Christian Groups Inhabit Houses at Colorado and Colorado State...

DeltAlum · #1 08-28-2005, 12:03 AM

Subject: CU and CSU: Image makeover on fraternity row after last year's alcohol related deaths

The Denver Post
August 26, 2005

Image makeover on frat row After alcohol-related deaths at CU and CSU
fraternity houses last year, prayer services are replacing parties

By Jennifer Brown
Denver Post Staff Writer

Fort Collins - The room where Samantha Spady died is calming, with
moss-green carpet, ferns around beige couches and six stone crosses on the
wall.

This is the prayer room, the most peaceful spot in the former Sigma Pi
fraternity house - a red-brick mansion known a year ago as the place for
raging parties and where the Colorado State University sophomore died of
alcohol poisoning.

Two dozen Christian youths moved into the house, now known as The
Lighthouse, this month. The Sigma Pi letters are gone, the bar has been
ripped out of the basement, and new oak covers the floors.

It seemed obvious the room where Spady died wouldn't become just another
bedroom.

"We are in this house because a year ago something horrible happened," said
house director Sarah Laribee. "We never wanted to forget that. It's really
a painful message that death is the enemy and Christ is our salvation."

Spady died Sept. 5 after drinking vanilla vodka with friends, who brought
her to the second-floor room to sleep it off. A week and a half later at
the University of Colorado, freshman Lynn "Gordie" Bailey died of alcohol
poisoning at the Chi Psi fraternity house after chugging whiskey and wine
around a mountain campfire.

The national organizations of both fraternities pulled their charters
because of the deaths.

In Boulder, the former fraternity house isn't what it used to be, either.

Two dozen women, most of them members of a Christian sorority or campus
ministry, moved into the white mansion supported by eight regal pillars in
time for the start of fall classes Monday. The sisters of Alpha Delta Chi
have a strict code: No drinking until 21. No smoking. No premarital sex.
Even the girls who aren't sorority sisters pledged to respect those rules
in the house's common areas.

"There will be partying, yes, but not the stereotypical kind," said Sarah
Meyer, a resident who is not a member of Alpha Delta Chi. "Let's get some
good vibes into the house. We would love to have it be known as a place of
joy."

The sorority sisters were drawn to the house on The Hill, just across the
street from campus, because it would bring a Christian influence to Greek
row. An organization of Chi Psi alumni owns the house, which is managed by
a leasing company.

"There's so much, like, bad energy directed toward this house because of
what happened," said Tonya Delmez, an Alpha Delta Chi member. "We want to
bring up its image."

The women met one night this week to scrub the house clean and rid it of
the grime the fraternity left behind. Still, that fraternity feel might
never leave.

A pool table sits in the front common room near leather couches and a big-
screen television. The library is dark and a bit dingy, and the black-and-
white-tiled kitchen holds a giant steel refrigerator and industrial stove
big enough to cook for a house of men.

"We're still moving in, trying to make it our own," Tiffany Williams said.
"The frat boys kind of tore it up."

In Fort Collins, fresh paint and new furniture transformed the Sigma Pi
house. Timberline Church, which leases the house from owner Lambda Chi
fraternity, sank money into it on faith, Laribee said.

Spady's parents have no financial ties to The Lighthouse but supported the
project and toured the house during its final renovations, Laribee said.

Students who live there pay $460 per month and must sign a code of conduct.
Alcohol is forbidden, even away from the house. Residents can't have
overnight guests of the opposite sex and aren't allowed to date one another.

Jared Petsche, 19, transferred from the University of Northern Colorado
just to live at The Lighthouse.

"It's a God thing," he explained. "It's just so incredibly sad what
happened here. That's the best part of this house now - we're going to be
working to combat that."

Rachel Westing, 22, partied at the Sigma Pi house during her first years of
college. The CSU senior said she gave up drinking when she gave her life to
Christ, and when she heard Timberline Church was transforming the house she
knew she wanted to live there.

"I wanted to be a part of something where people didn't feel judged for
where they're at in their life," she said.

Copyright 2005 The Denver Post

hoosier · #2 08-31-2005, 11:30 PM

A PR newswire says the U of Colorado has hired a PR firm for $125,000 or $175,000 to help overcome their media problems.

DeltAlum · #3 09-01-2005, 04:50 PM

Sounds pretty inexpensive for a big time PR firm, actually.

Tom Earp · #4 09-01-2005, 05:02 PM

Yepper, especially with their F Us of PR!

James · #5 09-04-2005, 06:15 PM

How is this a good thing? Talk about going politically correct with a vengeance.

And I don't recall where it says Jesus made his followers give up wine . . . especially considering he used to turn water into it . . which is a nice party trick by the way.

Quote:

Originally posted by DeltAlum

Students who live there pay $460 per month and must sign a code of conduct.
Alcohol is forbidden, even away from the house. Residents can't have
overnight guests of the opposite sex and aren't allowed to date one another.

Jared Petsche, 19, transferred from the University of Northern Colorado
just to live at The Lighthouse.

"It's a God thing," he explained. "It's just so incredibly sad what
happened here. That's the best part of this house now - we're going to be
working to combat that."

Rachel Westing, 22, partied at the Sigma Pi house during her first years of
college. The CSU senior said she gave up drinking when she gave her life to
Christ, and when she heard Timberline Church was transforming the house she
knew she wanted to live there.

