just may not reach the intended destination.

It's also a thread about being smart. If you break the rules and the law -- that's not smart. If you get caught, you're going to pay the price. If I saw one chapter closed for breaking the rules, I'd pay attention. If I saw a second one, I'd take it really seriously. These guys have seen four chapters close in the past eighteen months and still don't get it. They'll probably be the fifth.

Geez. If you're going to break the rules, don't do it in the fraternity house. There's already a target on the front door as far as the university and cops are concerned.

I know that lots of undergraduates are going to drink. All I would like to see is some intelligence and moderation. I'm not advocating breaking the law. I'm not in favor of breaking your National rules. I'm not saying it's OK. I'm not giving permission. In the best of all worlds, everyone would wait until they are of age to drink. But I know that's simply not going to happen.

Since I was the poster child for underage drinking when I was young, I would be terribly hypocritical to just say "DON'T." (Even though that would be best for all involved) If or when you get caught, however, why take the chance of taking the rest of the fraternity or sorority down the tubes with you? That's being doubly dumb.

And for your own sake, use a little common sense and moderation. As I said somewhere, just because I lived through it, doesn't mean you will. Drink responsibly. If you're not mature enough to do that -- then don't drink.

By the way, the 18 year old drinking age in Ohio was for 3.2 (we called it "low") beer. What most people don't realize is that that percentage is only the "upper" limit of the brew. "High" beer (6 or 7%) again was only the upper limit. A low beer might be 3.2% and a high beer might be 3.3%. And you can get pretty well trashed on either. Thus speaketh the voice of experience.

I hope that made some sense.

DeltAlum

[DeltAlum]

Uh...back again,

I just received a fraternity risk management newsletter (FRMT News) mailed by the company that works with about twenty fraternities on their liability self insurance. Following are some sobering (no pun intended) thoughts:

"Students consume 4.4 billion cans of beer each year. The typical student spends more money on alcohol than on textbooks. As many of today's college students will die from alcohol related causes as will go on to get advanced degrees, masters and doctorates combined." (I assume that this stat means throughout a persons entire life -- not just college career)

"A recent study of fraternity insurance claims showed that alcohol was involved in 94% of sexual assaults."

"Alcohol Free chapter houses are here to stay. What prompted this move? For the leaders of many groups the reasons were clear cut:

1. The negative effect of alcohol on academics.
2. The ever-increasing cost of liability insurance.
3. Damages to Chapter houses.

The signs of chemical dependency are:

1. Loss of control.
2. The use is excessive
3. Much time is spent using and recovering.
4. Using at inappropriate times.
5. Using becomes the priority.
6. Person continues using despite suffering problems.
7. Person builds up tolerance.
8. Person experiences withdrawal.

These signs all point to alcohol or drug addiction. If you or someone you know might have a problem, consult your chapter advisor and/or campus counseling center."

Portions reprinted from "Risky Times", Risk Management newsletter published by Theta Xi Foundation.

I also just added a post under "Alcohol Free Housing" which was of interest to me and may be to you. I have said in this or other threads that I am not totally in favor of "Dry" housing, but this other post makes a good argument for it.

[33girl]

First off congrats Grandpa :)

Originally posted by DeltAlum
My thoughts on this thread have absolutely nothing to do with changing anyone's drinking habits. Dry housing won't do that. I think it was James who correctly pointed out that this is totally a liability issue. But that's important. Chapters can't survive without liability insurance. People are bringing suits against everyone these days. As an alumni volunteer, that scares me.

On the other hand, I don't think that you could successfully argue that enforced dry housing causes more people to drink. I think the bridge goes all the way. It just may not reach the intended destination.

I think the "not reaching the intended destination" is probably more what I wanted to say.

See, maybe I'm expecting too much, but as much as it has been publicized and touted, I WOULD expect dry housing to do more than lessen liability and keep the house neat. I'd hope it would show people you can have fun without alcohol - show that Greeks do not drink 24/7 - and make people think more about alcohol before they get poop-faced. In my mind, dry housing should be just ONE PART of getting undergraduates to live in a healthy way, realize their limits and use alcohol correctly. If you don't do that, then that says to me that you don't give a crap about the people involved, just the threat of lawsuits.

But in this case, all it seems to be doing is taking the party from point A to point B. I don't know much about IU's dry housing initiative, but I would hope to heaven that it included some sort of alcohol education and alternatives with it. If all they did was pass this "dry Greek system" policy without much thought, believing it would win them all sorts of good publicity, then that lack of vision has certainly come back to bite them in the ass. As they say, "don't let your mouth write a check your body can't cash."

[DeltAlum]

33Girl,

Here comes that low flying pig you mentioned one time before...

I couldn't agree with you more. That's why I'm not totally sold on dry housing.

However, if it will allow chapters to stay alive by lowering insurance rates -- and if it does save some amount of grief by putting the responsibility and liability on someone else's shoulders who may have more of a vested interest (like they're business, liquor license, etc.), then I'm willing to give it due consideration.

DeltAlum

[Tom Earp]

Tom, you and i and all of the GCers know that as Alums and Active members, that drinking will go on!

People go to college to get out on their own for the first timme and spread their wings.
Guys want to meet Girls, Girls want to meet Guys and see what life is really about without being under the thumb of the protective parent.

I got sick in a bar one night and was asked to leave for that reason, not because I was drunk, but somthing about losing his mother of which I had not tolong before that!

i left the bar and and went with our designated driver to pick up guys who had the sense not to drive!

After Initiation we had a new Brother start chugging a bottle and I stepped in on that!1
There is nothing wrong with social drinking, but there is when it is taken to extremes!

[James]

So why are all our best stories usually about how either we or someone we know was on a mission and went over the bend, crossing over from social drinking to Urban Legend?

Like the time I was too drunk to drive my own car home, but was sober enough in my own mind to answer the dare from the pretty girl in the backseat, and climb out the window and on to the roof of my car(we were only doing about 50mph) and ride in a straddle for a few miles( the sun roof made it easier to grip but don't try it at home kids).

Of course had I fallen off, especially during the tricky: climbing out and in the window part, it would have been a tragic and probably (hopefully) fatal accident.;) But Gods, it was fun at the time!

A lot of our stories are like that . . . had something gone wrong it would have been tragic or unpleasant, but I would hate to lose my stories. They are cool to tell, and add some depth to me as a person. Woe to those that live life without Risk circumscribed by fear and trepidation, because they are already dead.

I think there was a thread a while back in Chit Chat that had some crazy stuff in it.

[DeltAlum]

James,

What's even more fun is figuring out how to embellish them as time goes on.

Did I ever tell you about the Delt Regatta?

Well, there was this river that used to run by the Delt House. Both have since been moved...

And on and on...

[James]

'tis true, some people are really good at embellishment, or are just better story tellers . . .

James


Originally posted by DeltAlum
James,

What's even more fun is figuring out how to embellish them as time goes on.

Did I ever tell you about the Delt Regatta?

Well, there was this river that used to run by the Delt House. Both have since been moved...

And on and on...

[DeltAlum]

For some reason I can't seem to cut and paste or copy this article, but I think it's important, so I'm going to re-type the whole damn thing. Excuse the typos please...

"Fraternity drinking a thorny problem...
Recent deaths shine spotlight on issue...

By John Meunier
Herald-Times Staff Writer

Dangerous drinking is not unique to fraternities at Indiana University.

Hundreds of students living in dorms and apartments are arrested each year.

IU has disbanded dorm floors in the past to break up groups of students who can't be controlled.

But it is the fraternityy parties that appear to most often display the ugliest underside of the collegiate drinking culture.

Two deaths since 1998 are the starkest examples. IU's dean of students doesn't know of any similar deaths among the rest of IU's student body.

An IU sophomore getting a stomach full of Jim Beam whiskey pumped at Bloomington Hospital Sept. 17 is the latest example.

IU and the fraternity's national headquarters are investigating Pi Kappa Alpha over the hospitalization. A judicial hearing will take place next week.

While fraternities at the national and local level talk about curbing the influence of alcohol. some observers hold out little optimism for deep changes in the fraternity culture.

Jim Arnold, an administrator with the University of Oregon system who wrote his doctoral dissertation at IU on fraternity drinking, campares Greek organizations to alcoholic individuals.

"They say one thing because it is what everyone else in the world wants to hear and they continue doing what they have been doing," he said.

Arnold's dissertation followed a fraternity and its members over a four year period. He found that nearly every event in the life of the chapter was focused on alcohol.

One example was the dad's night ceremony in which pledges were paired with older members. After a night of being blindfolded, yelled at and told they were no good, the pledges' blindfolds were taken off and they were handed beers by their fraternity dads, Arnold reports.

The message: Welcome to the group, have a drink.

National and local surveys show that fraternity and sorority members -- especially those who live in their chapter houses -- drink more and drink more heavily that the student population in general

Popular expectations about what it means to be in a fraternity -- which reach into high school -- perpetuate the drinking culture.

