Editors Note: This article basically shows the good a Fraternity does, and how too much negativity is expressed when it comes to terms of a Fraternity.
Beta-Sigma Charity Hockey Game Nets $2,400
By: Matt Usdin The Colgate Maroon news
Your browser may not support display of this image.On Saturday a frenzied crowd of more than 250 people crammed into Starr Rink to witness the Huntsman Cup hockey game. While the charity event between the Sigma Chi and Beta Theta Pi fraternities is only in its second year, the game already has become a significant philanthropic event, as well as a heated rivalry on the ice.
All profits from the game were donated to the Huntsman Cancer Institute, an organization that aims to combine revolutionary research and state-of-the-art patient care in an effort to offer hope and support to cancer patients and their families. This year, the event raised over $2,400 through ticket and t-shirt sales, as well as donations from the local businesses Oliveri's Pizzeria and New York Pizzeria.
For the second consecutive year the fans were treated to an extremely exciting game. Beta sophomore Brian Fuller got the game off to a fast start by scoring the first goal just seconds into the first period. Beta junior Shezhad Khan expressed how important the fast start was.
"Scoring a goal that quickly certainly gave us a great amount of confidence," Khan said. "It was a huge momentum boost."
However, the early Beta advantage did not last for long, as Sigma senior Peter Engebretson blasted a long shot into the net just minutes later. After the teams traded goals in the second period, a hard-fought but scoreless final period sent the game to overtime for the second consecutive year.
Although Sigma threatened to score the game winner several times early in the overtime period, Beta eventually gained the victory when first-year Jeff Thompson scored the golden goal with just one minute left on the clock.
Former Sigma President senior Julien Lederman expressed his disappointment in the loss, but also his pride in the charity event.
"While it is definitely hard to accept the loss, especially as a senior playing in the last game of a distinguished hockey career, I couldn't be happier with the success of the event," Lederman said. "It is certainly a great feeling to know that we are contributing to such a great charity and both fraternities should be proud."
A party that was co-hosted by the fraternities at the Sigma Chi house followed the game. Donations were accepted at the door to further benefit the Huntsman Institute. The fraternities look forward to improving upon the success of the event in years to come.
"It is just a great feeling to know that we are helping people who really need it," Sigma Vice-President sophomore Johnny Russell said. "It doesn't necessarily matter who wins the game. As long we are benefiting a good cause, we are all winners."
http://media.www.maroon-news.com/media/storage/paper742/news/2008/02/28/News/BetaSigma.Charity.Hockey.Game.Nets.2400-3239526.shtml
Reaction
One of the definite reasons this article stood out to me is because Beta Theta Pi and Sigma Chi are two out of the three Fraternities that make the Miami Triad. It is good to see how even though it’s another college, the efforts to raise money and help the community is always there, and how these Fraternities have really impacted their college. The hockey game seems like it’s a good time. Everyone is having fun, which is the most important part. I think an event like this really helps, because two different Fraternities get to show their pride in what they believed. Also as heard about at Rutgers, there is nothing like a competitive athletic event between two different Greek Organizations. In the end both Fraternities at this college really did something for a good cause, and that should definitely stand out. Fraternities need to be known for all the good they do, because they do a lot.
Posted By: Sagar Agrawal
Friday, February 29, 2008
Meet The New Member!
Esteban Escobar
Age: 20 Years Old
Location: Gladstone NJ, Busch Apartments
Siblings: One older brother 25 Ricardo
Major: Spanish major Philosophy minor.
Favorite Movie: The Big Lebowski.
Favorite Band: The Mars Volta.
Favorite TV Show: Squidbillies.
Pet Peeves: people who bite their nails.
What do you find attractive in a girl: pretty eyes.
Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton: Lindsay right after Mean Girls.
Favorite Cheese: cheese that stinks like a foot
Posted By: Esteban Escobar
Age: 20 Years Old
Location: Gladstone NJ, Busch Apartments
Siblings: One older brother 25 Ricardo
Major: Spanish major Philosophy minor.
Favorite Movie: The Big Lebowski.
Favorite Band: The Mars Volta.
Favorite TV Show: Squidbillies.
Pet Peeves: people who bite their nails.
What do you find attractive in a girl: pretty eyes.
Lindsay Lohan or Paris Hilton: Lindsay right after Mean Girls.
Favorite Cheese: cheese that stinks like a foot
Posted By: Esteban Escobar
The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi
"Often called the most beloved and popular of college fraternity songs, "The Sweetheart of Sigma Chi" was written in 1911 by Byron Stokes. Cliff Edwards (Ukulele Ike) playing tenor ukulele recorded this song in the 1930's."
Posted By: Evan Hackler
Posted By: Evan Hackler
3 Students Charged in Alcohol-Related Death
Editor's Note: In this article, a freshman has died as a result of alcohol poisoning. He was very irresponsible in how he acted and conducted himself. Himself and his other brothers should have realized that he had too much to drink and tried to do something to stop him. He did not have "A Deep Sense of Personal responsibility".
Freshman died at Clemson fraternity with 0.38 blood-alcohol level
Source: Associated Press
Published: 1/30/2008
WALHALLA, S.C. - Three fraternity members at Clemson University were charged with misdemeanors after a freshman died of alcohol poisoning during an off-campus party, a prosecutor said Wednesday.
The students' activities did not directly lead to the death of 18-year-old Benjamin Garrison Sprague, prosecutor Chrissy Adams said. But the three students, all members of the fraternity Sigma Nu, face charges that include transferring beer and liquor to a minor and using fake identification to buy alcohol.
Adams said Sprague was not forced to drink at the party.
"Ben made choices that night to consume alcohol, and he consumed alcohol in excess, and that led to his death," Adams said. "These boys made a mistake by providing the alcohol and having it available at a fraternity party to underage drinkers."Blood-alcohol level of 0.38 percent
Sprague died of alcohol poisoning Dec. 9 at an off-campus Sigma Nu fraternity house. He had a blood-alcohol level of nearly 0.38 percent — about five times above the legal threshold for driving, Oconee County Coroner Karl Addis has said.
After Sprague's death, the school's Sigma Nu chapter was placed on interim suspension by the university and the national fraternity pending investigations. The suspension means the group cannot hold any meetings or parties.
Adams said Sprague, who had recently been initiated into the fraternity, had been drinking for four hours before he arrived at the party. Adams read a statement from Sprague's parents that said, "While we acknowledge Ben's errors in judgment, we do not believe his errors overshadow his goodness."
Clemson spokeswoman Robin Denny said the school will determine if the students who were charged would also be suspended.
"Our first thoughts are with the Sprague family and continue to be with them, since this is just another sad day for their family and for the Clemson family," Denny said.
Fake ID for beer buy, prosecutor says
The prosecutor said Jetin Patel, 19, was charged with using a fake ID to purchase beer at a grocery store. He also faces charges of underage possession of beer and transfer of beer to a person under 21.
Matthew Rinkel, 20, was charged with transfer of beer and transfer of liquor to a person under 21.
Addison Kerr, 21, was charged with transfer of liquor to a minor.
It was unclear whether the students had attorneys. All three were booked Tuesday and released from jail on their own recognizance.
While their punishments could range anywhere from fines to about one month in jail, Adams said the students are eligible for a pretrial intervention program. If they are admitted and successfully complete the program, the charges would be removed from their records.Posted By: Mike Schroeder
Thursday, February 28, 2008
Sigma Chi Raises Thousands for Cancer
Editor's Note: The article is about derby days in oregon. They raised just over 15
thousand for charity, which is a great thing. But doesn't our chapter
generally raise a significantly larger amount than that?
Sigma Chi's 'Derby Days' raised more than $15,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation
By: Lauren Fox
Credit: Daily Emerald
Date Published: 2/25/08
Each day during the competition, Sigma Chi set up coin drives outside The Duck Store and sold T-shirts to raise money for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. At Thursday's competition, the sororities choreographed their own dances that featured members of Sigma Chi.
The dances represented a wide range of genres, from Gamma Phi Beta's swing dance routine to "Hey Big Spender" to Pi Beta Phi's gangster twist to a medley that included "Singing in the Rain." Performances also included hip hop by Chi Omega and Delta Gamma, Kappa Delta's adorable revive of 1920s-style "flappers," and Alpha Chi Omega's performance of a piece titled "High School Drama," which drew laughter from the crowd.
Kappa Kappa Gamma won the competition, having received the most overall points.
Overall, Sigma Chi raised $15,242, far surpassing its original goal of $10,000. Wolfe said the amount is the largest Sigma Chi has ever raised and said he thinks it "may be the largest amount a Greek house has earned in a while."
Posted By: Chris Algiere
thousand for charity, which is a great thing. But doesn't our chapter
generally raise a significantly larger amount than that?
