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More Fraternity Information
From a post by an5544@anon.penet.fi in alt.college.fraternities, edited only for spelling:
"According to the Department of Justice's statistics office (as an aside, all these numbers are collaborated by the FBI's campus-watch program, begun in 1983):
A male fraternity member was named as the aggressor in 93% of all university-related reported rapes between 1984 and 1993.
In terms of strict geographic locality, more alleged rapes occur within the property lines of fraternity and sorority houses than any other specific area in the United States (excluding military bases and prisons).
More [legal] action (alleging sexual or violent assault) is brought against fraternities than any other school-related student or faculty organizations in the United States (including campus-related military organizations, such as veterans groups and ROTC).
The rate of hazing deaths has not decreased since a brief hiatus in 1962-67. In fact, marked increases in deaths of college males affiliated with fraternities were seen in 1973, 1979,1985, 1986 and 1990. Since 1990, the rate has been relatively unchanged.
A woman is more likely to report being raped at or after a fraternity- or sorority-organized event where alcoholic beverages are present than outside, by a stranger in any urban area in the United States, with the exception of Detroit, Michigan (+3%difference).
Hope this clears of any inconsistencies. Part of the reason I wrote this is because I was raped myself when pledging OX at the University of California, Berkeley in 1977.
I am a man, obviously. Obviously women do not bear the pain and horror and embarrassment of Fraternity rape alone; many men do as well, but, like myself, do not report it.
For that reason, I hope you don't take offence at my wish to remain anonymous. These figures can be verified via the FBI's Statistic Helpline resource (where I found them) or through most any SPSS criminology database that cross references both FBI and Dept. of Justice data."
--X at Hastings Law College
Black Sunday Temporarily Discontinued
THE DAILY BRUIN ONLINE 11/26/2002
By Brad Greenberg, DAILY BRUIN CONTRIBUTOR
UCLA's infamous Black Sunday, the first Sunday of fall quarter before rush, is known for multiple fraternity parties."It has become a mythic thing where people from other schools come down and it turns to chaos," said Justin Pritchard, Sigma Alpha Epsilon social chair.
As next fall quarter begins, out-of-town students may come to UCLA hoping to enjoy two blocks of loud music, free alcohol, thousands of students, and police officers bearing rubber bullets, but they will arrive to a typically mellow night in the North Village. Last month UCLA's Interfraternity Council voted to stop Black Sunday for a period of three years, said Mike Liu, IFC president.
Despite the enjoyment students have experienced during past Black Sunday's, many of the community members and the Interfraternity Council alike said the decision to cancel it for the next three years is for the best.
Second-year biology student Teresa Gill said that she has been both years of her college career, and finds the night to be a good opportunity to bond with new friends. When told that Black Sunday would not exist next year, Gill said, "Fraternities will still have parties during the year, it does not matter if it is on Black Sunday."
Community members are not opposing the shutdown of Black Sunday either."Fraternity parties result in noise problems and trash problems," said Shelley Taylor, president and founder of The North Village Improvement Committee. "And this is a time when parties are really concentrated."
Some fraternity members said they are thankful for the decision because not all fraternities have benefited from Black Sunday. Fourth-year Sigma Chi member Ryan Wagner said in years past his house has foregone a Black Sunday party because of their proximity to the other fraternities. Located at the most northern end of Gayley Avenue, Sigma Chiparties have to be extravagant, which usually means expensive, if they wish to compete with the more centralized fraternities, Wagner said.
"It is important it was abolished. This levels the playing field for rush. People will base choice of house by character of people in house, not on who has the best party," he said. Other fraternity members and UC police department officers expressed concerns over the growing popularity of the night. "Crowds get too big, and students are forced out onto the sidewalk. When the sidewalk becomes too crowded, they move into the streets," IFC president, Mike Liu said.
Nancy Greenstein, director of community services for UCPD, said Black Sunday has "become a public safety risk," and crime increases as a result of the people the event brings into the North Village. She said on the night of Black Sunday, UCPD "assigns staff extra hours to prevent the crime that is caused by the masses of students."