"When you look at the expectations of these people, it's more about getting drunk and getting laid than it is about anything else," Arnold said.

Calls to several chapter presidents of IU fraternities went unreturned this week.

Ben Schmidt, an IU senior and president of the Interfraternity Council, thinks fraternity members don't have a special claim on dangerous or abusive drinking.

The real difference between fraternities and off-campus apartment parties is one of scale, not attitudes, Schmidt said.

"You've got up to 100 guys living in the same place, and when you hold a social function and there is alcohol there, it makes it hard to regulate," he said.

He thinks the real problems are caused by a minority of the members.

"When you look at your chapter's pledge class, you can immediately point out the guys who are going to get it, those who are going to take a little longer and thse who are in it for their own purposes and those are the guys who are going to cause the problems," he said.

Chapters don't do a good job of weeding the troublemakers out, Schmidt said.

Chapters need to do a better job of getting their older members to provide good role models for the younger ones.

Expecting alcohol to disappear from a fraternity or the wider campus scene is unrealistic, he said.

"Just like social life after you graduate from college, alcohol plays a big part in that," he said.

IU education professor George Kuh said there is a difference between social drinking and being part of an organization that is "lubricated by alcohol."

Fraternities have for decades been drinking clubs, he said.

"What is different today is the large numbers of students coming to college who already have binge drinking under their belt," Kuh said.

While that is true of college students in general, Kuh said, fraternities add elements to this mix.

"A big part of this is wanting to belong," he said. "We know the groupthink mentality. This is groupthink which is magnified four five and tenfold. You also have this leftover machismo as well. I can handle anything that you put forward."

No one sets out to hurt another person, but the combination of attitudes about drinking, implicit peer pressure and imparied judgements lead to a dangerous mix.

"You talk to enough undergraduates, you know Thursday night they're goint to get a buzz n," Kuh said. "Once you get that buzz on, you tend to lose your sense of proportion."

While the individual students bear responsibility for their own actions, Kuh thinks the universities need to do more.

"Learning how to use alcohol is a part of coming of age," he said. "The queston is, are we doing as good a job as we can?"

IU Dean of Students Richard McKaig believes IU is doing at least a better job.

The prototypical frat party of the past has been eliminated. It used to be commonplace for four or eight Greek chapters to gather for a party, with dozens of kegs of beer open and freely available to everyone.

There are still big parties in chapter houses. IU freshman Seth Korona died after attending a party in January at which several beer kegs and other forms of alcohol were widely available.

Nonetheless, things are better, McKaig said.

"That doesn't mean that you are taking the fifth of alcohol or six-pack of beer out of the second floor of the house," he said.

If he could change one thing abut the fraternity system, it would be to keep men from joinging chapters until the second half of their freshman or their sophomore years.

"There are some men's chapters that are not well prepared to welcome new students in the first semester," McKaig said.

But he is not in favor of elimninating the fraternity system.

"We're only looking at the fraternities through the lens of the alcohol problem," he said. "From another view, there are many, many positive aspects."


My personal thoughts and comments:

This is a good article that tries to show that alcohol is not only a Greek problem, but, as every national study I've seen shows, is bigger in the fraternity system than the rest of college.

Not that they always work within my own fraternity, but we do have a couple of good ideas. One is the "no common container" rule which bans kegs, etc. I know of one chapter that lost it's Hugh Shields Award (the highest award given to Delt Chapters) when a keg from a party off campus was brought to the Chapter house after the fact. We're real serious about this.

Second is the "Delts Talking About Alcohol" program which is NOT an anti drinking effort, but rather tries to show how to drink responsibly and the potential consequences when that responsibility is not exercized. Specially trained Delt undergraduates travel to each of our chapters yearly to teach DTAA. Every Delt attends at least once.

We need to be more careful about the people we pledge. If the IU IFC President is to be believed, chapters are pledging and initiating men who the recognize as potential problems. What sense does that make? We need to be more selective. That's particularly true given the comments about the numbers of binge drinkers we inherit from high school.

Finally, the IFC President's comment about drinking being a part of social life after college doesn't hold up as well as it would have several years ago. I think that most business professionals will tell you that the notorious "Three martini lunch" is pretty much a thing of the past. You simply don't see that much alcohol in business situations anymore. Many big companies have made their buildings non alcoholic workplaces -- including things like holiday parties. That certainly is not meant to imply that people don't stop for a drink after work -- but it is not the "badge of honor" that is used to be.

I see a lot of unfortunate truth in the article. I also see a compilation of a lot of thoughts and ideas that have been stated in many of these threads before.

So, what do we do about it?

DeltAlum

[33girl]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
We need to be more careful about the people we pledge. If the IU IFC President is to be believed, chapters are pledging and initiating men who the recognize as potential problems. What sense does that make? We need to be more selective.

You summed it all up in your first sentence. The national HQ's need to quit pushing numbers, numbers, numbers down everyone's throat and accept the fact that there will be some years when, to be blunt, the recruit pool just sucks, and the only reason that some people get bids is that they are warm bodies. How ridiculous do we look when we say that we are looking for high standards and then pledge some jagoff just because we need the fee?

I also wish there was a better way of rush, for guys and girls, but other than my zillionth push for deferred rush, some intellect higher than me will have to come up with that one.

p.s. DeltAlum - if you think three martini lunches are a thing of the past - I guess you don't work with insurance people much, do you? :p

[DeltAlum]

hmmm 33,

No wonder my rates keep going up. All those insurance folks out there DUI.

[DeltAlum]

According to "Fraternal News" today, the Pikes at Indiana University have been expelled by the Fraternity/Sorority Judicial board -- consisting of nine fraternity and sorority members. The Vice Chancellor agrees with the decision and says that Pi Kappa Alpha Nationals also agrees and will work with the University.

There are several posts above which detail this situation.

Unfortunate.

[greeklawgirl]

Delt Alum,
Could you please tell me where I could find a copy of Fraternal News? Is it something that can be viewed on the net? I'd be interested to read it.

Thanks!
GLG

[IowaHawkeye]

You're correct DeltAlum - LXA has returned to Iowa and is going strong already. As of now, theyre still a colony, but they picked up 36 new members during rush - which is fabulous here! There were closed, I want to say about 5 years ago for an alcohol related death of a pledge named Michael. My understanding is that the parents are still pursuing a case against national.. not sure though. Anyhow, my friend Ben is a pledge of LXA here, and all of the guys know the reason why they closed and are confident that they are a new group and have no connection to the old. IFC and Pan Hel along with all of the other houses on campus have been extremely supportive of them returning - which i think is fabulous!

[DeltAlum]

Greeklawgirl,

I get it via e-mail from fraternalnews@yahoogroups.com

It generally comes 2-3 times per week.

I think you could e-mail them. I think there is a way to check it out on the web, but I'm not sure how that's done.

[greeklawgirl]

Delt Alum,
I found it and subscribed! Thanks so much!
GLG

[DeltAlum]

I strongly urge everyone to subscribe to and read Fraternal News.

It's sobering -- with no pun intended.

The last two or three digests have been particularly disheartening.

fraternalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

"When will the ever learn, when will they ever learn?"
-The Cruel War
Peter, Paul and Mary

DeltAlum

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Whoa! I found one before DeltAlum!

Phi Delta Theta (http://www.dailyillini.com/nov01/nov02/news/stories/news_story02.shtml)

[IowaHawkeye]

DeltaBeta... is this the infamous shaving incident?

[DeltaBetaBaby]

No, unfortunately I don't think the press ever got wind of that one.

[DeltAlum]

As pertains to the comments above, I hope you understand that I take absolutely no pleasure in bringing this news -- but as a division officer and alumni advisor who is concerned about the future of the Greek System, I think someone needs to sound the wake up call.

There's just too much to post in this single issue, so here are the headlines. If you're interested, subscribe and read.

Two thoughts on the content of the articles. First, forced drinking/hazing causes big problems. Second, in number 10 a former pledge is sueing a fraternity and sorority for their part in getting him drunk and an allegedly related auto accident.

There are some good things, too, from Northwestern, Auburn, Virginia and Berkley.

All of this is from Fraternalnews:

To subscribe to this free group, send an email to:
fraternalnews-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to:
fraternalnews-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com


------------------------------------------------------------------------

There are 12 messages in this issue.

Topics in this digest:

1. Skit prompts UW-Whitewater to impose sanctions on fraternity
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
2. Univ. of Michigan fraternity investigated for sexual assault
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
3. Arkansas State suspends fraternity until 2005
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
4. CU investigates sorority after alleged hazing
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
5. Charges pending on Penn State SAE chapter
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
6. Second alleged rape at U. Michigan party reported
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
7. U. Illinois Phi Delta Theta charter revoked
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
8. UC-Berkeley sorority hopes to spark junior high Latinas' interests in college
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
9. Northwestern U. students plan to build campus' first Asian sorority
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
10. UCLA student sues fraternity over drunk driving accident
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
11. Slowly, color line blurs in Auburn U.'s greek system
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
12. U. Virginia greek program aims to ease race relations
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>

[DeltaBetaBaby]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
As pertains to the comments above, I hope you understand that I take absolutely no pleasure in bringing this news -- but as a division officer and alumni advisor who is concerned about the future of the Greek System, I think someone needs to sound the wake up call.