Sigma Chi's 'Derby Days' raised more than $15,000 for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation
By: Lauren Fox
Credit: Daily Emerald
Date Published: 2/25/08
Each day during the competition, Sigma Chi set up coin drives outside The Duck Store and sold T-shirts to raise money for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation. At Thursday's competition, the sororities choreographed their own dances that featured members of Sigma Chi.
The dances represented a wide range of genres, from Gamma Phi Beta's swing dance routine to "Hey Big Spender" to Pi Beta Phi's gangster twist to a medley that included "Singing in the Rain." Performances also included hip hop by Chi Omega and Delta Gamma, Kappa Delta's adorable revive of 1920s-style "flappers," and Alpha Chi Omega's performance of a piece titled "High School Drama," which drew laughter from the crowd.
Kappa Kappa Gamma won the competition, having received the most overall points.
Overall, Sigma Chi raised $15,242, far surpassing its original goal of $10,000. Wolfe said the amount is the largest Sigma Chi has ever raised and said he thinks it "may be the largest amount a Greek house has earned in a while."
Posted By: Chris Algiere
Fraternity Prank Ends in Arrests
Editor's Note: This article was posted in the Michigan Daily in 2004. I picked it because this shows when a fraternity takes something that is supposed to be fun and turns it into getting in trouble. This is what should not be done. Some the fraternity members got arrested because of trying to pull a prank. It, in a way, teaches them a good lesson.
Fraternity prank ends in arrests
By Leslie Rott and Karl Stampfl, Daily Staff Reporter on 12/6/04
In what some sorority members are calling the damaging escalation of a friendly tradition, nine members of Theta Chi fraternity were arrested early Saturday morning after police said they gained illegal entry into the Delta Delta Delta sorority house. The sorority will press charges, which could result in 15-year felony punishments.
The men reportedly climbed up a fire escape and entered through the bathroom window of the sorority house, Ann Arbor Police Department Sgt. Pat Ouellette said. Among other items, police said they stole two composite pictures, which consist of photos of every member of the fraternity or sorority and are often displayed in Greek houses.
A member of the church next door called AAPD to the sorority house at about 4 a.m. Saturday. Police said they found three men inside a van and two on the roof of the house and two others later came out of the house. While police were questioning the group, two additional men came out of the house and fled on foot. Police ran after the two and caught them, Ouellette said.
The practice of pranking other Greek houses by stealing composite pictures is a fairly widespread tradition in the fraternity and sorority system, although most of these pranks do not result in arrests or, necessarily, break-ins.
?Normally frats will be let into a sorority house and usually a composite is stolen, or an emblem of some kind. However, this event was taken to another level, and other things happened that made this different than previous situations,? said LSA junior Lindsey Fediuk, vice president of the Pan Hellenic Association of sororities and a member of Delta Delta Delta.
The sorority was not ready to comment on these other circumstances, which Fediuk said added to the severity of the incident.
?We need to set a boundary,? said LSA sophomore Maggie Master, vice president of public relations for Delta Delta Delta. ?It?s a security issue for our home.?
and makes
The fraternity members were released, but an investigation is ongoing. The men could face charges of home invasion, a felony that can carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Fediuk said the sorority will press charges in the hope of stopping the escalation.
?We are pressing charges so the men can be held accountable for their actions as well as to set a precedent ? for future events,? she said, adding that the actions of the men were not representative of the Greek system.
Posted By: Kevin Naranjo
Fraternity prank ends in arrests
By Leslie Rott and Karl Stampfl, Daily Staff Reporter on 12/6/04
In what some sorority members are calling the damaging escalation of a friendly tradition, nine members of Theta Chi fraternity were arrested early Saturday morning after police said they gained illegal entry into the Delta Delta Delta sorority house. The sorority will press charges, which could result in 15-year felony punishments.
The men reportedly climbed up a fire escape and entered through the bathroom window of the sorority house, Ann Arbor Police Department Sgt. Pat Ouellette said. Among other items, police said they stole two composite pictures, which consist of photos of every member of the fraternity or sorority and are often displayed in Greek houses.
A member of the church next door called AAPD to the sorority house at about 4 a.m. Saturday. Police said they found three men inside a van and two on the roof of the house and two others later came out of the house. While police were questioning the group, two additional men came out of the house and fled on foot. Police ran after the two and caught them, Ouellette said.
The practice of pranking other Greek houses by stealing composite pictures is a fairly widespread tradition in the fraternity and sorority system, although most of these pranks do not result in arrests or, necessarily, break-ins.
?Normally frats will be let into a sorority house and usually a composite is stolen, or an emblem of some kind. However, this event was taken to another level, and other things happened that made this different than previous situations,? said LSA junior Lindsey Fediuk, vice president of the Pan Hellenic Association of sororities and a member of Delta Delta Delta.
The sorority was not ready to comment on these other circumstances, which Fediuk said added to the severity of the incident.
?We need to set a boundary,? said LSA sophomore Maggie Master, vice president of public relations for Delta Delta Delta. ?It?s a security issue for our home.?
and makes
The fraternity members were released, but an investigation is ongoing. The men could face charges of home invasion, a felony that can carry a maximum penalty of 15 years in prison. Fediuk said the sorority will press charges in the hope of stopping the escalation.
?We are pressing charges so the men can be held accountable for their actions as well as to set a precedent ? for future events,? she said, adding that the actions of the men were not representative of the Greek system.
Posted By: Kevin Naranjo
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Derby Days at UF
I found this video on Youtube which shows what Sigma Chi at the University of Florida did for their derby days. They decided to do a dance with various songs being played in the background. It looks pretty funny if you ask me.
Posted By: Mike Schroeder
Posted By: Mike Schroeder
Reflection
Reflection
So far the pledging process has been fairly fun. I have started to really get to know some of my pledge brothers, and I am hoping to know the rest very soon. The process has been really an eye opener. Not just to see how much work it is, just to see Sigma Chi for what it really is. Everything about Sigma Chi just seems right. I feel very comfortable whenever I am around the house; it really is starting to feel like my second home. The values and principles of Sigma Chi really are values everyone should vie for in life. The best part is there is a whole brotherhood is there to help you to become the better person everyone wants to be. There is nothing more nerve wrecking and exciting to see what is planned ahead. I only look forward to knowing more about Sigma Chi, so I can be a Sigma Chi eventually that future member look up to.
Sagar Agrawal
Risk Management
Editor's Note: I believe it still is important or even more important at our age to go through a risk seminar where it shows what happens when we do not make the best decisions. What can be learned from this is to take precautions to make your life safer and unfortunately the most effective way that stays with you is hearing the consequences from a victim or from a member of their family.
FSView & Florida Flambeau
January 29, 2007
Florida State U. risk management seminar shows consequences of poor decisions
By Lauren Walleser
The Panhellenic Association and the Interfraternity Council (IFC) at Florida State University hosted a
risk management seminar called Street Smarts, sponsored by Florida Stay Alive Through Education
(SAFE) and Tri Eagle Sales, Wednesday, Jan. 24 and Thursday, Jan. 25 in Ruby Diamond
Auditorium. About 1,500 students, mostly fraternity and sorority members, attended the
presentation and video on seatbelt safety and drunk driving.
Sara King, vice president of executive affairs for the Panhellenic Association, organized the event
along with Executive Vice President for the Interfraternity Council Justen Calvacca. King said she
remembered the presentation from her freshman year and wanted to bring it back to impact more
students.
"We wanted to try to hit something that we think is going to impact our members and something
that is effective on our campus whenever they leave, because risk management can be a whole
bunch of things," said King. "It can be self defense, it can be hazing, it can be drugs, alcohol, so
many things, and we wanted to hit something we think our new members will use outside just this
arena."
King explained that Panhellenic and IFC have certain bylaws and a constitution that they must
follow. Part of the rules state that new sorority and fraternity members must attend a risk
management seminar in the fall and 20 percent of each chapter must attend the seminar in the
spring. Every year the presentation differs, but the message is usually the same.
"I was talking to some of the leaders that present this, and they say that whenever they go to
scenes, that some of the people that have been in car accidents wear their seat belts and afterward
they're walking around and doing great and it's because they've seen this presentation and it had
an impact on them," King said.
The Street Smarts program was led by Jereme Cadorette, an Orlando, Fla., firefighter, and
Kirsten Sbela, a Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial Hospital paramedic. They told stories about college-age
kids who made bad decisions while under the influence and ended up losing their lives. They also
showed a slide show of graphic photos from fatal car crashes. Panhellenic and IFC provided
refreshments for students who became nauseated by the video, and students were told they could
cover their eyes or excuse themselves if they felt sick or disturbed by the presentation. "It's kind of
a 'shock and awe' video," said Calvacca. "It's real graphic and intense. They show pictures of
crashes, scenes, body parts. It's real. It really hits home. A lot of people last night left in the middle
of the presentation."
Calvacca said he believed this type of presentation is the best way to reach people.