Last year offense reports included: a burglary, two accounts of vandalism, grand theft, battery, petty theft and sexual assault. There were also nine arrests for offenses such as minors in possession of alcohol, providing false information, and failure to disperse, Greenstein said.
In 2001, UCPD decided to shut down parties because 2,000 to 3,000 people were obstructing traffic between 400 and 600 Gayley Avenue, Greenstein said. Another problem arises because the major patrons of Black Sunday parties are UCLA freshmen who have not yet been out of their parent's home a week, she said. "Lots of incoming freshmen go to parties. They have not drunk much in the past, and they end up overindulging," said Greenstein.
Pritchard echoed Greenstein saying, "Freshmen are too young to drink responsibly." He said the night is fun, but the "decision is for the best."
Liu said the council, which is made up of the presidents of each fraternity, "did not want to continue Black Sunday because of all the trouble that goes on."
IFC secretary Chris Cheng said that the decision was primarily made because "Black Sunday had gotten too much exposure with other colleges and high schools.""Thousands of kids who are not familiar with our (UCLA fraternity) rules and do not respect houses come in and cause problems," Cheng said. IFC considered shutting down Gayley, allowing students to hang out in the streets without blocking traffic, said Mark Hardin, Pi Kappa Phipresident. But Hardin said the entrance to the new emergency room is going to be on Gayley, and IFC did not want to implement a short-term solution. Regardless of the temporary consequences of IFC's decision, Black Sunday is not gone for good.
Hardin said, "Black Sunday needs to be cooled down, but it will be brought back." In the meantime, IFC is considering alternate events to replace Black Sunday. It is possible that the fraternities will pool together their money and put on a large-scale event in the name of the Greek system. Hardin played around with the idea of bringing a popular band to UCLA to put on a concert in Drake Stadium.
From: http://www.dailybruin.ucla.edu/news/articles.asp?ID=21955
Copyright 2002 ASUCLA Student Media
Delta Chi's Charter is Revoked Following Probe into Student's Injury During Rush.
By BARB BERGGOETZ
Indianapolis Star
December 7, 2002
An Indiana University fraternity with a history of alcohol violations has been suspended from campus for at least a year after a probe stemming from a fall rush event.
The national organization of Delta Chi revoked the chapter's Bloomington charter earlier this week over an injury to a student who attended the Sept. 15 event.
Delta Chi is the third fraternity on the Bloomington campus to be suspended or disbanded in the past 18 months.
Representatives of the fraternity's national chapter, based in Iowa City, Iowa, were not available Friday for comment.
Jim Gibson, IU's associate dean of students, said the chapter had been placed on probation by the national organization before the suspension and had been sanctioned by IU several times during the past four or five years, primarily for alcohol violations.
"It was a chapter that had a very significant and long disciplinary record," Gibson said.
The suspension was ordered by the national group after IU freshman Wes Kocher suffered a head injury, apparently after he left the event at the fraternity house. Kocher was found on his dorm room floor, with blood coming from his ears, said IU police Sgt. Tim Lewis.
Kocher required surgery for a skull fracture. He has since recovered and is back in school.
Kocher's doctor has said his injury was the result of blunt force trauma, either from a weapon or from a fall, Lewis said. But IU police have not been able to determine how Kocher was injured. He told police he has no memory of what caused his injuries. Witnesses told police he left the fraternity in good condition.
Fraternity member Kyle Burdette said no one in the fraternity was involved in Kocher's injuries. He acknowledged that the chapter had several infractions but said none had occurred in the past 18 months.
Delta Chi's 55 members must find other living quarters by the end of the semester.
"The morale at the house is pretty good," Burdette said Friday. "When you're in a frat at IU, you just expect to get kicked out."
The fraternity can petition to reorganize in the spring of 2004.
National organizations also have closed down Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Beta Theta Pi in the last 18 months. Previously, Sigma Alpha Mu, Alpha Sigma Phi, Pi Kappa Alpha and Theta Chi have been closed.
Vandals Destroy Cal State-Fullerton Frat House
By Kimberly Pierceall & Jessi McFarland, Daily Titan
California State University, Fullerton
December 10, 2002
Recognizable only by the Greek letters covered in graffiti on the outside, the Sigma Pi fraternity house at California State University-Fullerton was vandalized less than a day after the fraternity was evicted.