No, I was not meaning to imply that at all. Actually, it is upsetting news about the Phi Delts, as I know a lot of fine men in their chapter. I honestly believe that there a brotherhood exists that can hopefully be strengthened by the few men that will retain undergraduate membership.

Of course, this is awful, but the first thing I thought was that maybe they would lease us some of their parking spaces. After it set in, though, it is really pretty sad to think of the house behind us being empty.

Oh, and fraternal news can be read at
Fraternal News on Yahoo (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/fraternalnews)

[shadokat]

DeltAlum--

I logged on and read my copy of the fratneral news, and I nearly threw up. I can't BELIEVE that there were so many incidents in this issue. Especially alarming is all of the alcohol involved. It's frightening that brothers and sisters aren't looking out for each other, even if they are new members. I strongly urge everyone to subscribe to the newsletter!

[DeltAlum]

Shadowkat,

I know what you mean. Every time I receive Fraternalnews, I dread the possibility of seeing a Delt chapter named.

So far, it has only happened once, and it was a good article, thankfully.

We try very hard to instill good things in our undergraduates, but I am smart enough to know that all of our chapters aren't made up of choirboys, and that, sooner or later...

Well, I'll hope for the best -- and for some sanity from my brother and sister Greeks.

[IowaHawkeye]

Published Thursday, November 8, 2001


UM freshman's drowning wasn't hazing, police say
BY SARA OLKON
solkon@herald.com

An 18-year-old University of Miami freshman and fraternity pledge who drowned Monday morning had been drinking but did not die as a result of hazing, Miami-Dade County police say.

Chad Meredith, 18, from Indianapolis, went swimming in the campus' Lake Osceola at about 5:30 a.m. Monday with UM Kappa Sigma president Travis Montgomery and fraternity brother Timothy Williamson.

Meredith went under water and never resurfaced; his body was later found by police divers.

``They said they were drinking,'' Miami-Dade Homicide Det. Charles ``Buck'' McCully said, referring to statements from survivors and other witnesses. ``There was no hazing or initiation going on.''

The lead investigator's statement jibes with reports from university officials and the fraternity president, who said the swim was not a fraternity-sanctioned event.

``We do not haze,'' said Montgomery, 20. ``This has nothing to do with our fraternity.''

Before the swim, McCully said, the men had been at an off-campus party where some people were playing a drinking game called ``hockey.''

Meredith did not take part, McCully said. ``He wasn't doing heavy drinking,'' the detective said. He said three Budweisers were found near the spot where they left their clothing.

His father, William, recalled a man of quiet confidence. He, too, said his youngest son was not the victim of a hazing ritual. ``He wasn't influenced easily,'' William Meredith said.

His father described his son's last night: After attending part of the on-campus, outdoor concert by rapper Ludacris, he returned to his dorm to catch some of the final game of the World Series. His loyalties were torn: The former high school pitcher was rooting for the Arizona Diamondbacks and New York Yankees pitcher Roger Clemens.

In his last call home at about 10 p.m. Sunday, Chad talked to his father about his grades -- he said he was getting all A's -- and said he had just finished a paper about his dad's military service in Vietnam.

He told his father he didn't have classes Monday because of the tropical storm warning and was planning to go out for some food later that night. William Meredith said his son's credit card showed he bought something at a Wendy's.

Montgomery would not comment further on what happened. He said the fraternity would issue a statement in the coming days.

McCully said the department was awaiting toxicology reports before officially classifying the death as accidental.

Still, ``nothing has popped up to make us suspicious of anything,'' he said.

The drowning is the second at the lake since 1980, when another UM student died. Swimming in the lake has since been prohibited.

On Wednesday, UM president Donna Shalala and vice president of student affairs Pat Whitely met with about 30 fraternity leaders to discuss ``making positive choices.'' The meeting had been scheduled before Monday's tragedy.

Family members said a funeral was planned for Saturday.

[DeltAlum]

I strongly urge that you all read this entire story from Digest 99 of Fraternal News because it also covers a number of good points about the Greek system including high GPA's, philanthropy and future benefits of Greek membership. While it centers on the University of Michigan, it also touches on other schools in the Big Ten.

Unfortunately, the crux of the story is about the following from the Detroit Free Press:


"In the last 10 years, 10 U-M fraternities have closed because of violations related to alcohol and hazing, and 10 more have closed because of low membership. Four sororities have closed because of low membership, and two have closed as a result of hazing violations in the same period, according to U-M data.

"We need to re-evaluate where our social environment is going," said Hustvedt, president of U-M's Interfraternity Council and a member of Theta Chi fraternity, which will become the fifth alcohol-free chapter on campus in January.

But Hustvedt, 22, of Concord, Mass., knows it's not easy to change a decades-old tradition.

A 1999 study by U-M's Substance Abuse Research Center found that 76 percent of U-M students living in fraternity or sorority houses had engaged in binge drinking within a two-week period, compared with 62 percent of students living in residence halls."

Some other comments:

The number of chapters closed because of alcohol and hazing is staggering. The overall closing figure is worse -- twenty-six in ten years.

The Michigan study on binge drinking roughly parallels other studies on the subject I've seen -- confirming that this isn't just a Greek probem, but that it is substantially more serious in the Greek Community.

Delt Alum

[Tom Earp]

Pardon me, but DUM DAM DUMB DA!!!!:mad:

These are suppose to be the Future Of Our Country?:confused:

Hell put a big fu----- gun to my head as we are in trouble if this is becoming the more normal thing to do!

DUMB, DAMN DUMB:(

[33girl]

Originally posted by DeltAlum
The overall closing figure is worse -- twenty-six in ten years.



Correct me if I'm wrong, but isn't Michigan a pretty "liberal" school? Liberal in the anti-establisment sense. That never helps Greeks. All I remember is it was the school they went to in "The Big Chill."

[DeltAlum]

Having grown up in that part of the Midwest, I guess I never think of Michigan (or any of the other state supported schools for that matter) as particularly liberal -- or conservative either for that matter.

Places like Antioch at Yellow Springs, Ohio were way off the chart, but I never thought Michigan was anything but pretty normal.

[33girl]

Isn't Antioch the one where they have that bizarre social policy, where you have to ask "do you mind if I hold your hand, do you mind if I kiss you, etc" so it's not considered rape? If so...that would not only be off the chart...the chart would be in another building. :p

[IowaHawkeye]

The Daily Campus
University of Connecticut
November 16, 2001

4 pledges arrested for hazing at U. Connecticut say it was a misunderstanding

By Matthew Monks, The Daily Campus

On Nov. 7, four pledges to Sigma Chi fraternity were arrested for
hazing. According to University of Connecticut police captain Warren
Gilmour, Thomas Valeri, Daniel Lapolla, Adam Goff and Jeffrey Weeden
were pulled over in Goff's Ford Explorer after driving the wrong way
into the driveway to the information booth on the south side of
Mirror Lake. After interviewing the students, the officer discovered
that a brother of Sigma Chi, who wished to remain unnamed for the
purposes of this story, was bound with duct tape in the vehicle.

The officer arrested the four pledges for hazing and immediately
released them on a written promise to appear in court. According to
the student handbook, hazing means "any action which recklessly or
intentionally endangers the health or safety of a person for the
purpose of initiation."

According to Goff, all five people involved in the incident are
friends and that what they were doing was in good fun and at no time
was anyone in danger.

Valeri, Lapolla, Goff and the brother all live on the first floor of
Litchfield Hall in North Campus and Valeri and the brother are
roommates.

"We are all friends and still are friends and were not trying to hurt
each other," Goff said. "But I understand that the police officer was
just trying to reinforce that."

The brother said that the four pledges were going to throw him into
Mirror Lake but everything, including being duct-taped around his
calves, was done with his consent.

"At no point in time did I feel my safety was in jeopardy," the brother said.

Lapolla said that the arresting officers knew that the four pledges
were no real threat to the brother because the pledges were not
detained after the incident.

"If it was a clear and present danger to his safety. Š Then why did
they send him home with us?" he said.

The brother said that his fraternity commonly performed activities
like "kidnapping," but that pledges did not have to participate in
order to get into the fraternity.

"It's like a fun activity for the pledges. Š That's why the
university's pissed, because we condone something like this," he said.

Ross Siegel, president of the UConn chapter of Sigma Chi, said that
the four pledges are the only pledges to the fraternity this
semester. He said the incident is currently being investigated by
Greek Life and that all pledge events will be postponed until after
the investigation.

When asked if he knew beforehand whether the pledges were going to
detain a brother and throw him in Mirror Lake Siegel said, "We didn't
know they were going to take him from the library."

According to Judy Preston, coordinator of student organizations and
Greek Life, the victim was in the library when he was apprehended by
the four pledges.