"You get nothing out of being subtle," said Calvacca. "This kind of thing has got to kind of scare
people straight. I guarantee you when this presentation stops, you won't keep your eyes off of it. It
grabs you by the horns."
Calvacca also shared why he thought risk management presentations were important, especially for
fraternities and sororities.
"It's important for the general student body, but for Greek Life especially there's a lot of partying
and drinking," said Calvacca. Cadorette explained during the presentation that there are three types
of calls they normally respond to: fire calls, medical calls and trauma calls. He defined trauma as
"any sudden, unexpected violent insult or injury to the human body." This could include shootings,
stabbings, falls, burns, electrocutions, animal attacks, and car crashes. He said that trauma calls are
most common with people between the ages of 5 and 35, but most people who die from trauma are
between the ages of 12 and 24, and drugs and alcohol usually plays a part.
"The fact of the matter is that most of the time when I pull a dead body out of a car, they're about
your age, drugs and alcohol were involved, and they didn't have a seatbelt on," Cadorette said.
"Sounds pretty preventable? That's because it is."
Cadorette and Sbela talked about how drugs and alcohol affect overall judgment. Sbela shared two
stories, one about a young woman who dove into the bottom of an Olympic-sized pool when it had
no water in it and another about a young man who was playing football on the roof of an 11-story
hotel and fell off as he was trying to receive a pass. Both people were under the influence and died
because their judgment was impaired. The presenters also debunked some myths about seatbelt
safety. They said that most students say they don't wear their seat belts because they are good
drivers, have large vehicles, or don't want to wrinkle their clothes. Many people also don't wear
their seatbelt if they are just going around the corner.
"Most traffic fatalities happen in a close proximity to your home at speeds less than 35 miles per
hour," Cadorette said.
Cadorette also explained that air bags do not protect drivers and passengers from secondary
crashes, which may occur after the initial impact. He also said people in the back seat need to wear
a seatbelt as well, because in a crash their teeth can hit the heads of the people in front, as has
happened before, and all passengers can die from head injuries.
Sbela explained that if a car catches on fire, the driver and passengers would have more than
enough time to escape, even if they are wearing their seat belts. Also, if a roll over occurs, doors
and windows aren't enough to keep a body inside.
"If you are ejected, you have a 25 times greater chance that you're going to die," Cadorette said.
The two then demonstrated what would happen to someone if they were in a car accident and not
wearing their seatbelt. Using a volunteer from the audience, Cadorette and Sbela explained the
injuries the student would have incurred in graphic detail, how they would have to cut him out of
the car and all of the emergency room procedures that would be performed on him while still awake
and feeling the pain. They strapped the student to a stretcher and poked and prodded him to make
their point.
The presentation began at 6:30 p.m. and lasted for about 70 minutes. Some students were upset
by the graphic images and did excuse themselves.
According to Cadorette, someone dies in a car crash in the United States every 12 minutes. That
means that even during the presentation, several lives were lost.
(C) 2007 FSView & Florida Flambeau
Posted By: Mitch Reynolds
FSView & Florida Flambeau
January 29, 2007
Florida State U. risk management seminar shows consequences of poor decisions
By Lauren Walleser
The Panhellenic Association and the Interfraternity Council (IFC) at Florida State University hosted a
risk management seminar called Street Smarts, sponsored by Florida Stay Alive Through Education
(SAFE) and Tri Eagle Sales, Wednesday, Jan. 24 and Thursday, Jan. 25 in Ruby Diamond
Auditorium. About 1,500 students, mostly fraternity and sorority members, attended the
presentation and video on seatbelt safety and drunk driving.
Sara King, vice president of executive affairs for the Panhellenic Association, organized the event
along with Executive Vice President for the Interfraternity Council Justen Calvacca. King said she
remembered the presentation from her freshman year and wanted to bring it back to impact more
students.
"We wanted to try to hit something that we think is going to impact our members and something
that is effective on our campus whenever they leave, because risk management can be a whole
bunch of things," said King. "It can be self defense, it can be hazing, it can be drugs, alcohol, so
many things, and we wanted to hit something we think our new members will use outside just this
arena."
King explained that Panhellenic and IFC have certain bylaws and a constitution that they must
follow. Part of the rules state that new sorority and fraternity members must attend a risk
management seminar in the fall and 20 percent of each chapter must attend the seminar in the
spring. Every year the presentation differs, but the message is usually the same.
"I was talking to some of the leaders that present this, and they say that whenever they go to
scenes, that some of the people that have been in car accidents wear their seat belts and afterward
they're walking around and doing great and it's because they've seen this presentation and it had
an impact on them," King said.
The Street Smarts program was led by Jereme Cadorette, an Orlando, Fla., firefighter, and
Kirsten Sbela, a Tallahassee (Fla.) Memorial Hospital paramedic. They told stories about college-age
kids who made bad decisions while under the influence and ended up losing their lives. They also
showed a slide show of graphic photos from fatal car crashes. Panhellenic and IFC provided
refreshments for students who became nauseated by the video, and students were told they could
cover their eyes or excuse themselves if they felt sick or disturbed by the presentation. "It's kind of
a 'shock and awe' video," said Calvacca. "It's real graphic and intense. They show pictures of
crashes, scenes, body parts. It's real. It really hits home. A lot of people last night left in the middle
of the presentation."
Calvacca said he believed this type of presentation is the best way to reach people.
"You get nothing out of being subtle," said Calvacca. "This kind of thing has got to kind of scare
people straight. I guarantee you when this presentation stops, you won't keep your eyes off of it. It
grabs you by the horns."
Calvacca also shared why he thought risk management presentations were important, especially for
fraternities and sororities.
"It's important for the general student body, but for Greek Life especially there's a lot of partying
and drinking," said Calvacca. Cadorette explained during the presentation that there are three types
of calls they normally respond to: fire calls, medical calls and trauma calls. He defined trauma as
"any sudden, unexpected violent insult or injury to the human body." This could include shootings,
stabbings, falls, burns, electrocutions, animal attacks, and car crashes. He said that trauma calls are
most common with people between the ages of 5 and 35, but most people who die from trauma are
between the ages of 12 and 24, and drugs and alcohol usually plays a part.
"The fact of the matter is that most of the time when I pull a dead body out of a car, they're about
your age, drugs and alcohol were involved, and they didn't have a seatbelt on," Cadorette said.
"Sounds pretty preventable? That's because it is."
Cadorette and Sbela talked about how drugs and alcohol affect overall judgment. Sbela shared two
stories, one about a young woman who dove into the bottom of an Olympic-sized pool when it had
no water in it and another about a young man who was playing football on the roof of an 11-story
hotel and fell off as he was trying to receive a pass. Both people were under the influence and died
because their judgment was impaired. The presenters also debunked some myths about seatbelt
safety. They said that most students say they don't wear their seat belts because they are good
drivers, have large vehicles, or don't want to wrinkle their clothes. Many people also don't wear
their seatbelt if they are just going around the corner.
"Most traffic fatalities happen in a close proximity to your home at speeds less than 35 miles per
hour," Cadorette said.
Cadorette also explained that air bags do not protect drivers and passengers from secondary
crashes, which may occur after the initial impact. He also said people in the back seat need to wear
a seatbelt as well, because in a crash their teeth can hit the heads of the people in front, as has
happened before, and all passengers can die from head injuries.
Sbela explained that if a car catches on fire, the driver and passengers would have more than
enough time to escape, even if they are wearing their seat belts. Also, if a roll over occurs, doors
and windows aren't enough to keep a body inside.
"If you are ejected, you have a 25 times greater chance that you're going to die," Cadorette said.
The two then demonstrated what would happen to someone if they were in a car accident and not
wearing their seatbelt. Using a volunteer from the audience, Cadorette and Sbela explained the
injuries the student would have incurred in graphic detail, how they would have to cut him out of
the car and all of the emergency room procedures that would be performed on him while still awake
and feeling the pain. They strapped the student to a stretcher and poked and prodded him to make
their point.
The presentation began at 6:30 p.m. and lasted for about 70 minutes. Some students were upset
by the graphic images and did excuse themselves.
According to Cadorette, someone dies in a car crash in the United States every 12 minutes. That
means that even during the presentation, several lives were lost.
(C) 2007 FSView & Florida Flambeau
Posted By: Mitch Reynolds
Tuesday, February 26, 2008
Meet the New Member!
Kevin Naranjo
PCP
Age: 18
Location: From Paterson, living on Cook Campus
Favorite Sport:Swimming (Baseball, Basketball, Football)
Favorite Movie: Wedding Crashers
Favorite Artists: Nas, Eminem, Ne-Yo, Mario, Marques Houston, Daddy Yankee
Jessica Simpson or Carrie Underwood: Jessica Simpson
Pet Peeve: Wrinkles in my clothes
Favorite cheese: American
Favorite TV Show: Fresh Prince of Bel-Air
Would You Choose the Ability to Fly If You Could Never Have Sex: Hell no!