Behind the broken windows, graffiti sketched walls and an eviction notice taped to the door -- broken glass, trash and mangled couches cluttered the courtyard and back rooms of the house. Inside, cooked poultry parts were crammed into holes in the walls. A message, one of the few appropriate to print, spray-painted on the living room wall said, "You can move in but this will always be my house."
Campus police are still in the early stages of the investigation, Lt. Will Glen said.
Members of Sigma Pi could not be reached for comment.
On Monday, fraternity members received an eviction notice and began moving out of 2100 Terry Place. In the early morning hours of Tuesday the property was vandalized.
The eviction notice pits Restrepo vs. Steele -- Sacramento Restrepo, landlord, and Marvin Steele, Sigma Pi chapter president.
Restrepo's son, Edgar, said the fraternity hadn't paid their rent for three months, even after receiving early eviction notices over a month ago. He said that two separate contractors estimated the damages could be anywhere from $ 50,000 to $ 60,000 or even $ 100,000 to $ 125,000.
"Property damage is never acceptable," Dean of Students Kandy Mink said.
Sigma Pi is no longer a recognized fraternity after their chapter was placed on probation a year ago.
A black CSUF marked speaker sat in a corner of one room. Police found other stolen property on the premises, including a broken yellow car boot, Restrepo said.
Notes written on the wall make reference to Sigma Pi living in the house for 25 years. A year ago, Sacramento Restrepo bought the house but Sigma Pi members continued to pay rent to live there. Edgar Restrepo said the cost of rent hadn't changed between owners.
Restrepo said the surrounding fraternities have been helpful and offered to clean the property.
"They've all been very cooperative," he said.
Part of the legal language printed on the Orange County Sheriff's eviction notice states, "If you re-enter these premises, you are in violation of the law."
Charges haven't been made against anyone.
"We will take appropriate action based on our determination if any university policies or regulations were violated by students affiliated with the fraternity," Glen said.
The fraternity was suspended in Nov. 2001 for abusive behavior, Mink said.
Out-going Inter-Fraternity Council president Mike Dykier said the fraternity's probation came after Sigma Pi members engaged in a fight at the annual Greek Week games that raises money for Camp Titan.
According to a Daily Titan article from April 14, 2001, Sigma Pi and Pi Kappa Phi members began arguing after Karl Kottke, then co-chair of Greek Week and member of Sigma Pi named his own fraternity the winner of the tug-of-war. Pi Kappa Phi was later named the true winners of the competition. Because of the altercation, the rest of Greek Week was cancelled.
Sigma Pi is scheduled to appear before the Dean of Students and other student life officials in May, so their fraternity status can be reinstated. If the board approves the group, Sigma Pi would then have to be approved by two thirds of voting Inter-Fraternity Council members, Dykier said.
The national Sigma Pi web site still lists CSUF's Sigma Pi chapter (Epsilon Nu) and said that as of Nov. 20, the chapter had 28 members and 13 new pledges.
(C) 2002 Daily Titan
STUDENT IN HAZING CASE MUST DO COMMUNITY SERVICE
Brian Wallheimer Special To The Post-Dispatch
January 14, 2003
A student at Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville has pleaded guilty in a fraternity hazing incident that sent another student to the hospital.
Frederick James Spencer, 20, of Florissant, was sentenced Jan. 6 to one year's probation and 200 hours of community service after he pleaded guilty of hazing leading to bodily harm, a felony. Five other members of Phi Beta Sigma and a fraternity pledge face charges of hazing or perjury in the case.
The latter charge relates to testimony in May to a Madison County grand jury.
The fraternity members are accused of beating a pledge, Prentice Motley, 21, of Decatur, Ill., with paddles and forcing him to stand in the rain for several hours last April.
Motley later collapsed at a wedding he was attending and was hospitalized for a ruptured kidney. He made a full recovery.
The university has not held proceedings for the students or the fraternity. Greek Life Director John Davenport said the Madison County state's attorney's office asked that the university hold off on action until after criminal proceedings have ended.