Preston said the incident will be reviewed by a judication board at
an unspecified date. The board will determine first if hazing
occurred and then whether Sigma Chi as a whole or only the
individuals involved are responsible.

"What needs to be determined in this case - was there any suggestion
from the chapter that this could be a good act [or] was this
something they concocted on their own?" Preston said.

If it is determined that Sigma Chi is responsible she said that
possible penalties may include Sigma Chi having to sponsor a speaker
who will discuss hazing, the redesigning of the chapter's current
pledge program and lastly, loss of registration.

She said that if Sigma Chi loses its registration as a university-
recognized student organization, the national organization of Sigma
Chi may take the UConn chapter's charter away.

Preston said that this incident does not appear to be hazing because
it was four pledges apprehending a brother. Usually, she said, hazing
is something that brothers inflict on pledges, not the other way
around.

"That's your traditional [view] and that's what has a lot of folks
perplexed," she said.

Lapolla said that media coverage of the arrest has been overblown and
inaccurate.

"I saw it on channel 4 and Channel 8," Lapolla said, "It was in the
Willimantic Chronicle and they said we were brothers."

Lapolla specified that they were not brothers but pledges.

Lapolla said that it was really a small incident. They all went home
together and at no time was anybody in danger.

"The way they worded it is, if the police didn't intervene [we] would
have left him duct-taped and thrown him in the lake. We would have
left him to drown," Lapolla said.

Ted O'Brian, secretary of the Kappa Sigma fraternity, said that
"kidnapping" is a game that some fraternities often play. He said
that that his fraternity does not permit "kidnapping" because they
realize the possible legal ramifications of doing so.

He said he was familiar with the Sigma Chi incident and that his
fraternity was looking to avoid any similar problems.

"We had the big fight this semester," he said. "We don't need an
extra headache with the police."

[DeltAlum]

More from FraternalNews:

Subject: WKU suspends SAE


Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity was tagged Monday with
a one-year suspension after an investigation by
Western officials uncovered hazing violations and
other infractions.
Student Organizations Coordinator Charley Pride said
Monday that SAE will not be recognized by the
university as a student organization again until Jan.
1, 2003.

Western’s investigation revealed that members of SAE,
which established a chapter at Western in 1965, had
committed a number of violations including hazing
pledges and damaging property owned by “a member of
the university community,” Pride said. He declined to
name whose property was damaged.

He said the fraternity had “created a dangerous
environment that led to inappropriate behavior and the
injury of a pledge” and that the chapter had required
pledges to dedicate too much time to the fraternity.

Western began looking into the activities of SAE after
receiving word of an October incident where a pledge
was hit in the head with a wooden paddle during a
fraternity ritual where pledges attempt to “kidnap” an
active member, Pride said.

A campus police report filed Oct. 15 said Robert S.
Ryan, a pledge, suffered a light concussion and
injuries to his arm after being hit with the paddle.
He was taken to UrgentCare for treatment. Lee Ann
Phelps, a nurse at UrgentCare, notified campus police
about the incident.

SAE must adhere to a number of stipulations during its
suspension. Pride said SAE is barred from using any
building at Western for fraternity functions,
participating in university-sponsored activities as
SAE or taking part in activities with the
Interfraternity Council.

SAE President Matt Larson said Tuesday chapter members
were “extremely disappointed” in the university’s
decision to levee the one-year suspension.

“... But we have every confidence that we’ll come back
a year from now an even stronger and better chapter,”
said Larson, who graduates in December.

Larson said SAE has been ordered by Western to improve
its pledge program before it is reinstated next
January.

Despite the penalties against the fraternity, current
pledges to the chapter will be initiated soon, he
said.

The SAE national office in Evanston, Ill., has yet to
issue a decision regarding the violations according to
Alex Redmond, coordinator of publications for the
national office.

“The university does not condone that type of
behavior,” Pride said. “That is what (the penalty)
shows.”

Redmond said his office fully supports penalties
brought by Western officials. However, it has not
established a timeline for deciding about its own
possible penalties.

He said any decision would be made by local SAE alumni
in Bowling Green.

“Typically, we like to let alumni come up with
solutions because they are those closest involved with
the chapter in that location,” Redmond said.

Gene Tice, vice president of Student Affairs and
Campus Services, said Tuesday a group of SAE alumni
have requested to meet with university officials.

Tice said he does not know what the group plans to
discuss when the meeting might take place.

“We just need to start a discussion and go from
there,” Tice said.

Redmond said SAE members will be allowed to stay in
their house at 1410 College St. during the one-year
suspension and display the SAE letters out front.
However, they will not be allowed to take part in any
university social events under the SAE name or accept
any new members.

Larson said he was told by a representative from the
fraternity’s national office that the body does not
plan to issue further penalties beyond the
university’s.

SAE is the second fraternity at Western within the
past year to be penalized for hazing violations. Kappa
Alpha Psi fraternity was hit with a three-year
suspension from the university last semester after an
investigation found the chapter had hazed pledges.

Pride said KA Psi was given a stiffer penalty than SAE
because they set up fraternity events with the intent
to harm pledges.

“The SAE event or events were not set up to bring
harm, but due to the nature of the events, someone got
hurt,” Pride said.



Ps. at other university's do you think they would have
gotten more the pres of our university is an alum of
the chapter.
and it sounded from the article that the local alumni
will hand down sanctions instead of nationals but why
would they be harsh if this was going on when they
were there which it probably was.

Note: It is true that this type of thing was probably going on when the President was an active member of the chapter. It is also true that people tend to learn and mature as they grow older. Perhaps the president and local alumni simply realize now that hazing has no place in the modern Greek System if the system is to survive.

[LexiKD]

Well the more I hear about these stories the less faith I have.

Do you all think a National Organization should automaticallly close a chapter in cases of hazing(found by the school or just by the organization) or should they try to reorganize with new members?

[The1calledTKE]

Originally posted by LexiKD
Well the more I hear about these stories the less faith I have.

Do you all think a National Organization should automaticallly close a chapter in cases of hazing(found by the school or just by the organization) or should they try to reorganize with new members?

Reorganization soon after the fact would be a good idea but as long as former members (who more that likely would be made alumni after a chapter closes) still attend the University they would try to influence the newly formed chapter which could lead them down the wrong track again.

[DeltAlum]

I don't believe in automatic closure. I think that is the tendency, though. It's difficult to fight the negative publicity battle and also the liability and insurance fight. In some cases, (where the violation is questionable or very slight, I would like to see the national organization stand up for its' members and chapter. If the violation is clear and/or serious, there is little or no choice except closing.

What seems to happen most often is the GLO suspends the chapter and then recolonizes in anywhere from two to four years after the chapter leaders have graduated.

Sometimes that works, sometimes it doesn't. We have recolonized at the Unviersity of Colorado a couple of times, and the same problems persisted. We may have done a bad job of recruiting, or the Greek culture and/or university administration on the campus may have doomed the efforts in advance. Who knows?

A lot of things would have to change there before we try again.

[DeltAlum]

EVERYONE should read the last part of this story.

The Orange County Register
December 15, 2001

Collegian says hazing left him hospitalized

UCI pledge is suing fraternity and 13 members over allegations including
assault and battery.

By EMILY BITTNER
The Orange County Register

A UCI student who hoped to join a fraternity is accusing his prospective
brothers of hazing him so badly during an initiation ritual last year that
he had to be hospitalized and alleging that fellow initiates had to beg
members to call an ambulance.

Jeff Warden, 20, is suing 13 members of Beta Theta Pi and the fraternity's
national organization. He is seeking damages on allegations of assault,
battery, emotional distress and negligence.

"These guys were to me people that I could see myself being friends with
for life," Warden said in his lawyer's office in Lake Forest. "That
weekend, I was scared for my life. I thought I was going to die."

Both the fraternity's national organization and the University of
California, Irvine, are investigating the allegations. Warden's lawyer said
police were not notified, so a criminal investigation was never pursued.

One fraternity member named in the lawsuit denied that any hazing occurred
that weekend or before.

"That has never happened," said Cory Halbardier, a senior
mechanical-engineering major who said he was in Big Bear that weekend. "If
it did, I wouldn't have joined."

Other fraternity members named in the suit, filed last month in Orange
County Superior Court, did not return telephone calls.

The national fraternity has published guidelines against hazing, but
Warden's lawyer, David J. Salvin, said: "They seemingly took the guidelines
against hazing as a blueprint for what to do."

Warden, two other pledges and several Beta Theta Pi members left the UCI
campus for a retreat at Big Bear on Friday, Dec. 8, 2000, Salvin said.

During the next 28 hours, the members forced Warden and the other initiates
to drink alcohol, denied them water, deprived them of sleep and made them
simulate sexual acts with each other, Warden said.

Warden, who celebrated his 19th birthday during the initiation weekend,
said friends told him that he lost consciousness and was twitching on the
ground after exposure to low temperatures, excessive exercise and alcohol.