Most Attractive in a Girl: 1. personality 2. Face 3. nice figure
Posted By: Kevin Naranjo
Monday, February 25, 2008
Videos Spark Scrutinty of Sigma Chi
Editor's Note: This is why it is important not to post videos on facebook or even pictures of social events online. You never know who is going to look at them. It is also a shame that such events reflect poorly on our fraternity as a whole.
Greek Life Office says actions of Sigma Chi brothers, pledges were 'unacceptable' and 'distasteful'
Jonathan Greenberger
Issue date: 4/28/04 Section: News
A Sigma Chi brother dunks his head in water filled with ice cubes.
Media Credit: Student Life
A Sigma Chi brother dunks his head in water filled with ice cubes.
Media Credit: Student Life
Video obtained by Student Life of Sigma Chi brother dunking his head in ice water.
A frame from a video depicting a group of Sigma Chi pledges and brothers performing while their audience throws beer cans and boxes at them.
Media Credit: Student Life
A frame from a video depicting a group of Sigma Chi pledges and brothers performing while their audience throws beer cans and boxes at them.
Media Credit: Student Life
Video obtained by Student Life of cans and boxes hurled at dancing brothers and pledges.
Reporting by Jonathan Greenberger, Liz Neukirch and Cory Schneider
New videos surfaced yesterday with images of Sigma Chi brothers and pledges engaged in what University officials have deemed "unacceptable" and "inappropriate" behavior. The videos appeared on the same day the fraternity received sanctions from the University as the outcome of a hazing investigation.
The videos, obtained early yesterday morning by Student Life, were allegedly shot by a member of Sigma Chi.
The Greek Life Office, which received copies of the videos yesterday from another fraternity, has opened an investigation into the incidents.
Most of the 28 videos and 31 photographs obtained by Student Life show fraternity brothers and pledges performing raucous, sexually-charged skits before their peers. During and after many of the skits, videos show the performers being pelted with beer cans and boxes by members of the audience.
Another video depicts a student dunking his head into a container of water filled with ice cubes, while others off-camera chant and count the seconds that the student's head remains submerged. After about 20 seconds, when the student rises from the water, he is given a beer, which he proceeds to chug for approximately 10 more seconds. Photographs show numerous other students with their heads in the same ice-filled water.
While Director of Greek Life Karin Johnes stressed that the investigation into the incidents has just begun, she provided a written statement that characterized the videos as "distasteful" and "displaying inappropriate behavior that is unacceptable to the community."
Although other conclusions have yet to be drawn, Johnes' statement said that the University will consider revoking its recognition of the Sigma Chi chapter.
"Revocation is always a possibility in an investigation like this, but given the collective nature of what's been happening, it's even more so on the table now," she said in an interview last night.
Rob Salyer, the fraternity's alumni advisor, said the actions in the videos and photos "weren't up to par with what" is expected by the University and him, but refused to comment further until an investigation is complete. Sigma Chi President Adam Wood and Vice President Justin Thompson both declined to speak about the matter.
The videos come on the heels of the University's recently completed investigation into allegations of hazing at Sigma Chi. The focus of that investigation was two pledges who were transported to the hospital during the night of March 18-19. Sanctions for the fraternity that arose from this investigation were delivered to Sigma Chi last night, although Johnes and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Students Jill Carnaghi refused to describe the details of the penalties.
Carnaghi, contacted before she knew of the videos and photos, said that the just-completed investigation focused only on the events of March 18-19, treating them as isolated incidents.
Johnes said that the results of this last investigation will affect the outcome of the new one. "Previous violations will be considered," she said.
One of the questions she will be asking as she looks into the events on the videos is the level of involvement by the fraternity's officers.
"We'll look at what role did the officers play," she said, but added that regardless of how involved they were, "I believe officers are personally responsible for what happened."
How the images were distributed is an open question. Sophomore Eric Triebe, who claimed responsibility for the videos and pictures in a written letter to Student Life, maintained that the media was "stolen" from his digital camera and then "unlawfully distributed."
Johnes said that she obtained the videos from another fraternity troubled by Sigma Chi's behavior.
"There are fraternities concerned by this. They realize that what one fraternity does affects us all," she said.
Johnes claimed to have "a little bit" of concern that there will be retaliation against those responsible for distributing the digital files.
"I would hope that at this point [Sigma Chi] would take responsibility," she said. "Taking up a rivalry with another fraternity is only denying responsibility, and they can't blame anyone for this but themselves."
The videos and photos were produced by a member of Sigma Chi, she added, so the possible distribution of the media was "a risk they entered into willingly."
Posted By: Esteban Escobar
Greek Life Office says actions of Sigma Chi brothers, pledges were 'unacceptable' and 'distasteful'
Jonathan Greenberger
Issue date: 4/28/04 Section: News
A Sigma Chi brother dunks his head in water filled with ice cubes.
Media Credit: Student Life
A Sigma Chi brother dunks his head in water filled with ice cubes.
Media Credit: Student Life
Video obtained by Student Life of Sigma Chi brother dunking his head in ice water.
A frame from a video depicting a group of Sigma Chi pledges and brothers performing while their audience throws beer cans and boxes at them.
Media Credit: Student Life
A frame from a video depicting a group of Sigma Chi pledges and brothers performing while their audience throws beer cans and boxes at them.
Media Credit: Student Life
Video obtained by Student Life of cans and boxes hurled at dancing brothers and pledges.
Reporting by Jonathan Greenberger, Liz Neukirch and Cory Schneider
New videos surfaced yesterday with images of Sigma Chi brothers and pledges engaged in what University officials have deemed "unacceptable" and "inappropriate" behavior. The videos appeared on the same day the fraternity received sanctions from the University as the outcome of a hazing investigation.
The videos, obtained early yesterday morning by Student Life, were allegedly shot by a member of Sigma Chi.
The Greek Life Office, which received copies of the videos yesterday from another fraternity, has opened an investigation into the incidents.
Most of the 28 videos and 31 photographs obtained by Student Life show fraternity brothers and pledges performing raucous, sexually-charged skits before their peers. During and after many of the skits, videos show the performers being pelted with beer cans and boxes by members of the audience.
Another video depicts a student dunking his head into a container of water filled with ice cubes, while others off-camera chant and count the seconds that the student's head remains submerged. After about 20 seconds, when the student rises from the water, he is given a beer, which he proceeds to chug for approximately 10 more seconds. Photographs show numerous other students with their heads in the same ice-filled water.
While Director of Greek Life Karin Johnes stressed that the investigation into the incidents has just begun, she provided a written statement that characterized the videos as "distasteful" and "displaying inappropriate behavior that is unacceptable to the community."
Although other conclusions have yet to be drawn, Johnes' statement said that the University will consider revoking its recognition of the Sigma Chi chapter.
"Revocation is always a possibility in an investigation like this, but given the collective nature of what's been happening, it's even more so on the table now," she said in an interview last night.
Rob Salyer, the fraternity's alumni advisor, said the actions in the videos and photos "weren't up to par with what" is expected by the University and him, but refused to comment further until an investigation is complete. Sigma Chi President Adam Wood and Vice President Justin Thompson both declined to speak about the matter.
The videos come on the heels of the University's recently completed investigation into allegations of hazing at Sigma Chi. The focus of that investigation was two pledges who were transported to the hospital during the night of March 18-19. Sanctions for the fraternity that arose from this investigation were delivered to Sigma Chi last night, although Johnes and Assistant Vice Chancellor for Students Jill Carnaghi refused to describe the details of the penalties.
Carnaghi, contacted before she knew of the videos and photos, said that the just-completed investigation focused only on the events of March 18-19, treating them as isolated incidents.
Johnes said that the results of this last investigation will affect the outcome of the new one. "Previous violations will be considered," she said.
One of the questions she will be asking as she looks into the events on the videos is the level of involvement by the fraternity's officers.
"We'll look at what role did the officers play," she said, but added that regardless of how involved they were, "I believe officers are personally responsible for what happened."
How the images were distributed is an open question. Sophomore Eric Triebe, who claimed responsibility for the videos and pictures in a written letter to Student Life, maintained that the media was "stolen" from his digital camera and then "unlawfully distributed."
Johnes said that she obtained the videos from another fraternity troubled by Sigma Chi's behavior.
"There are fraternities concerned by this. They realize that what one fraternity does affects us all," she said.
Johnes claimed to have "a little bit" of concern that there will be retaliation against those responsible for distributing the digital files.
"I would hope that at this point [Sigma Chi] would take responsibility," she said. "Taking up a rivalry with another fraternity is only denying responsibility, and they can't blame anyone for this but themselves."
The videos and photos were produced by a member of Sigma Chi, she added, so the possible distribution of the media was "a risk they entered into willingly."