Davenport said Monday that Phi Beta Sigma is on suspension pending a hearing. He expects the fraternity to be punished.
"I think at a minimum the group should be off campus for a few years," he said.
The students will also face university discipline.
Davenport said he had stepped up efforts to inform fraternities and sororities about the dangers of hazing since the incident last year.
Binge Drinking's Campus Toll
By Mary Beth Marklein
USA TODAY
February 28, 2002
The circumstances in each case are uniquely heartbreaking. Yet the similarities in five alcohol-related deaths this month evoke a disquieting sense of deja vu:
* On Feb. 14, University of Maryland student Daniel Reardon, 19, was disconnected from life support and died after being found unconscious and in cardiac arrest in the Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity house, where he had accepted a bid that night to join the group. Autopsy results are not yet available, but a university statement says alcohol "may have played an important part."
Meanwhile, local police are still investigating the September death of student Alexander Klochkoff, 20, found on the porch of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house with no pulse and with blood on his nose. Alcohol poisoning was ruled out, but investigators say gamma hydroxybutyrate - GHB, the "date-rape drug" - was in Klochkoff's system.
* Two San Diego State University freshmen, Brian Jimenez and Zachary Jacobs, both 18, died early Feb. 10 when their pickup truck crashed sometime after they left a party at the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity house. [Note: This is incorrect; they were driving home from a fraternity-related camping trip.] Police are awaiting medical reports, but officials say the truck was speeding, and winds were high. Just 14 months earlier, the fraternity was expelled from campus after a hazing incident that landed one 18-year-old in the hospital and another in a detox center.
* At Alfred (N.Y.) University, the body of Benjamin Klein, 21, was found Feb. 12 in a creek behind the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity house. Police obtained convenience-store videotape showing him purchasing (legally) a bottle of beer when last seen, and in news reports fraternity brothers acknowledged having punched Klein hard enough to cause bruising. Police are investigating. About 120 miles northwest of Alfred, on the same day Klein was reported missing, University at Buffalo architecture major Jeffrey Critelli, 18, and friend Travis Hennigar, 19, crashed their car into a river Feb. 10 after visiting a fraternity party and then a popular bar for college students, where they used fake IDs. Critelli escaped, but Hennigar has not been found.
"The deaths are just piling up here," says Hank Nuwer, author of Wrongs of Passage: Fraternities, Sororities, Hazing and Binge Drinking (Indiana University Press, $ 27.95) and a frequent lecturer on the topic. By his count, at least 56 people have died in some variation on the themes of fraternities, alcohol and/or hazing since March 15, 2000.
The Alfred incident was all the more saddening to some because the school had launched a national conversation aimed at stopping such behavior after a 1998 incident involving freshman football players being forced to drink large amounts of alcohol and water.
Despite greater attention, "it almost seems to be worsening," says anti-hazing activist Eileen Stevens of Sayville, N.Y., whose son, Chuck Stenzel , died 24 years ago last Sunday after being locked in a trunk in cold weather and forced to drink a mixture of hard liquor, wine and beer. "I don't know what it's going to take."
Neither do others close to the tangle of issues involved. Most experts acknowledge that college drinking by itself is a complicated problem. A 1993 national survey of college students by Harvard researchers found that nearly half (45%) of males and more than a third (36%) of females engage in binge drinking. But among Greek students, the numbers are higher: 86% of fraternity members and 80% of sorority members living in chapter houses are likely to engage in binge drinking. When alcohol-related accidents occur, hazing - essentially being pressured to engage in some sort of initiation rite - often turns out to be a contributing factor.
College leaders say they have made progress through alcohol awareness and educational programs, stronger hazing policies and tougher enforcement. The number of liquor arrests on college campuses rose 4.2% (to 26,091) in 2000 over 1999, and the number of campus-based disciplinary referrals rose 7.3% (to 120,063), Education Department statistics show. California State University last summer adopted some of the most sweeping reforms, including restrictions against naming events after a brand of beer, after a student at the Chico campus drank himself to death.