One pledge said he had to "beg" fraternity members to call an ambulance and
that they left Warden unconscious on the ground for at least half an hour.

Medical reports from Bear Valley Community Hospital, where he stayed
overnight, said he suffered "continuous seizures" that Saturday night.

Warden said he lost his driver's license because doctors are required to
report any seizure victims to the Department of Motor Vehicles. For the
past year, he has spent about $10,000 getting medicine, MRIs, EKGs and CT
scans from neurologists to prove that he could drive again. Warden said he
has no prior history of seizures and has suffered none since the initiation.

"I was put through terror that night and those days," said Warden, a
sophomore film-studies major.

"It took me a long time to talk to anyone about it. ... Now it's hard for
me to let people get involved in my life."

If the allegations are true, the UCI chapter could be sanctioned or closed
and individual members expelled from the fraternity, said Stephen Becker,
administrative secretary for the national fraternity.

Beta Theta Pi has yanked about 15 chapters from U.S. universities in the
past three or four years because of hazing incidents and alcohol
violations, Becker said.

Forty to 50 hazing incidents a year are reported to Hank Nuwer, author of
four books on the subject. He learns about the cases mostly from campus
security or news reports because school officials often handle the
incidents privately, he said.

Since 1971, 65 people have been reported killed in hazing incidents. Of
those, 41 were related to alcohol and the vast majority involved
fraternities.

"It's all group-think. They deceive themselves and the people around them
and they're not aware of the consequences," Nuwer said. "This (hazing) is
terrible behavior, but they thought it was ordinary. No one should think
this is ordinary."

Warden said he hopes to help put an end to similar hazing incidents.

"Someone should never have to go through that," he said. "I could've died,
and I almost did die."

[James]

What a wimp, not only must it suck to go through such a bad experience, but it must suck to have to admit to everyon that you were such a little bitch you let people do this type of stuff to you. . .

Wow, what ever happened to self-esteem and confidence? If they had tried that type of stuff with me there would have been some broken and bleeding fraternity men on the floor.

[33girl]

Yeah James I see your point...a pledge had to "beg" brothers to call an ambulance? Hello, it's called grab the cell phone and call 911, or if they are withholding it from you, overpower them with the rest of the pledges. That's not groupthink, it's @$#%ing stupidity.

[CalThetaPhi536]

im a phi delt at UCI, and the guy who filed the suit was a rushee of ours too before he decided to go beta. To James how can you call that guy a wimp. There were 3 pledges to 13 actives, some how i dont see them overpowering all those guys. Its like blaming him for what happened. That's the biggest load of crap ive ever heard. I hope if it turns out to be true the guys who did it get what they have coming.

[James]

That is a fair response, I was being a little sarcastic but I was also pointing out a lack of emphasis on personal responsibility. Peer pressure only goes so far. Especially when the results are obviously going to be severe.

Also peer presure is not a good defense when it comes to the committment of crimes. If the group egged you on to kill someone and you did, you are facing a world of trouble.

And yet in many hazing incidents there is an element of personal choice that becomes confused in the person's mind with the pressure to get in.

That is why I mentioned confidence and self-esteem. Its unlikely that a very confident person would let that happen to themselves to someone else around them.

I am aware of the realities: most people do not have much confidence or self-esteem; The desire to belong can overpower a lot of people's ability to distinguish between right and wrong, etc etc.

But this will always continue unless we emphasize personal responsibility and give proper models of behavior for unusual situations.

But perhaps people disagree that personal responsibility is important? Or that maybe, some pledges should just say no?

[DeltAlum]

I agree with James in principle.

However, (putting on my old fuddy duddy hat) at college age many, I would dare say most, people have not developed a huge amount of self confidence and maturity. Those things take a long time and a lot of experience to grow. I've lived through it myself and have three children ages 17 to 25 who I'm watching fight all of these same battles, so I have the advantage of hindsight.

Peer pressure is something that many young people find impossible to fight. Groupthink is a fact of life. The people who have enough self esteem and confidence to fight it are fortunate indeed.

That's part of the reason that the Nationals have the unhappy and unwanted job of being the "Hazing and Alcohol Police." It's not a job that anybody wants.

[James]

This is a bit Random Delta Alum but I remember reading a passage in the book Dune where the one of the leaders said the goal of leaders is to maintain the level of the individual, without enough individuals, the group reverts to a mob (group think).

Group think, and even consensus, seems to always drop down to the lowest common denominator.

I have noticed that in dealing with male fraternities that there is a lack of operational integrity.

Usually the leadership manuals aren't very good, the alum officers are not trained nor have access to a lot of leadership resources, and theres no standardization of chapter procedures and operations.

Any leadership consultant would be horrified and not at all surprised at the fact that a lot of chapters go off the deep end.

Also many of the National's take the uneducated approach of listing what a chapter cannot do rather than what they can do. This is despite the literature which over the years bears out that you cannot live your life by only knowing what you don't want. It leaves you with no going towards goals. . .

If I were giving a Risk management seminar, I wouldn't sit there and just go over the manual, we College students are semi-literate its insulting.

But what I would do is give the seminar with a phonebook and before I left there would be a little chapter manual of third party vendors and places, with a contact name, and prices. As well as several different FUN events that require a chapter's resources and diminish liability.

Its moronic to sit there and just drone on and on about non-alcoholic events etc when we know the culture. The trick is to present viable alternatives that are relevant to the chapter and assist them in making plans.

Sometimes we are asking the social chair (which is usually a sophomore level position, which it shouldn't be) who may never even have made a frigging dinner reservation to find, call, and arrange an event with a thirdy party vendor at a location that needs to be contracted. Hello, if you don't hold the person's hand the first couple times it probably won't get done correctly.

Ok temporary ceasation of rant.

[CalThetaPhi536]

I see your points about personal responsibility. Perhaps he should have done more to defend himself, but still i think for the most part when people are pledging its a different mindset than normal. You might be willing to do things you normally wouldnt do and when things spiral out of control it would be harder to protest than from the beginning, but i still feel the most responsibilities lies with the actives. As for peer pressure as a defense, its true it is a poor one, but for the victim? Alone with 2 other pledges against 13 guys, perhaps they should have said no, but if these guys left him unconscious on the floor for half an hour what would have happened had they said no? I can hardly see how the situation would have ended better.

[DeltAlum]

James,

Your last post was one of the better things I've read and, although alumni and officer resources and training vary widely, pretty much true. Your comment about the sophomore social chair is right on.

I really like your phone book idea. Very creative.

Applause, applause.

[James]

Thank you for the positive response.

I will say sororities seem to do it so much better when it comes to chapter operations and leadership resources. So even though I have no way of assessing how good their volunteer officers are, at least they have an effective and written process to fall back on when examining a chapter.

Makes me wonder how men have ruled the western world for the last two thousand years, but I imagine that brute strength helped.

The problem with having a sophomore and in many cases even a junior as social chair is that most of the chapters social calendar will be organized on that younger level. We always hear problems of junior and senior retention and that seems to be part of the issue, they don't feel that a lot of social events are relevant to them. They have been there, done that, and got the t-shirt.

You can always get younger members to go to "older" events but the reverse is not always true.

The social chair, should be replaced by an activites officer that should be an exec level position. ITs amazing how many people missed the boat on that one: As is said again and again, we are primarily social organizations and yet we deemphasize the position that determines which events we do as well as the quality of those events.

Its a very underestimated and underappreciated position.

I see no answer to the leadership questions until the National head officers pull their thumbs out of their asses, forget about the rhetoric, and join the 21st century instead of keeping with a 19th century model.

If anyone is reading feel free to email for more information.
And for a fee I'll redesign your leadership manuals.

Disclaimer: I know that a couple nationals are actually taking some steps in this direction. So that should cover for the very few who are actually taking positive action, and for the very many that believe their own rhetoric and think they are rectifying the situation.

[DeltAlum]

From Fraternal News

Los Angeles Times
January 15, 2002

UC Irvine Fraternity Suspended Amid Investigation Into Hazing;
School: Beta Theta Pi is sanctioned by its national headquarters
after a pledge files suit, saying he suffered a grand mal seizure.

JEFF GOTTLIEB, TIMES STAFF WRITER

A UC Irvine fraternity has been suspended by its national
headquarters during an investigation of a pledge's claim that he
suffered a grand mal seizure and was hospitalized after a weekend of
hazing in Big Bear.

UCI, meanwhile, is conducting its own investigation of Beta Theta Pi
in connection with a lawsuit filed Nov. 28 by Jeff Warden, who said
he was forced to exercise in freezing temperatures and had beer
forced down his throat while being subjected to continuous verbal
abuse during the initiation in December 2000.

Diane Kim, the campus director of student judicial affairs, said a
decision on whether to impose a penalty is expected by the end of the
month. Sanctions could include suspending the fraternity for an
extended period of time or making it the first Greek organization to
be banned from UCI. Hazing is a misdemeanor under the state Education
Code and is punishable by fines of $50 to $5,000 or not more than a
year in the county jail. Kim also will decide whether to refer the
matter to police, said Randy Lewis, UCI's associate dean of students.