Posted By: Esteban Escobar
Do Fraternities Deserve Their Bad Reputations?
Editor's Note: This is a different viewpoint about the way fraternities are looked at. This article makes the point that fraternities are not about hazing, but about being against dissent and affirmative action because of their so called "discriminatory nature". While I strongly disagree with this complaint that the feminists are making, the article is interesting. (Evan Hackler)
(Fox News) (5/12/2004)
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
By Wendy McElroy, Fox News
How much of what you believe is based on fact, and how much has been
manufactured?
For decades, society has been undergoing a powerful campaign known as
political correctness, which seeks to control the definition and
presentation of concepts, including "marriage" and "the family." The
purpose is to encourage allegedly proper ideas and behavior, by law if
necessary, and to discourage improper ones.
A recent news story left me questioning how deeply the ideas in my own
mind have been socially engineered.
The news item was on college fraternities — or "frat boys" — and their
relationship to violence against women. The Frat Boy. He's the drunken
party-animal who date rapes when he isn't playing childish pranks or
hazing. He's the lowbrow, sports-sated rich kid who is rude to women and
minorities. I know this … even though the fraternity members I've met do
not resemble that image.
How do I know this? I've imbibed that image through a flood of TV shows
and movies. I know fraternity houses are part of the "rape culture" on
campus because feminist studies, such as the much-cited 1996 "Fraternities
and Collegiate Rape Culture," reveal that fact. But how much of the image
is real, and how much is a caricature based on a rejection of the
traditional male?
Scant decades ago, fraternities were among the most prestigious student
organizations on campus. Many of today's respected leaders were fraternity
brothers, and fraternities can point to a long history of raising funds
for charities and of alumni money for universities.
Feminist awareness may have exposed a dark side to fraternities and a need
for change. But it is difficult to divorce their critique from their more
general attempt to redefine campus politics according to a new feminist
vision. Such feminist visions, and their underlying research, are
notorious for being politically driven and methodologically flawed.
The news story that sparked my speculation was forwarded by a male friend
at the University of New Hampshire: The front-page story in UNH's student
paper on April 30 revolved around that campus' recent Take Back the Night
march. (Take Back the Night is an international event meant to unify
"women, men, and children in an awareness of violence against women,
children and families.")
The focus of the article was feminist outrage at the participation in TBTN
of fraternities and sororities, the latter of which are also targets of PC
caricature. In essence, the Feminist Action League led a protest against
the involvement of Greek organizations in UNH's TBTN, with members
carrying banners addressed to the fraternities. Two of them read, "We
Don't Negotiate With Terrorists" and "Feminists Against Frats."
The UNH conflict has a back story, including a three-year-old accusation
of rape that was never filed as a charge, vandalization of the frat house,
and a subsequent civil lawsuit that was settled out of court.
Perhaps this partially explains why FAL decried the presence of all men —
and even of sorority women — at the TBTN march. Nevertheless, the presence
of non-disruptive fraternities (and the news story reported no incidents)
could have been viewed as a feminist victory, since they are the very men
from whom feminists most strenuously demand an acknowledgement of sexual
violence on campus.
It would not be an isolated victory. Many fraternities seem eager to
reform their tarnished image. In February, for example, the
Interfraternity Council at Penn State voted to designate all IFC
fraternity houses as "rape-free" zones and require members to receive
training about sexual assault.
The conflict at UHN may be extreme, but it reflects a tension that exists
to some degree on most campuses across North America.
The root tension may not be resolvable. The Women's and Gender Studies
Program at Kenyon College in Ohio states, "Male bonding in groups like
fraternities that promote traditional views of masculinity furthers the
risk of sexual violence."
How can the foregoing be resolved with the self-descriptions of many
fraternities? The mission statement for members of Alpha Phi Alpha at
Texas Lutheran University is typical: "... to prepare them [members] for
the greatest usefulness in the causes of humanity, freedom and dignity of
the individual; to encourage the highest and noblest form of manhood; and
to aid down-trodden humanity in its efforts to achieve higher social,
economic and intellectual status."
A possible explanation is that both images are true and no stereotype of a
"frat boy" exists. Another explanation is that the frat boy controversy is
part of an ongoing ideological war on campuses.
Former Dartmouth Review Editor Steven Menashi has written of the
controversy, "even though fraternities have been around for two centuries,
it's only recently that colleges have launched a concerted effort to
destroy them. In the last decade, anti-Greek initiatives have emerged at
Dartmouth, Bates, Trinity, Bowdoin, Hamilton, and Bucknell — to name only
a few."
Menashi concludes that a main reason fraternities are under attack is that
they "have become a sanctuary for campus heterodoxy." For example,
fraternities tend to be critical of affirmative action and so-called
diversity policies. Thus, "the war on fraternities isn't about ending
drinking or bad behavior, it's about ending dissent."
Is Menashi correct? I don't know. But I am increasingly uncomfortable with
the automatic snicker that accompanies the mention of "frat boys." And I
wonder at the vicious image I carry in my mind of an entire category of
people.
Posted By: Hadey Salem
(Fox News) (5/12/2004)
Wednesday, May 12, 2004
By Wendy McElroy, Fox News
How much of what you believe is based on fact, and how much has been
manufactured?
For decades, society has been undergoing a powerful campaign known as
political correctness, which seeks to control the definition and
presentation of concepts, including "marriage" and "the family." The
purpose is to encourage allegedly proper ideas and behavior, by law if
necessary, and to discourage improper ones.
A recent news story left me questioning how deeply the ideas in my own
mind have been socially engineered.
The news item was on college fraternities — or "frat boys" — and their
relationship to violence against women. The Frat Boy. He's the drunken
party-animal who date rapes when he isn't playing childish pranks or
hazing. He's the lowbrow, sports-sated rich kid who is rude to women and
minorities. I know this … even though the fraternity members I've met do
not resemble that image.
How do I know this? I've imbibed that image through a flood of TV shows
and movies. I know fraternity houses are part of the "rape culture" on
campus because feminist studies, such as the much-cited 1996 "Fraternities
and Collegiate Rape Culture," reveal that fact. But how much of the image
is real, and how much is a caricature based on a rejection of the
traditional male?
Scant decades ago, fraternities were among the most prestigious student
organizations on campus. Many of today's respected leaders were fraternity
brothers, and fraternities can point to a long history of raising funds
for charities and of alumni money for universities.
Feminist awareness may have exposed a dark side to fraternities and a need
for change. But it is difficult to divorce their critique from their more
general attempt to redefine campus politics according to a new feminist
vision. Such feminist visions, and their underlying research, are
notorious for being politically driven and methodologically flawed.
The news story that sparked my speculation was forwarded by a male friend
at the University of New Hampshire: The front-page story in UNH's student
paper on April 30 revolved around that campus' recent Take Back the Night
march. (Take Back the Night is an international event meant to unify
"women, men, and children in an awareness of violence against women,
children and families.")
The focus of the article was feminist outrage at the participation in TBTN
of fraternities and sororities, the latter of which are also targets of PC
caricature. In essence, the Feminist Action League led a protest against
the involvement of Greek organizations in UNH's TBTN, with members
carrying banners addressed to the fraternities. Two of them read, "We
Don't Negotiate With Terrorists" and "Feminists Against Frats."
The UNH conflict has a back story, including a three-year-old accusation
of rape that was never filed as a charge, vandalization of the frat house,
and a subsequent civil lawsuit that was settled out of court.
Perhaps this partially explains why FAL decried the presence of all men —
and even of sorority women — at the TBTN march. Nevertheless, the presence
of non-disruptive fraternities (and the news story reported no incidents)
could have been viewed as a feminist victory, since they are the very men
from whom feminists most strenuously demand an acknowledgement of sexual
violence on campus.
It would not be an isolated victory. Many fraternities seem eager to
reform their tarnished image. In February, for example, the
Interfraternity Council at Penn State voted to designate all IFC
fraternity houses as "rape-free" zones and require members to receive
training about sexual assault.
The conflict at UHN may be extreme, but it reflects a tension that exists
to some degree on most campuses across North America.
The root tension may not be resolvable. The Women's and Gender Studies
Program at Kenyon College in Ohio states, "Male bonding in groups like
fraternities that promote traditional views of masculinity furthers the
risk of sexual violence."
How can the foregoing be resolved with the self-descriptions of many
fraternities? The mission statement for members of Alpha Phi Alpha at
Texas Lutheran University is typical: "... to prepare them [members] for
the greatest usefulness in the causes of humanity, freedom and dignity of
the individual; to encourage the highest and noblest form of manhood; and
to aid down-trodden humanity in its efforts to achieve higher social,
economic and intellectual status."
A possible explanation is that both images are true and no stereotype of a
"frat boy" exists. Another explanation is that the frat boy controversy is
part of an ongoing ideological war on campuses.