After tragedy struck, the University at Buffalo called a timeout on all Greek activities for a week, suspended Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity and charged three students with violating campus hazing and drinking laws, which means they could be expelled.
Alfred University's trustees suspended the fraternity and two of its members, tightened restrictions on other Greek groups and are "questioning whether the Greek system should be allowed to continue," says president Charles Edmondson. Meanwhile, 42 states have enacted anti-hazing laws, up from three when Stevens' son died in 1978. But Nuwer says that, state for state, the law "with very few exceptions is symbolic."
National Greek organizations, too, have taken action, banning alcohol and hazing from chapter houses and shuttering houses that violate rules. Phi Sigma Kappa national officials this week revoked the charter of its University of Maryland chapter, effective Saturday. About 30 members must move out of the fraternity house by the end of next week.
But enforcement is tough. For one thing, expelled fraternities can continue to operate off campus as a private club, as was the case at San Diego State University.
National fraternity leaders also argue that they are unfairly targeted by college administrators who want to deflect negative publicity. They say the media distorts perceptions even further by focusing on fraternities and sororities when tragedies strike. Some studies show, for example, that many students are exposed to alcohol and hazing in high school. A report released Tuesday by the National Center on Alcohol and Substance Abuse shows binge drinking is widespread in high school - about a third of 10th-graders do it. Athletics teams, including a high-profile incident at the University of Vermont, also engage in hazing. And in the Buffalo case, the students spent more time at a local bar than at a fraternity party.
"Alcohol is the No. 1 issue on every college campus I've been on. (But) it isn't just the No. 1 issue in fraternities and sororities. It's the number one issue for all students," says John Williamson, executive vice president of the Indianapolis-based North-American Interfraternity Conference, which represents 66 fraternities on 800 campuses in the USA and Canada.
University at Buffalo spokesman Dennis Black doesn't disagree. "Obviously, a lot of factors are involved," he says. "But fraternities and sororities can't separate themselves from the fact that there's a history, and that history repeats itself."
Some colleges - notably Bowdoin College in Maine - long ago eliminated the Greek system from campus altogether. Other campuses have raised the possibility but backed away for a host of reasons, including alumni pressure. A more common response is that of Indiana University, which delayed by one semester the period during which fraternity and sorority chapters may recruit new members. The idea is to wait until freshmen are better adjusted to campus life.
As for how to eliminate the phenomenon altogether, "When somebody comes up with the answer they may get a Nobel Prize," says George Cathcart, spokesman for the University of Maryland.
But skeptics aren't holding their breath.
"I really don't see any action, any action, that means anything," says George Cantor, who chronicles his family's ordeal after his daughter's death in the just-published Courtney's Legacy: A Father's Journey (Taylor Trade Publishing, $ 22.95). In 1998, Courtney Cantor fell out of a University of Michigan dormitory window and died after coming home from a fraternity party. GHB was later discovered in her system.
"When a rash of these things appears there's a public outcry and colleges promise to clamp down and do more. And then it surfaces again," Cantor says. "It's discouraging that the whole cycle is repeating itself and other families are going to go through the same anguish that we went through."
Emporia State U. Fraternity Under Investigation for Event
By Chad Rummel, The Bulletin
Emporia State University
March 11, 2002
The Emporia Police Department and Emporia State University's office for student affairs are investigating the annual Kappa Sigma Chug-Off that took place Tuesday night and the allegation of sexual assault that followed, according to Diane Bailiff, vice president for student affairs.
In addition, Bailiff said there is a speculation that Ruphenol, the date rape drug also known as "rufees," may have been involved. There were also minors competing in the chug-off, which violates city and state laws, in addition to Kappa Sigma, Interfraternity Council and university policies. "All avenues of this investigation are being pursued," Bailiff said. "Until we determine the facts, we cannot determine the outcome. But there will be consequences for the outcome."
Bailiff said test results indicating the use of Ruphenol and the act of sexual assault had not yet come back and could take as long as two weeks to be returned. In the meantime, Bailiff said, the woman involved with the incident has been referred to the SOS women's shelter.
"We've offered her every kind of support we can," she said.