Beta Theta Pi, which has had a chapter at the school for 26 years,
has a reputation for being the top-ranked academically.

"Basically, we're a bunch of smart guys who are good at sports," said
Edwin Steen, fraternity president. He declined to comment on the
incident, other than to confirm the investigations. The local chapter
has not hired an attorney, he said.

Although hazing is specifically prohibited by UCI, "it's hard to
enforce," said Paul Suhr, president of UCI's Interfraternity Council.

Warden, 20, is a sophomore film studies major from Colorado Springs,
Colo., who wants to be a director. His lawsuit, filed in Orange
County Superior Court, seeks unspecified monetary damages for
assault, battery, intentional infliction of emotional distress and
negligent infliction of emotional distress. The suit also names 13
Beta brothers as defendants.

In describing the stay at Big Bear in an interview and in his
lawsuit, Warden tells a tale of 18- and 19-year-old pledges pushed so
hard that they break down in tears and rebel against the fraternity.

Rush was in its final weekend on Dec. 8, 2000, when Warden and two
other pledges drove with about 15 fraternity members and alumni to
Big Bear. Warden said he thought they were going snowboarding.

When the group arrived in Big Bear about midnight, Steen, then the
vice president, told pledges to hand over their cell phones and
valuables for safekeeping. The pledges were offered beer, and Warden
said marijuana was passed around.

He said he didn't smoke, and insisted on having a soft drink. As the
evening went on and Warden still refused to drink beer, fraternity
members chanted his name, "Jeff! Jeff! Jeff!" so loudly that he
couldn't hear himself talk. Finally, two members picked him up and
shoved the keg hose into his mouth.

What followed was a night of the fraternity members imitating drill
sergeants, yelling abuse at the pledges. Pillowcases were placed over
their heads as they were moved from cabins that were as hot as a
sauna to those that were unheated.

When morning came, pledges were handed a cup filled with what Warden
thinks was raw eggs and hot sauce. Next came a main course of
eggs-raw and scrambled, with green food coloring-that pledges were
told to eat without using their hands. One pledge objected, and a
member pushed the youth's face into the plate.

When they finished eating, pledges were ordered to hold Warden by the
legs and the head and use him as a human squeegee to clean the table.

Then he was handed a mop and told to clean the floor. "I dropped the
mop I told them, 'That's not what we're here for.' I was confused and
furious at the same time.'

Warden said another drinking game began, and he was made to do
push-ups. By this time, he said, he was so tired he could barely
finish one. As he lay on the ground, he was forced to join in a
simulated sex act with the two other pledges.

When he got up, Warden said he told the frat members he didn't feel
well, and went outside for a few minutes. Back inside the cabin,
Warden said he felt his field of vision constricting.

"I was coherent, and then I wasn't," Warden said. "I could feel
something happen to me.'

The next thing he remembered he was in leg and arm restraints at Bear
Valley Community Hospital.

He was diagnosed with a grand mal seizure. Warden said he never
experienced one before, and hasn't had one since.

Fraternity members took him from the hospital and dropped him off at
his aunt's house in San Juan Capistrano.

A few days later, Warden's temperature hit 101.5, and he went to UC
Irvine Medical Center in Orange, where he was subjected to tests,
which turned up no abnormalities.

Betas told him not to tell anyone what had happened because the
fraternity would get in trouble, Warden said. They left phone
messages asking him to come to meetings.

But he said he had had enough of the Greek life. He avoided
fraternity members for the rest of the school year.

Last fall, he reported the Big Bear events to a campus ombudsman. "He
said I definitely had a case, and I should get counseling and get a
lawyer, and he'd notify the school.'

Warden said that he hadn't plan to sue. The fraternity had assured
him they would pay the $10,000 in medical bills. But he said they
paid him only $3,000.

"It's kind of sad," Warden said. "My whole view of fraternities has
changed. I thought they stood for brotherhood, friendship and people
you'd know for life.'

[James]

Then he was handed a mop and told to clean the floor. "I dropped the
mop I told them, 'That's not what we're here for.' I was confused and
furious at the same time.'


Well I am glad he drew the line at something they told him to do. I guess he was willing to go along with everything else, but mopping the floor was just too beneath him.

[Optimist Prime]

not to be too skeptical, but if he was that furious, why did he wait for a year?

[DeltAlum]

OP,

I wouldn't be too hard to think that his story might have been embellished just a tad.

James,

No pun intended, I'm sure.

[33girl]

Originally posted by James


Well I am glad he drew the line at something they told him to do. I guess he was willing to go along with everything else, but mopping the floor was just too beneath him.




Yeah James, I agree., bring out the entire barnyard but don't you DARE even show me a mop, bucko. LOL :D

[James]

Well you know, its just men's deep fear of cleaning . . .

[matthewg]

Originally posted by Tom Earp

Let's get serious, there will be alchol at partys but how is it taken care of?
I rode one weekend with the designated driver to pick up Brothers of legal age who could not drive. !!! This is something that was started 3 years ago and I find it refreshing that someone would stay at the house to do this. It was explained to them, that it was better to have Des. Driver than carry the casket to the ground!
I find nothing wrong with alchol as I was in the Business for 22 years at all levels excet a bar business. The main thing is how it is used and how much. If to the detriment then I say No.
These young people are on their own for the first time and get a lot crazy. The older , maybe a year or 2 must guide them. It is not the first time they ever had the evil spirits as most partied in HS where it was great to get drunk and stupid. They soon learn that they are looked at with a jaundiced eye and will not be around long because
Lets admit folds the reason you go to college is to learn and graduate so you can work the rest of you lives. If not you are flipping burgers or greasing a car or mowing lawns, digging a ditch. Some steam has to be blown off and it is better you are with your Brothers/Sisters who can take care of you or on you own where you may caus a death, yours or someone elses.
The intolerence today has become a rebellion point an I will show them. That is where the problem stems!
As you see i never edit! I say in my heart!

------------------
Tom Earp LX Z#1
Pittsburg State U. (Kansas)


Tom,
excellent post!!! And my utmost respect for your brothers: what a great idea to have DD's!!
I would like to add that the parents can help, too. I noted that whenever I came across people who acted responsibly around/with alcohol, these people had gotten to know their first drink at home in a relaxed atmosphere.

No rebellion necessary. No need to try out a forbidden fruit.

The craziest example was a friend of mine who just told me that she got drunk the first time at home: her father explicitly wanted to be there when it happend for the first time and she would learn how it is in a safe environment.
While I think that is maybe a bit over the top - she and her father had a point....

[DeltAlum]

The following is from Fraternal News. I sure would be interested in what SAE International and alumni imposed.

The Herald-Sun (Durham, N.C.)
January 30, 2002

Fraternity brothers' vote may close SAE - for now Duke members of
Sigma Alpha Epsilon opt to exit over moves made by alumni, national
office

By KIMBERLY SWEET

Another fraternity will be exiting Duke's Greek scene, at least
temporarily, after all its members decided to leave the fraternity
over the weekend.

The more than 50 members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon made a unanimous
decision to end their association with the fraternity, saying they
didn't agree with moves made by the alumni and national office to
steer the organization in a new direction.

That leaves the fraternity's 70-year-old charter in the hands of its
alumni, who will decide in the next couple of weeks whether they will
re-establish the chapter and when to do it.

The fraternity's dissolution marks the second for Duke in the last
year. In February 2001, the 55 brothers of Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity
had their campus housing taken away and Duke administrators decided
to no longer recognize the group after a number of incidents, which
included more than $ 1,600 worth of damage to their living quarters.

But the members of Sigma Alpha Epsilon shut down voluntarily.

Will Brown, president of the fraternity, said all the members decided
to deactivate their membership after a year in which the national
office and alumni
association put unrealistic constraints on the group.

That included a $ 7,500 fine members say was unfairly issued last semester.

"We felt with the alumni involvement and the national office's
involvement that they wanted us to change in a way we didn't feel
comfortable with," Brown

said.

The Office of Student Development placed the fraternity on probation
last year. A letter sent to fraternity members, their parents and
alumni last summer detailed behavior issues as well as judicial
infractions.

In April 2001, the vice president of judicial affairs also sent a
letter to parents and alumni describing a number of incidents,
including alcohol-policy violations, hazing and damage to university
property.

The national office prohibited the fraternity from holding parties
outside its designated living quarters on Duke's quadrangle. It also
banned nonfraternity members from attending parties.

The fraternity paid the $ 7,500 it was fined by the alumni last semester, but
Brown said members didn't understand the grounds for it.

"It was unclear why they issued it," he said. "We felt they had the
power to keep on fining us with no justification why."

Chris Mundy, director of communications for the national office of
Sigma Alpha Epsilon, said his office and the alumni commission were
working with the fraternity to "raise the level of expectations" of
the members after a series of
incidents.