Former Dartmouth Review Editor Steven Menashi has written of the
controversy, "even though fraternities have been around for two centuries,
it's only recently that colleges have launched a concerted effort to
destroy them. In the last decade, anti-Greek initiatives have emerged at
Dartmouth, Bates, Trinity, Bowdoin, Hamilton, and Bucknell — to name only
a few."
Menashi concludes that a main reason fraternities are under attack is that
they "have become a sanctuary for campus heterodoxy." For example,
fraternities tend to be critical of affirmative action and so-called
diversity policies. Thus, "the war on fraternities isn't about ending
drinking or bad behavior, it's about ending dissent."
Is Menashi correct? I don't know. But I am increasingly uncomfortable with
the automatic snicker that accompanies the mention of "frat boys." And I
wonder at the vicious image I carry in my mind of an entire category of
people.
Posted By: Hadey Salem
Friday, February 22, 2008
A Funny Prank
Editor's Note: Ok so this article has to do with a St. Patrick's Day party completely gone wrong for one senior at Phi Psi in Potsdam. This is the result of what happens when seniors like to think theyre the big dogs and run the show.
People often ask me what the most outrageous thing was that ever happened to me in my long and illustrious fraternity career. I always tell them this story.
Who's That Naked Guy?
Surviving The Quintessential Fraternity Prank
Psi Phi has a long-standing tradition every spring called "Junior/Senior Wars." It basically means that graduating seniors start getting really cocky and the rest of the house cops an attitude about it. It all revolves around "Senior Breakfast," a gin & juice breakfast party that the junior members are required by tradition to hold in honor of the graduating seniors. Until such a time as the junior members fulfill their responsibility, it's open season on juniors as far as the seniors are concerned. Retaliation on the part of the juniors is expected. It all builds up in a complex and suspenseful period of brinkmanship until the juniors finally relent (or get their shit together) and produce Senior Breakfast.
Different years experience different degrees of the escalation of hostility depending primarily on how cocky the seniors are that particular year. I had the distinct pleasure of graduating with a number of extremely cocky members. I figured my best chances were to keep a low profile. I was never exempt from jeers in the student union, but I was reasonably safe from any bodily harm on the grounds that I never actually participated first-hand in any of the attacks perpetrated on the juniors this particular semester. Still, it was not considered wise to find oneself without the company of other senior members.
Alone is exactly what I found myself during a St. Patrick's day porch party. It was a gorgeous day. Weather on St. Pat's day in Potsdam is always a crap shoot. You can have a cold, driving snow, or you can have sunshine and 70 degree weather. This year was the latter. We were all hanging out in the cool sunshine on the Zeta front porch drinking green keg bear. All of a sudden I realized that there wasn't another senior in sight. Every single Psi Phi brother on the porch except me was a junior member. The only thing I had going for me was that none of the juniors had yet noticed.
I was in extreme peril. This was no ordinary party. Zeta throws THE porch party on St. Pat's day, which is THE social event of the springtime in Potsdam. And here I was in grave jeopardy. I had nothing to protect me but the juniors' own dimwittedness.
Despite the fact that adrenaline was now coursing through my veins, I totally kept my cool. I knew that any sudden movements would startle them, perhaps into recognition. I was going to casually turn to the railing as if to enjoy the weather, and then suddenly leap to freedom and run for my very life. Before I even set my beer down, however, one of the juniors suddenly realized the situation I was in. "Hey, Toaph's a SENIOR! Grab him! He's unprotected!!"
Before I could make my escape I was pounced upon. They carefully took my beer away from me (my only weapon), and a big guy named Lurch grabbed my arms from behind. They weren't really sure what to do with me, but it all started with keeping me captive. Eventually they sent Pud to go get his car. Pud drove an early 80's full sized Chevrolet sedan that his parents let him take. This was an ironic choice, as Pud, or rather his car, had been the victim of an attack earlier that semester when someone plugged his horn lead into his break light switch. Every time he touched the brakes the horn blasted.
At this point there wasn't much for me to do but wait for the car to get there and stew on what they could dream up for me. These things are all in fun, but they can get pretty extreme. And with the degree to which my fellow seniors had been stirring things up, I knew that the stakes were high. I could just imagine the juniors serving up poor old pacifist Toaph as a sacrificial statement of their defiance.
After a while as everyone was waiting for Pud to get back with the car, I realized that people had spread out. The only guys left in my immediate vicinity were Lurch who was holding my arms, and a particularly obnoxious junior named Gomer. I knew that escape was impossible, but I wasn't going to go without some kind of a struggle. Gomer was giving me all this shit, "Hee hee, you cocky senior! Your not so cocky now, are ya? Were gonna f*** you up goooood..."
He was standing there with no one around him, and he had a full beer held leisurely at chest height. This was my graduating semester, and I had to catch up on some phys ed credits in order to meet my qualifications. One of the sports I chose was karate. I didn't know any good moves, but my leg muscles were pretty limber and I wasn't bad at some of the defensive kicks. So I planted my eye on that beer under Gomer's face and with my arms still pinned behind my back lay into a crescent kick prettier than any I'd ever done in class. It was the fist time I ever went for a target, and I hit it 100%. Gomer's entire beer was now dripping off his eyebrows and out his nostrils. This stunt could have made things much worse for me, but I was counting on the hope that the rest of the juniors shared my apathy for Gomer's woes. I know that Lurch was laughing.
Before Gomer could think of anything to do about it Pud came by with the car before any seniors happened to come to my rescue. Of course he pulled up directly in front of the house and the entire party. As they tried to move me I went limp, but they lifted me and carried me through the entire party and out to the car. They tossed me in the floor of the back seat and climbed in on top of me. Lurch got in on the side of the car my head was in and managed to put the bottom of his boot right over my open, screaming mouth. I can still taste the sand and rock salt.
"What should we do with him?" they murmured as Pud sped off. Tide, a cute but hard nosed ROTC guy, said, "Let's strip him to his skivvies and drop him off at Phi K. Now it was time to take things seriously. Phi K was our sister sorority, and their house was about a half mile from ours. I did whatever I could think of to keep them from getting my clothes. My shoes and socks were the first to go.
They had my pants undone next. I tried bending my knees to keep the fabric from passing, but it was no use. Tide was saying, "Nope. Nope, Toaph, you're not going to be able to stop us. You might as well not bother" I was somewhat successful keeping my shirt on, but it was only a matter of time before they had my jeans. I made some remark about, "I hope you homos are getting your jollies!" After a while they had my top bare too. There was just one layer of cotton between me and the whole world.
At least I was wearing sexy underwear at the time. Actually it was the favorite pair of underwear I had. It was a navy brief with no fly. It was Speedo brand name underwear. I've never seen any Speedo underwear products before or since. I didn't even know where this pair originally came from. I found them in the shower room at the house one day, and not having any sexy underwear of my own I secretly tossed them in my laundry and started wearing them on special occasions.
And here I was on this special occasion, held captive on the floor of Pud's car on my way to Phi K in my underwear. When we got there they pulled me out of the car and held my pale body prone on extended arms overhead as they marched up to the front door. After a little pounding they realized that all the girls were out partying on St. Pat's day and the house was locked up tight.
"What should we do now?" one of them asked. For a moment I thought I might actually be safe, but the next thing I knew they had yanked my underwear off and were carrying me back to the street bare ass naked. Their plan, it turned out, was to parade my naked body, face up mind you, to Omega and leave me there. Omega was a couple blocks up the same street. It's about the closest thing to a Fraternity Row that Potsdam had to offer. Of course they walked me right down the middle of the street in the broad daylight.
It was a bit of a hike from Phi K to Omega. Actually most everyone was either at Zeta or the bars on the downtown strip and there weren't really anyone on this side of town to see us. Soon the conversation got kind of casual as they strolled along with my naked body held above them in the bright sunshine. I suppose it would have been relatively easy to break free at this point, but it seemed that naked inside Omega was still preferable to naked in the middle of the street. All I was thinking at the time was, "God, I hope I don't get an erection!"
When we finally got to Omega all the guys had to do was navigate a snow bank between the curb and the sidewalk. Of course in their drunken stupor and a bit fatigued from carrying me two blocks it was more than they could handle. Very soon I felt myself going over. Fortunately Tide, the honorable soldier, sacrificed his clothed body so that my bare skin would be spared. He fell backwards onto the snow bank and allowed my body to rest on top of his. If only I realized at the time what I would give later in life to find myself lying naked on top of a cute ROTC guy. But then I *was* trying to keep from getting an erection at the time.
They got me back up off Tide and took me up on the front porch. I don't know if I was wishing it would be open or locked. It was open. They burst inside the house loudly announcing our arrival. "Hello! Psi Phi nude-o-gram to Omega!! Happy St. Patrick's Day!! Here's your naked guy! Happy St. Patrick's Day!!" The few women around scurried like scared mice. The guys dropped my bare ass on the middle of the dining room table and walked back out laughing and hollering. They got in the car and sped off.