Police Detective Mark Schondelmaier is investigating the case for the EPD but could not release information about the investigation as of Friday afternoon.
Bailiff met with the presidents of the three sororities and a representative of the Kappa Sigma fraternity Wednesday afternoon.
"We met to talk about the event, to determine what exactly happened and to encourage them to take more responsibility in risk management," Bailiff said. "While drinking is not allowed inside the sorority houses, we want them to know that this kind of drinking outside of the house on behalf of their sorority is not OK, either."
According to Phil Covington, assistant director of the Memorial Union for student organizations and Greek affairs, students came forward after the chug-off to report what had happened. He has interviewed several students since then trying to piece together the night's events.
"We do acknowledge that a situation was reported that is very serious in nature, and we are taking it very seriously," he said. "When there is an event that may affect the health and safety of our students, we must take it seriously."
Covington said while alcohol inside of a fraternity house is allowed, "rapid consumption of alcohol" is not. He said he had encouraged the fraternity to report the incident and allegations to its national organization.
Luke Queen, Kappa Sigma president, declined to comment on the incident.
According to the Kappa Sigma alcohol/drug policy, "no member of this fraternity shall purchase for, serve to or otherwise facilitate the consumption of any alcoholic beverage for any person under legal drinking age." In addition, such acts may be punishable with "expulsion, depledging, suspension or fines, depending upon the circumstances."
Lindsey Freel, sexual assault prevention peer educator and junior psychology major, said this event is particularly scary because of the possibility of Ruphenol being used.
"Ruphenol can be put in anyone's drink," she said. "It doesn't take more than one move of the hand for it to be slipped into a beer, Sprite or any drink."
She said Ruphenol is particularly dangerous when combined with alcohol.
"If students are already drinking when the drugs get put into a drink, it makes them just feel more drunk," she said. "That's why friends should take care of each other."
(C) 2002 The Bulletin
From: http://www.xso.com/news/morgue/0107roof.htmName: Michael A. Schoeppner
Age: 20
Height: 5'6
Address: University of Miami
Weight: 140 pounds
Hair: Brown
Eyes: Brown
Race: White
Occupation: Student
Accused of slipping roofies into an
18-year-old's drink and
raping her during a Sigma Chi
fraternity party on Nov. 2.
Name: Lucas D. Folse
Age: 19
Height: 5'6
Address: University of Miami
Weight: 180 pounds
Hair: Blond
Eyes: Blue
Race: White
Occupation: Student
Accused of slipping roofies
into an 18-year-old's drink
and raping her during a
Sigma Chi fraternity party on Nov. 2.
(My note:
If only we could get more of
these attacks publicized online--
it would make it a lot easier
to punish these criminals.
'Berg Bars Fraternity 3 Years
TKE Suspended for Alleged Assaults, Drug Use
Action is College's Third Since 2000
By Christina Gostomski
Of The Morning Call
Allentown, PA
February 21, 2003
Muhlenberg College handed Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity a three-year suspension Thursday after punishing some of its members for alleged sexual and simple assaults, underage drinking, alcohol abuse and drug use.
The fraternity won't be allowed to return until the fall of 2006. That sanction makes the Greek organization the third fraternity in three years to be kicked off campus.
''I feel heartbroken,'' said Jonathan Rosen, president of the fraternity, also called TKE.
The disciplinary action followed ''repeated violations of the social code,'' said Michael Bruckner, spokesman for the Allentown college.
Citing student privacy, college officials wouldn't go into detail about the violations, but Associate Dean of Students Chip Hurd said they included allegations of two sexual assaults and one simple assault last semester and one sexual assault this semester.
Hurd, a Muhlenberg and TKE alumnus, said there also were ''several'' reported incidents involving underage drinking, alcohol abuse and drug use this academic year.
The school's judicial board, which consists of students, staff and faculty, heard allegations against the fraternity on Feb. 7. The board then recommended to Dean of Students Rudy Ehrenberg that TKE be suspended. Ehrenberg concurred, and the fraternity, which has about 50 members, was notified Wednesday.