"I wanted to be a part of something where people didn't feel judged for
where they're at in their life," she said.

Copyright 2005 The Denver Post

Kevin · #6 09-04-2005, 06:25 PM

Like it or not, I think these groups are going to be a strong future trend. Hopefully, they don't siphon off our best prospects -- that'd be my biggest concern.

I can't say as I like their 'no sin' pledge as it seems they're going through college life with a bubble around them, enhanced by the cult-like surroundings of their communal housing. I'm not sure whether I'd rather have our chapters try to emulate these folks or try to undermine them and prevent them from gaining a foothold on campus..

Perhaps both?

DeltAlum · #7 09-05-2005, 12:31 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by James
How is this a good thing?

Didn't say it was. Just posted the article.

BSUPhiSig'92 · #8 09-09-2005, 03:24 PM

It reminds me of my days when I was at Ball State and there was a Chrisitan student group that would go up and down the row and stand outside the fraternity houses and pray for the "souls of the sinners within". Those people offended many, many Greek Christians on that campus.

hoosier · #9 10-28-2005, 03:36 PM

Another contribution to improving Boulder:

The true spirit of the Naked Pumpkin Run demands that it not be limited to the largely accepting streets of Boulder. It demands that free spirited people everywhere toss aside their clothes, those commercial encroachments on our identity, and flood the streets of the world with orange topped beacons of light. So if your soul yearns to run with us this Halloween, at least let it yearn in spacially insignificant brotherhood and sisterhood. And remember, the original Naked Pumpkin Run consisted of only two, engaged in a single, spontaneous spark of universal love. So join your fellow Pumpkin Runners in Boulder

"On Monday, October 31st, join us for Boulder's largest and longest
running community arts project as scores of strapping young lads and
lasses take to the streets in a fine blend of artistry, harmless
debauchery, and most importantly Nudity!"

http://www.nakedpumpkinrun.org/index.html

Stacekat · #10 10-29-2005, 05:22 AM

Quote:

Students who live there pay $460 per month and must sign a code of conduct. Alcohol is forbidden, even away from the house. Residents can't have overnight guests of the opposite sex and aren't allowed to date one another.

Jared Petsche, 19, transferred from the University of Northern Colorado just to live at The Lighthouse.

Ok, help me understand. Isn't this a Christian sorority? Are we using the word sorority for co-eds now?

I'm fine if it is a co-ed org, even if it is just women (typically christians don't really co-exist with lesbians though). Why wouldn't they want them to date internally? That just seems silly to not want to date someone that has the same values and interests as that member. I understand the ramifications of "what if they break up" but still...I wouldn't take to kindly to people telling me who I could date.

hmmm. I don't know.

33girl · #11 10-29-2005, 05:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Stacekat
Ok, help me understand. Isn't this a Christian sorority? Are we using the word sorority for co-eds now?

I'm fine if it is a co-ed org, even if it is just women (typically christians don't really co-exist with lesbians though). Why wouldn't they want them to date internally? That just seems silly to not want to date someone that has the same values and interests as that member. I understand the ramifications of "what if they break up" but still...I wouldn't take to kindly to people telling me who I could date.

hmmm. I don't know.

There are co-ed sororities, on national and local levels. But that's not what is going on here - it is two different groups.

The Lighthouse is the one at CSU that has both guys and girls.

Alpha Theta Chi is the one at CU that is a Christian sorority.

And as I read it, it's only the residents that cannot date one another (the group is larger than just the people that live there) - completely understandable, they would view the close proximity as too much temptation. Although as many of us know there's sometimes nothing like seeing how gross someone looks in the morning and dealing with their odd living habits to completely turn you off.

Optimist Prime · #12 10-30-2005, 09:14 PM

Its sad that those people died, but I don't see how giving their houses away to jesus freaks will make the problem go away.

Greek Housing is for Member's Only. YOU WILL NEVER GET TO LIVE IN A FRATERNITY HOUSE IF YOU DON'T JOIN A FRATERNITY!!!!!!!

sO If someone dies at any random party, what a tragedy, but would random GDI people get sued and have their house taken away? If it wasn't the Sigma Pi, it was just the "five guys who are in a band called Malikwai (spelling?)" house, they wouldn't be sued and have their band kicked off campus, there would be no rule saying "MALAKWAI CAN NOT BE A BAND HERE FOR FIVE YEARS" or any random bullshit like that

Optimist Prime · #13 10-30-2005, 09:20 PM

Chi Psi sounds like they have their act togehter.

Rudey · #14 10-31-2005, 11:44 AM

DeltAlum,

What kind of students go to the University of Colorado?

If these are supposed to be hippies, shouldn't they be protesting the WTO instead of partying?

-Rudey

DeltAlum · #15 10-31-2005, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Rudey
If these are supposed to be hippies, shouldn't they be protesting the WTO instead of partying?

Hippies?

There are some of those in Boulder, but a lot of those are left-overs. I'd say the student body is pretty yuppy. Let's ski, do individual sports (run, etc) and play.

It can also be pretty strong academically, having just had a third faculty member named a Nobel Laureate in the sciences.

It's difficult to separate them, but important to remember the difference between the town and the university.

At least that's the way I see it.