I sat there for a moment. Things were very peaceful . I kind of thought, "Okay, now what happens?" I was still kind of worrying about getting an erection, but I pretty much figured that if it hadn't happened by now that it probably wouldn't. Still, my options were limited.
I wound up calling out for help. My baritone voice boomed out "Do you suppose someone could at least toss me a towel?" Soon a girl walked quickly in one door and out another, tossing a towel to me as she passed without her eyes ever landing on me. She was the pinned girlfriend of the biggest and baddest of all the Psi Phi seniors. This was the first thing that had gone my way since I nailed the beer all over Gomer.
With the towel around my waist I went up to her room and she showed me options of what I could borrow to wear home. I wound up with a pair of girls' lavender and light-blue striped silk running shorts, and one of her monster boyfriend's thermal undershirts. She offered me a pair of flip flops to wear back, but I decided to brave it. I was out the door and scurrying home before I had time to think about how I'd bare being seen like this.
The first thing I realized after I was on my way was that I should have taken the flip flops. Although it was a warm, sunny day, there was still ice and freezing water all over the sidewalks. My feet were so cold they hurt. But if anything it served to take my mind off my embarrassment. I seem to remember getting a cat-call or two, but soon I was back at my own house without major incident.
As I showered and dressed I reflected on what had just transpired. In all I found it to be a very positive experience. Fraternity life is all about having experiences. It's about doing things that you've never done before and will probably never do again. I was now one of the elite few who could boast to having actually survived the quintessential fraternity prank. The one thing I regretted was that I never saw that pair of Speedo briefs again. They were last reported seen flapping in the wind atop Tide's head as he leaned out of Pud's car speeding past the porch party from which I had originally been abducted. Guys, thanks for the memories!
Posted By : Kevin NaranjoThursday, February 21, 2008
VT Greeks Reach Out to NIU
Editor's Note: This article is about what some of the fraternities and sororities at VT are doing for the some of the faterities and sororities at NUI. This just shows how everyone in Greek life feels connected to others even if they are not in their Chapter or Univerisity.
Virginia Tech students take gifts to NIU
February 21, 2008
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- A group of fraternity and sorority members from Virginia Tech is visiting Northern Illinois University in the wake of the shooting rampage on campus last week.
A Virginia Tech spokeswoman says students attending the Mid-American Greek Council Association Conference in Chicago are going to the DeKalb campus Thursday. They'll deliver signature boards with messages of support and gifts to members of the Pi Kappa Alpha and Sigma Chi fraternities.
One of the five NIU students killed in the shooting was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, and two of those injured were Sigma Chi members.
The Hokies United group also is collecting condolence letters, notes of encouragement and snacks to send to NIU. The shootings occurred ten months after a student killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus.
Posted By: Michael Schroeder
Virginia Tech students take gifts to NIU
February 21, 2008
FROM THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BLACKSBURG, Va. -- A group of fraternity and sorority members from Virginia Tech is visiting Northern Illinois University in the wake of the shooting rampage on campus last week.
A Virginia Tech spokeswoman says students attending the Mid-American Greek Council Association Conference in Chicago are going to the DeKalb campus Thursday. They'll deliver signature boards with messages of support and gifts to members of the Pi Kappa Alpha and Sigma Chi fraternities.
One of the five NIU students killed in the shooting was a member of Pi Kappa Alpha, and two of those injured were Sigma Chi members.
The Hokies United group also is collecting condolence letters, notes of encouragement and snacks to send to NIU. The shootings occurred ten months after a student killed 32 people on the Virginia Tech campus.
Posted By: Michael Schroeder
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Sigma Chi Cribs Video from UCSD
Editor's Note: This is a very interesting and creative video from the members of Sigma Chi at The University of California at San Diego. The spin off of the popular TV show cribs successfully takes us into a fantastic house that greatly differs from the house here at Rutgers. It is important to see how other chapters of Sigma Chi have established themselves throughout the country.
Posted By: Evan Hackler
Horrific School Bus Crash
Editor's Note: It shows how risk management is a key part in our fraternity. With this example of just being an ordinary accident we realize how important it is to take precautions. Just like if people are drinking we should take away their keys to keep them alive. We need to prepare for every situation in order to not let something unfortunate happen and just like Brother Dooney says " You fail to prepare, you prepare to fail".
Horrific school bus crash leaves 4 students dead
Source: The Associated Press
Date Published: 2/20/08
COTTONWOOD, Minnesota (AP) -- A school bus and several other vehicles crashed in southwestern Minnesota on Tuesday, killing four students and injuring more than a dozen others, authorities said.
art.crash3.jpg
"The driver was handing kids out the door as fast as I could take them," a motorist says.
The bus was hit by a van around 3:25 p.m. on a highway south of Cottonwood. The bus then hit a pickup and tipped on its side, State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson said.
At least 14 people were hurt. Thirteen students were treated at nearby hospitals.
News of the crash swept through Cottonwood, a small town of about 1,000 people about 121 miles southwest of Minneapolis. Video Watch an aerial view of the crash scene »
About 40 people attended an evening press briefing at Swan Lake Evangelical Free Church.
When Fire Chief Dale Louwagie was asked what the community could do, he said simply, "Pray."
Classes were canceled Wednesday at Lakeview School, which serves about 585 students in Cottonwood and Wood Lake, and plans were made to have grief counselors and clergy available to students, a school official said.
The bus was on its regular route, carrying children from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Initial reports said the bus was carrying 40 people, but it actually carried 28 students and a driver, Minnesota Public Safety spokeswoman Christine Krueger said.
Rescue squads and ambulances from many nearby cities arrived at the crash site. The Marshall Independent reported that the first motorists on the scene were asked to take some children to the hospital.
"I parked my car and called 911, and ran to the school bus and the driver was handing kids out the door as fast as I could take them," Karen Mahlum told the newspaper.
Other motorists also stopped and took kids from the driver. "You just wanted to make sure it was safe," she said. "They were screaming and screaming on the bus. There were so many kids."
Pictures from the scene showed the school bus lying on its side on the hood and cab of a pickup truck.
Parents were asked to gather at Lakeview School to await word on their children.
Of the 11 victims taken to Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center, two were in critical condition while one had already been treated and released, spokeswoman Deann Holland said.
Others were being treated for back and neck injuries, lacerations, bumps and bruises, she said.
Two of the victims were taken by ambulance to Granite Falls Hospital, which is about 15 miles north of the accident scene. Hospital CEO George Gerlach said one was 11 years old and the other 14.
"They were treated and stabilized in our ER," Gerlach said. Neither had life-threatening injuries, but had fractures that required a higher level of care than could be provided in Granite Falls, he said.
They were being taken, one by helicopter and the other by ambulance, to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to undergo orthopedic surgery, Gerlach said.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty issued a statement calling it "a sad night for Minnesota."
"It is especially heartbreaking when young lives are lost," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were killed or injured in this tragic accident."
The victims weren't immediately identified, and their ages weren't immediately given.
Posted by: Mitch Reynolds
Horrific school bus crash leaves 4 students dead
Source: The Associated Press
Date Published: 2/20/08
COTTONWOOD, Minnesota (AP) -- A school bus and several other vehicles crashed in southwestern Minnesota on Tuesday, killing four students and injuring more than a dozen others, authorities said.
art.crash3.jpg
"The driver was handing kids out the door as fast as I could take them," a motorist says.
The bus was hit by a van around 3:25 p.m. on a highway south of Cottonwood. The bus then hit a pickup and tipped on its side, State Patrol Lt. Mark Peterson said.
At least 14 people were hurt. Thirteen students were treated at nearby hospitals.
News of the crash swept through Cottonwood, a small town of about 1,000 people about 121 miles southwest of Minneapolis. Video Watch an aerial view of the crash scene »
About 40 people attended an evening press briefing at Swan Lake Evangelical Free Church.
When Fire Chief Dale Louwagie was asked what the community could do, he said simply, "Pray."
Classes were canceled Wednesday at Lakeview School, which serves about 585 students in Cottonwood and Wood Lake, and plans were made to have grief counselors and clergy available to students, a school official said.
The bus was on its regular route, carrying children from kindergarten through 12th grade.
Initial reports said the bus was carrying 40 people, but it actually carried 28 students and a driver, Minnesota Public Safety spokeswoman Christine Krueger said.
Rescue squads and ambulances from many nearby cities arrived at the crash site. The Marshall Independent reported that the first motorists on the scene were asked to take some children to the hospital.
"I parked my car and called 911, and ran to the school bus and the driver was handing kids out the door as fast as I could take them," Karen Mahlum told the newspaper.
Other motorists also stopped and took kids from the driver. "You just wanted to make sure it was safe," she said. "They were screaming and screaming on the bus. There were so many kids."
Pictures from the scene showed the school bus lying on its side on the hood and cab of a pickup truck.