The 19 TKE members who live in the off-campus fraternity house at 2309 Turner St. may stay there through the end of the semester. No social events or alcohol will be permitted, a college staff member will move in, and students will face regular inspections.
College officials hope the sanctions will deter fraternity members from destroying the house before moving out. The house is owned by the TKE alumni association, but the college owns the property.
On Thursday, students complained about the suspension.
''They're holding a whole group liable for the actions of a couple people,'' said Justin Hyde, president of the Interfraternity Council, which governs the college's fraternities.
Rosen, a senior, said his fraternity does more than party; it sponsors annual clothing drives and holiday parties for school children.
TKE is appealing the sanctions to the college's appeals board, Rosen said.
''I feel that there was a step that was missed,'' he said. ''There was a very big lack of communication. I wish that the college would have addressed us and let us take action.''
Although the college disciplined the individuals involved in the reported incidents, it didn't notify the fraternity it could face disciplinary action, Rosen said.
Kevin Mayeux, chief executive of the fraternity's national organization, also complained.
''We at national headquarters were not aware our group was in jeopardy until last Friday,'' he said. Although TKE loses six to eight chapters a year, ''it's rare to ever lose a group like this that you don't know about in advance.''
Hurd said the fraternity and the national organization, based in Indiana, were repeatedly notified but did not act. ''They didn't come here in a timely fashion,'' he said of the national organization.
This is the first suspension for TKE, which has had a chapter at Muhlenberg since 1958. But an episode in 1990 gave the chapter a black eye. Two fraternity members went on a destructive rampage at the house, leading the city to condemn it. The house has since been renovated.
Last year, the college suspended Delta Tau Delta for a year after a hazing incident. In 2000, Muhlenberg suspended Alpha Tau Omega indefinitely after a series of alcohol, drug and hazing violations.
The national organization of TKE hasn't taken disciplinary action against the chapter, Mayeux said. He said a TKE regional member is at Muhlenberg this week investigating the situation.
''If the allegations bear out to be true, then we concur with the decision the college made,'' he said.
Copyright © 2003, The Morning Call
UNH Pulls Recognition for Troubled Fraternity
The Associated Press
February 21, 2002
DURHAM, N.H. --A University of New Hampshire fraternity has lost its official recognition when it failed to fulfill probation requirements after an alleged sexual assault last February.
The Sigma Nu fraternity was ordered by the school in May to design an emergency plan for any situation, such as a fire or trespassers, and to attend bi-weekly meetings on ways to prevent sexual assaults. Stephen Pappajohn, the university's Greek Affairs coordinator, said members of the fraternity attended the meetings, but did not meet the October deadline for the emergency plan.
"In essence, it means they pretty much didn't care enough to do it," Pappajohn said.
The suspension requires the fraternity to complete its original sanctions by mid-March to get back recognition. It also means the fraternity is not allowed to hold a position on the Intra-fraternity Council, attend philanthropic events or use the university name or seal in any way.
The probation conditions were placed on the house although police found insufficient evidence to prosecute anyone in the alleged gang rape of a woman student. No charges were filed.
Strafford County Attorney Janice Rundles dropped the case, largely because of the accuser's fuzzy memory of the incident.
The woman since has filed a suit naming two members of the fraternity, the national chapter and the owners of the building.
Pappajohn said the fraternity was placed on probation because members of the house failed to help the woman.
"It was a situation that was a high-risk situation for something bad to happen," he said.
He said neither the suspension nor the probation is any indication that the allegations of sexual violence are true.
"The brothers acknowledged they failed to properly care for this woman," said Anne Lawing, assistant vice president for student affairs.
(c) 2002 The Associated Press.
U. Arkansas Bars Fraternity from Pledging for Two Years After Hazing Allegations
By Rachel Howard, Arkansas Traveler
University of Arkansas
February 20, 2002
The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at the University of Arkansas has been barred from having pledges for the next two years by the All-University Judicial Board as part of punishment for a Jan. 13 hazing incident, according to records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.
UAPD officers were dispatched to the SAE fraternity house at 2:36 a.m. on Jan. 13 after a 911 call reported a "disturbance" in the house, according to police reports.