A revised code of behavior and new rules for the recruitment of new
members were being instated.

But Brown said the new rush rules didn't fit in with the way
fraternities recruit new members at Duke.

"The way the alumni commission handled the situation didn't give us
any power," he said. "They weren't very understanding of our needs."

While the members unanimously disbanded, alumni are trying to contact members
to see if they want to change their mind, Mundy said.

"It's easy to think they will still have the same community living
with friends," Mundy said. "But the benefits of being in a fraternity
are on a larger
"I think it could be successful if the alumni can get members they
feel are more in line with what they picture the fraternity to be,"
Brown said.


Brown said the former fraternity members weren't bitter and support
the fraternity's re-establishment, but with new blood.


Copyright 2002 The Durham Herald Co.

[Tom Earp]

Kansas City Star Sat. Phi Delta Theta while fitting it, we kicked out of Campus run Dorm for Hazing at SEMo U. Came onto campus in 1962 but now gone!

Rule breaking was wresleing on lawn of house! Actives against Pledges!

While do not have all perticulars, this seems a little ridiculas!
This just goes to show how hard the Schools are becoming! It may seem like fun, but, guard yourselves against something that seems like fun but is looked at totally different from an outsiders stand point!:cool: Be KEWL!:)

[James]

You have to respect them for having the courage of their convictions. There are a lot of decisions made by National Organizations that are done without undergrad input. I know that some chapters sent back their charters when dry 2000 came out. If more undergrads were willing to stand up to their nationals over issues they don't agree with, they would have more say in their organizations.

[DeltAlum]

Well, it had to happen sooner or later. As I've said before, I always cringe a little when I read Fraternal News, expecting sooner or later to see a Delt Chapter involved. Well, here it is.

The second article is really worrisome.

From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
Subject: U. Alabama's Delta Tau Delta suspended for alcohol violations

The Crimson White
University of Alabama
February 7, 2002

U. Alabama's Delta Tau Delta suspended for alcohol violations

By Michael Green, The Crimson White

University of Alabama's Delta Tau Delta fraternity has been removed
from its house and suspended until further notice by the University.
Cathy Andreen, director of University media relations, said the
fraternity was suspended because of alcohol violations.

Elaine Globetti, director of student judicial affairs, gave a similar
response for the suspension. "There was a number of alcohol
violations that were flagrant and serious," Globetti said.

According to University officials, the fraternity violated Article 3,
section d, area 2 in the Code of Student Conduct, which lists
"Offenses Disrupting Order or Disregarding Health and Safety." The
code outlaws the "use, possession or distribution of alcoholic
beverages except as expressly permitted by the law and University
regulations, or public intoxication."

This is not the first time fraternities have been in front of the
judicial affairs board. Sigma Nu and Alpha Tau Omega were suspended
in 1996 for hazing. Alpha Tau Omega's suspension lasted for two
years, and Sigma Nu was suspended for three years.

John R. Yacup, public relations director for the local Delta Tau
Delta chapter, said the fraternity was removed from its house last
semester.

"The fraternity was forced to move out of the house by Jan. 1, 2002,"
Yacup said.

Globetti said the length of Delta Tau Delta's suspension was still to
be determined, since the appeals process is currently underway. She
added a fraternity could be reinstated on campus at any time after
its suspension.

Yacup said nothing is final from the appeals process.

Jon Macklem, Student Government Association president and Delta Tau
Delta member, was hopeful about the appeal proceedings.

"I hope house leadership can work with the University to resolve this
matter," he said. "University policies are set in stone, and we fully
respect their judgments."

Delta Tau Delta's central office could not be reached to comment on
the situation.


(C) 2002 The Crimson White


__________________________________________________ ______________________
__________________________________________________ ______________________

Message: 6
Date: Fri, 8 Feb 2002 14:21:14 -0800
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
Subject: Univ. of Delaware suspends five fraternities

The Review
University of Delaware
February 8, 2002

UD suspends five fraternities
BY STEVE RUBENSTEIN

Editor in Chief

Judicial action taken against university fraternities between the end
of Fall Semester and beginning of Spring Semester left five chapters
suspended, administrators and student leaders said.

Justin Brenner, Interfraternity Council president, said Kappa Alpha,
Phi Kappa Tau, Sigma Phi Epsilon, Sigma Nu and Tau Kappa Epsilon have
been suspended for term lengths ranging from three to seven semesters.

"I have no pity for those chapters who were suspended, " Brenner
said. "They violated the rules and now that the rules are being
enforced you just can't complain about it."

Scott Mason, assistant director of the Student Centers, said the
university would no longer tolerate violations of the policies
established to regulate fraternity and sorority life.

"Things that fell through the cracks won't be left unchecked
anymore," he said. "The university has stuck by that promise."

According to Brenner, a member of Kappa Delta Rho, the suspended
fraternities were found guilty in connection with the following
violations:

Kappa Alpha held a party during the university's dry period during
the first two weeks of the Fall Semester (suspended through Spring
2003);

Phi Kappa Tau held a party on the same night as Kappa Alpha and was
placed on deferred suspension. Later, members of the group committed
additional acts and were found guilty of two other violations
(suspended through Spring 2004);

Sigma Phi Epsilon held a party without social status (suspended
through Spring 2003);

Sigma Nu held a party without social status (suspended through Spring 2003);

Tau Kappa Epsilon pledged a first semester freshman and was found
guilty of another violation (suspended through Spring 2005.

More aggravating than losing five fraternities, Brenner said, is the
perception this creates for remaining fraternity chapters on campus.

"It frustrates me that this gives the other 13 fraternities on campus
a bad name," he said. "These were the fraternities that have been
breaking the rules for years and it finally caught up with them.

"Now we can move forward.'

Mason similarly said he felt that a few chapters on campus only
projected the bad images often associated with fraternities.

"A few bad apples ruin the bunch - that's the phrase that really fits
here," he said.

Brenner said he adamantly believes the university is "not out to get
the fraternities, " but only trying to enforce rules that were stated
multiple times.

"The university wasn't looking to do this," he said. "All chapters
came in front of a judicial board because of a police report that
came across Mason's desk.

"That's impossible to ignore."

Brenner confirmed that members of Kappa Alpha and Sigma Nu no longer
occupy their former houses. They were forced to find alternative
living space.

Michael Gabhart, director of chapter services for Phi Kappa Tau
National, said members of the university's chapter of his
organization still remained in their house. If a board of inquiry
currently investigating the chapter moves to suspend its charter, he
said, members would no longer be permitted to live in the house.

"It is our intention to retain ownership of the property in either
case," he said.

Ashley Worboys, assistant executive director for Kappa Alpha
National, said the chapter's house on Amstel Avenue would be
renovated over the next 12-24 months.

"We have also suspended the charter until the end of spring 2003 and
hope to reoccupy the house after that point," he said.

In the best interest of Kappa Alpha, Worboys said, the national
organization is working with the university to suspend the chapter.

"We always try to maintain a positive long-term relationship with the
host university, " he said. "We intend to return to the University of
Delaware with a dynamic opportunity to help prove the Greek system."

Gabhart said his national organization "supports and acknowledges"
the university's investigations into Phi Kappa Tau.

Brenner looks forward to leading the 13 remaining fraternities on
campus. While he hopes the suspended chapters will be able to repair
there relationships with the university, he stressed that these
groups should not be viewed as legitimate.

"Don't rush these chapters, "he said. "They have no accountability to
anyone except their own whims."

[DeltAlum]

Hazing earns Chi Phi suspension


By Tony Kluemper
Assistant News Editor - Technique
ATLANTA
April 19, 2002


For the second time in three years, the Dean of Students' office has
ordered the suspension of one of Tech's Greek organizations. The
brothers of Chi Phi fraternity have been suspended for at least two
years effective immediately, according to Vice President of Student
Services Lee Wilcox.

The investigation of Chi Phi began last month after the Dean's office
received reports of alleged violations of hazing and alcohol policies
by the brothers. Once the office received the reports they proceeded
to conduct an investigation into the truth behind the matter.

The allegations investigated were in a wide range of categories. "The
allegations were in several categories," said Wilcox. "Probably the
two biggest categories were hazing, and there were multiple examples
of hazing, and then alcohol violations and there were multiple
violations there are well."

According to Wilcox, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) then became
involved because of the seriousness of the alleged issues. "Because
of the seriousness of these charges and the potential that a chapter
could be suspended, it went to IFC Judicial Board, which is a board
totally composed of students," said Wilcox. "Altogether the IFC J-
Board found numerous violations of various Institute, IFC and Student
Code of Conduct policies."

Sam Riesenberg, chairman of the J-Board, said that the allegations
resulted from events that took place within the past six
months. "There were approximately 43 charges involving hazing or
alcohol over the last four months, starting around November or
December from the point of the judicial hearing," said Riesenberg.

The J-Board then held a hearing in the matter during which
representatives from Chi Phi were able to present their side of the
case. "They could either admit responsibility or deny it," said
Wilcox. "For most of the charges against them, the fraternity
acknowledged responsibility."