The call was made from a pledge's cell phone, according to reports. Pledge Whitney Stinson said he did not make the call because his phone had been stolen that night. He has a new cell phone with the same number, he said. "We've all tried to figure out who it was, but we can't," Stinson said Monday night.
Stinson said the original phone still is missing.
When the officers arrived at the house, pledge Taylor Chaney let the officers into the house, according to police reports.
Chaney was dressed in a white T-shirt and jeans, which were wet and covered in mud, wrote UAPD Sgt. Steve Blazer in his report. He also had a fresh, bleeding cut on his right elbow and other small fresh scratches on his arm near the cut.
The police heard voices "yelling and screaming" in the basement, and the sound of objects being thrown or struck, Blazer wrote.
Police found a group of males lined up against a wall, all dressed in white T-shirts and jeans, soaking wet and covered with mud, and a group of males were surrounding them and yelling at them, according to the reports.
Some of the members were found drinking, Blazer wrote.
A wet and muddy mattress, several brooms and two poles taped together to form a club also were in the room, according to the police report.
Blazer said officers were unable to get "any plausible explanation" from the members and pledges about the events.
Several pledges had scrapes and cuts on their forearms, according to the police report. Some of the pledges shirts were bloody and every pledge was hoarse, as if they had been yelling for an extended period of time, Blazer wrote.
After officers warned them to cooperate, members told the officers that the pledges were cleaning the basement floor, and the cuts were caused by a broken beer bottle on the floor, the police report shows.
As a result of this incident, the judicial board levied several punishments, in addition to banning the fraternity from recruiting pledges for the next two years.
In a letter dated Jan. 30, Patrick Monroney, Judicial Affairs coordinator, outlined the three violations the fraternity was responsible for violating in the Student Code of Conduct by the judicial board:
* "Hazing, defined as any activity causing mental or physical stress and/or embarrassment which is required of an individual joining or belonging to any organization."
* "Physical abuse, threats communicated in any manner against a person or property, harassment, coercion, acts which are injurious or which hold another person against his or her will and/or other conduct which threatens or endangers the health or safety of any person."
* "Use, possession or distribution of alcoholic beverages except as expressly permitted by law and the University of Arkansas Policies on Alcohol and Other Drugs, or publication."
The judicial board heard testimony from members and pledges and UAPD officers before rendering its decision.
The board found the fraternity responsible for all the charges against them, according to judicial board reports.
The following is a list of punishments handed down by the All-University Judicial Board to the SAE fraternity, according to a letter sent to the fraternity by Monroney:
* SAE will be placed on registration probation for three years. This probation is intended to warn a group that if it is found to be responsible for subsequent violations during the period of probation, the university recognition of the organization and accompanying privileges may be restricted or revoked;
* Cancellation and non-approval of all social functions for two years. The board stipulation SAE may not accept or initiate new pledges during this time (until the end of the fall 2003 semester). Exceptions to this sanction were that the current pledge class will be allowed to become initiated members if they so desire, and weekly chapter meetings may continue;
* SAE must present a comprehensive plan for recruitment and initiation to the Office of Greek Life prior to accepting new pledges. The plan must be approved by the Greek Life office;
* SAE must become permanently alcohol-free. This includes private rooms of members that are of legal age to drink;
* SAE must adhere to all its national guidelines, requirements and recommendations in regards to this incident and to its hazing and alcohol policies; and
* SAE must partake in a peer intervention program under the supervision of the dean of students' office.
The judicial board gave the following three reasons for its punishment of the fraternity, as outlined in Monroney's letter:
* The hazing incident Jan. 13 represented behavior that is unacceptable within the university community;
* The hazing incident represented one in a series of ongoing hazing incidents at the SAE fraternity. These incidents included requiring pledges to wake in the early morning hours and expecting pledges to serve as designated drivers for members of the fraternity; and
* The statement of the SAE officers and pledges demonstrated a lack of understanding of hazing and its negative impact on the fraternity and the university community.
The Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity is appealing the All-Judiciary Board's decision to UA Chancellor John A. White, who is expected to render his decision sometime this week.
(C) 2002 Arkansas Traveler
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