At the completion of the hearing, the J-Board makes a finding of the
facts and also develops a recommendation for sanctions against the
organization. According to Wilcox, the recommendations made by the J-
Board in this case were far reaching. "They [the J-board] recommended
to the Dean of Students' office that the fraternity be suspended
immediately through the spring of 2004," said Wilcox. "They also
listed a number of other recommendations for sanctioning."

These other recommendations dealt with the stipulations for the
process Chi Phi must go through when they attempt to come back on
campus. "The recommendation of the Judicial Board at the time was
suspension for no less than two years with several stipulations for
coming back including re-colonization," said Riesenberg.

Once the J-Board made their final recommendations, the Dean of
Students' office then decided whether these recommendations were
acceptable sanctions for the alleged violations. "The Dean of
Students' office can then choose to accept or not accept
recommendations and in this case chose to accept the
recommendations," said Wilcox.

After the recommendations of the J-Board were approved, the Dean's
office officially sent notification of the sanctions to the brothers
of Chi Phi. As is the case in most suspensions, Chi Phi then chose to
appeal to the Office of Student Affairs and Wilcox.

Wilcox's final decision, which was released to the fraternity on
Wednesday, rejected the appeal and sided with the sanctions developed
by the J-Board. "After reviewing the entire case and looking at the
severity, the frequency and the range of violations, I decided that
the two year sanction was an appropriate sanction and so denied their
appeal," said Wilcox.

Since Wilcox rejected their appeal, Chi Phi now has no choice but to
face the suspension punishment. According to the official
recommendation from the IFC J-Board, Chi Phi must "remove any letters
or marks identifying the house as Chi Phi immediately." In addition,
the brothers of Chi Phi must move out of the house by May 30 in order
to comply with the sanctions.

Although Wilcox is saddened by the fact that a chapter had to be
suspended, he feels that Chi Phi was aware of the problems and did
not do much to fix them.

"As I said in my letter to the fraternity, I am very, very sad when a
chapter needs to be suspended," said Wilcox. "Chi Phi has had a long,
proud history at Georgia Tech, and I'm really sad to see this
happen."

"I do believe that they deserved it because some of these issues were
brought up a couple of years ago, and they told us they were going to
fix them and their alumni and national office were aware of some of
these problems and they didn't get the job done."

The fact that the violations created a dangerous situation for many
of the pledges was justification for the suspension according to
Wilcox. "There were some situations where their pledge class was at
serious risk of harm," said Wilcox.

Wilcox also feels that this suspension could have an effect on the
perception of the Greek system as a whole. "Georgia Tech cannot
tolerate that and so they must be suspended for two years. But it
just hurts when a chapter of what I think is an outstanding system
does this sort of thing," said Wilcox. "It reflects on the whole
system unfortunately and adds to the perception that the Greeks
aren't responsible, when for the most part they are."

Chi Phi is not the first fraternity to be suspended off campus in
recent years. Delta Sigma Phi, Zeta Beta Tau and Sigma Alpha Epsilon
have all been suspended within the past five years and many view
these suspensions as greatly affecting the Greek image on campus.

However, Riesenberg feels that the way the Greek system is handling
these cases is showing the campus that these acts are not
acceptable. "I think it's really in-line with what we are already
doing," said Riesenberg.

"They were doing a lot of things that they knew were wrong and they
went ahead and did them anyway. This decision is basically the Greek
system saying we don't really approve of that."

Wilcox is hopeful that Chi Phi will have a successful return in two
years. "Hopefully when Chi Phi returns it will be a very positive
member of our Greek community."

[chscrew144]

The only hazing I have encountered (the guys in my old rez dont haze.. I prefer to call it monumentally idiotic behaviour) was during hs. Some hazing rituals involved w/my hs crew were the dash for cash and full contact sprints.

The dash for cash involved making an underclassman run half the length of the bus to grab money out of a vent or touch te bathroom door as he was beaten, kicked, stripped, wedgied, elbowed, head butted.. anything to stop him from getting the money and then we'd pick tem up and throw them up tp the front of the bus and get someone else.. we told them to take glasses off, take anything valuable out of their pockets and tuck their shirts in.

It was done to show balls and to have fun. We let off tons of steam doing that and i was a part many times on both ends.. we had a big team comprising roughly 40-50 guys on varsity.. it kept growing and growing and stayed steady last year due to injuries and kids quitting, some in response to what we did amongst ourselves. i was wondering if anyone knew of stuff like this happening in fraternities.

Full contact sprints were just that.. you ran from point a to point b and could do anything to your opponent.

Fortunately there were no hazing rituals on the university wrestling team.

[DeltAlum]

This chapter lucked out, I think.

The Associated Press
May 31, 2002

Supreme Court refuses to reinstate lawsuit over hazing incident

TOPEKA, Kan. -- The state Supreme Court refused Friday to reinstate
a lawsuit against a University of Kansas fraternity over a 1997
incident that left a student in an alcohol-induced coma.

Matthew Prime filed the lawsuit against Pi Kappa Alpha in 1999 in
Douglas County District Court, seeking more than $375,000 in damages.
Also named as defendants were several leaders of the fraternity at
the time, the fraternity's national organization and the Mount Oread
House Corp., which holds title to the house.

In his lawsuit, Prime said he attended a February 1997 event at the
house that was a ritual in the fraternity's membership process. He
claimed pledges were encouraged or coerced into drinking large
quantities of beer and hard liquor.

Prime, then 19, eventually passed out, and fraternity members took
him to a hospital emergency room, where he was comatose from alcohol
poisoning for 12 hours, according to the lawsuit.

He had a blood-alcohol level of 0.294 percent, when the legal limit
was 0.08 percent. The university later suspended the fraternity.

But Douglas County District Judge Michael J. Malone dismissed Prime's
lawsuit before a trial, ruling that Kansas law and court rulings
don't recognize the right to sue over someone furnishing alcohol to
underage drinkers. He also said that Prime voluntarily consumed
alcohol.

The Supreme Court's unanimous decision upheld Malone's ruling.

"Kansas does not impose liability on the supplier of alcoholic
beverages for harm suffered by a minor due to intoxication," Justice
Donald Allegrucci wrote in the court's opinion.

The case is Matthew J. Prime vs. Beta Gamma Chapter of Pi Kappa
Alpha, et al., No. 85,861.

(c0 2002 The Associated Press.

[DeltaSigStan]

Here's what I've gathered in the most recent years at San Diego State......

1986: Pikes were kicked out for an alleged rape at a party. They have since never returned

1991: SAE expelled. Recolonized in 1995, finally got recognition in 1999, and are 2nd largest fraternity on campus

1997: Sig Eps expelled in what one official said was "the worst hazing he's ever seen". Pledges were spat on. walked on, and were forced to eat dog food. Rechartered in 200, but instead of pledging, now have their "Balanced Man" insta-brother program. Fairly small chapter but still growing.

1998: Delta Sig expelled for hazing. Amazingly, due to a strong alumni, recharters a few monthes later. Built around the dry house policy and no hazing policy, is the laughing stock of the SDSU Greeks. Changes it's direction for recruitment in 2000 (though still holding the same strict alcohol/hazing policy) and gets fairly stronger. Still one of the smaller houses, will move into the new row in the fall and will only get stronger.

2000: Beta Theta Pi AND TKE both kicked out for hazing. Betas leave and haven't recolonized. TKE's nationals find that what happened with their new member was correct, so operate on campus though University still fails to recognize them.

2002: Kappa Sigma kicked out for hazing after officers and pledges are caught with alcohol.

[DeltAlum]

Associated Press
October 4, 20002

CU fraternity closed after accident involving alcohol

National officials of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity have closed
their University of Colorado chapter after it was found to have
violated rules barring underage drinking.

"That chapter is permanently suspended," said Howard Obenchain,
spokesman for the fraternity's national office. "They're gone."
Former members of the Boulder chapter couldn't be reached Thursday.
CU officials said some of the students remain living in the
fraternity's house. Rooms in the house, owned by a group of alumni,
will be leased out to students in the future.

Phi Delta Theta could attempt to reopen after three or four years,
once the current members finish school at CU, said Bob Maust,
coordinator of the university's alcohol education programs.
"I think this is an example of what strong fraternities can do,"
Maust said of the charter's revocation. "The national office was well
ahead of us on this one."

CU's Office of Judicial Affairs will consider student-conduct charges
against those involved in the keg party and an automobile accident
that followed.

"They're currently in the process of investigating the incident," CU
spokeswoman Pauline Hale said.
Six fraternity members and pledges were injured, one seriously, early
Sept. 19 when the SUV they were riding in rolled over on Colo. 119
near Boulder Falls.

The students were among 20 pledges who were dropped off in the
mountains with a keg of beer as part of a fraternity "icebreaker" for
potential inductees, according to police reports.

Officers cited nine fraternity members and pledges for underage drinking.

(c) 2002 The Associated Press.