Parents were asked to gather at Lakeview School to await word on their children.
Of the 11 victims taken to Avera Marshall Regional Medical Center, two were in critical condition while one had already been treated and released, spokeswoman Deann Holland said.
Others were being treated for back and neck injuries, lacerations, bumps and bruises, she said.
Two of the victims were taken by ambulance to Granite Falls Hospital, which is about 15 miles north of the accident scene. Hospital CEO George Gerlach said one was 11 years old and the other 14.
"They were treated and stabilized in our ER," Gerlach said. Neither had life-threatening injuries, but had fractures that required a higher level of care than could be provided in Granite Falls, he said.
They were being taken, one by helicopter and the other by ambulance, to Avera McKennan Hospital in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, to undergo orthopedic surgery, Gerlach said.
Gov. Tim Pawlenty issued a statement calling it "a sad night for Minnesota."
"It is especially heartbreaking when young lives are lost," he said. "Our thoughts and prayers are with the families of those who were killed or injured in this tragic accident."
The victims weren't immediately identified, and their ages weren't immediately given.
Posted by: Mitch Reynolds
Sigma Chi Makes a Comeback at Syracuse
Editor's Note: This Article is about the Psi Psi Chapter of Sigma Chi at Syracuse University. After being kicked off for a decade, the chapter has been reinstated at the University. This article discusses why the Chapter got kicked off, and how it got reinstated.
IFC | Sigma Chi will return to campus
By: Paul Stanley/ The Daily Orange asst. news editor Lauren Bertolini contributed reporting to this story
Date Published: 2/19/08
The Psi Psi chapter of the Sigma Chi fraternity has been reinstated, a decade after being kicked off the Syracuse University campus. And they have a home, too -the house at 737 Comstock Ave., the former residence of Sigma Alpha Mu.
At a ceremony on Sunday at the Genesee Grand Hotel, 50 brothers were initiated into the fraternity, and Grand Consul Robert H.W. Jones III, the international president of Sigma Chi, presented the charter to the Psi Psi Chapter.
"It was a great event and really exciting," said Sigma Chi President Max Dorsch.
The fraternity lost its recognition on the SU campus in 1998 as a result of fights and other incidents. The chapter remained underground and off-campus as Psi Psi for the last decade. In 2006, Psi Psi members were interviewed by members of the international fraternity and declared an official colony of Sigma Chi later that fall, Dorsch said.
"In 2003 it looked like things were going to go under, and a couple guys decided they weren't going to let that happen," Dorsch said. "They contacted Sigma Chi who said that they were very interested in bringing back a chapter to the SU campus."
In 2005, Dr. Roy Baker, former director of fraternity and sorority affairs, helped the fraternity gain the support of both the university and former alumni.
"He was very instrumental in the process," Dorsch said. "He helped to get Psi Psi recognized as a fraternity by the IFC, and he was also able to convince the alumni that they might want to come back and see the new group of guys."
Dorsch said the fraternity has come a long way in the past year. This year, their membership has doubled. They now have 52 members, he said.
"We have made a huge point to make our members accountable for their actions because that's how the last group of guys got kicked off and screwed everything up," Dorsch said. "They got comfortable with what they were, and they had taken everything for granted."
Next fall, the brothers will move into the house on Comstock Avenue. The brothers in Sigma Alpha Mu moved out last semester and now live next door in the Zeta Psi house. Zeta Psi had its charter removed following the spring 2007 semester.
"That house was owned by Sigma Chi from 1960 on," Dorsch said. "When they got kicked off in 1998 they lost the ownership of the house."
The house has been vacated this semester, but alumni from the Psi Psi chapter have put together a lot of money, almost a million dollars, to renovate the house, he said.
Dorsch said once the chapter moves in, they'll be there to stay for good.
"The Psi Psi chapter was taken away two times, the first in the mid 1950s and the second time obviously in 1998," said Dorsch. "This is the last time that this will happen. This is the last go-around."
Matt Abiditar, president of the Interfraternity Council, acknowledged the hard work of the Sigma Chi members and added that a lot of their return to campus has to do with timing and the availability of housing.
"A real problem for fraternities is housing," Abiditar said. "The university likes to buy up our property."
He said Sigma Chi is fortunate it already owned the house, and it worked out well that a house had recently become available.
"It could've happened at any time," he said.
Dorsch said the keys to getting things together were the alumni who have been active and involved and the brothers who began the re-chartering process.
"There were so many guys who have a dream and wanted this to happen and got the ball rolling knowing that they wouldn't be able to reap the benefits in the end," Dorsch said. "They made a huge sacrifice for us."
Reaction
It is exciting to hear about a Chapter being reinstated. The first thing that caught my eye is how the alumni raised money for a house, and how the alumni are still active in their Chapter. That is one thing that definitely stood out for me at Sigma Chi. It definitely was great seeing alumni, and hearing stories of how Sigma Chi changed their lives. The reason why their Chapter got kicked off in the first place, isn’t that great. It is great to see alumni trying to give back to the Sigma Chi Chapter that gave so much to them. This article helps me realize what a Fraternity can mean to one, if they are willing to care so deep about it after they graduate. Also as acknowledged by the Inter-Fraternity Council President, Matt Abiditar, he said that Sigma Chi Member put in a lot of hard work. This reminds me of Jordan Standard point: With Ambitious Purposes. Everyone put time and money to make this Chapter reappear at Syracuse. It is great to see that the members of Sigma Chi will try to be responsible for their own actions and everything they do, hopefully the Chapter will be there for a long, long time and standing out for good deeds, not bad.
Posted by: Sagar AgrawalTuesday, February 19, 2008
Derby Days At William and Mary
Editors Note: Derby Days is an integral part of the tradition of Sigma Chi in chapters across the country. This article expresses how at one school the running of the event was considered to be in bad taste and offensive towards women up until the problem was rectified. It is important to members of Sigma Chi across the nation to keep instilled in their respective minds that the first priority of this event is fund raising and not other obvious incentives.
Sig Chi's 'Derby Days' stirs controversy, ire
Complaints about fraternity Sigma Chi’s Derby Days philanthropy have led to discussions with the Inter-Sorority Council and leaders of the fraternity.
Derby Days is a week-long national philanthropy and is one of the largest in the country, according to Sigma Chi Philanthropy Chair Spencer Tawse ’10.
Derby Days is “a competition between different sororities or groups of girls to support the Children’s Miracle Network,” Tawse said. CMN is a non-profit organization that funds hospitals and medical research.
Competitions at Derby Days include creating banners, performing skits and lip-syncing.
The philanthropy became the source of some controversy this year when the ISC received complaints from females about Derby Days, ranging from the setting to the tasks assigned. Respondents to an ISC survey said that the philanthropy “is degrading to women who are judged by men of a fraternity” and is designed “to impress members of Sigma Chi.”
In response to the complaints, Tawse and Sigma Chi’s president Jonathan Anderson ’08 and former president Bryan McDermott ’07 met with the ISC to go over the complaints and the ISC’s proposals.
Tawse said that he knew of the problems with Derby Days when he signed on as Sigma Chi philanthropy chair.
“The previous philanthropy chair had worked on bringing Derby Days back to what it had been,” Tawse said. “I had come into this position with the goal to [continue] that.”
Tawse said that the ISC meetings were highly successful and that Sigma Chi and ISC worked out solutions to most of the issues discussed.
The ISC report indicated that murky scoring were a problem for many participants, who felt that Sigma Chi may have been awarding points based on criteria not in their guidelines. More than 75 percent of respondents also felt that the non-public venue for Derby Days’ activities “encouraged inappropriate behavior.”
In response, Tawse told The Flat Hat that many of the changes recommended by the ISC would be implemented.
“A lot of the recommendations were really simple, like a public scoreboard,” he said. Sigma Chi is now planning to hold the lip-sync performance as a concert in Lodge One.
To address complaints that participants were unsure of where the money for Derby Days was going, the first day of the competition will feature a presentation by the Children’s Miracle Network, Tawse said.
In addition, Tawse said he was happy with the ISC meetings and expects Derby Days to be a success this year.
“I think everyone came out of that meeting excited for Derby Days,” he said. “We feel like we have an opportunity to come out [of] this with a better philanthropy.”
Response:
Unfortunately there has been some controversy regarding the judging of
derby days. Apparently some of the Sororities think that the judging
is unfair because Sigma Chi's are judging on criteria that was not in
their guidelines. Seems like some of the brothers are getting a
little action on the side... As much as this is a great event because
it raises a ton of money for charity and is a lot of fun, we have to
remember to respect women. There were complaints that the whole event
is somewhat degrading towards women because they are being judged by
men in Sigma Chi. personally i disagree that the event is degrading,
but i can see how some girls would be upset if the judging was based
on things other than what was outlined. I'm keepin this clean, but i
know you guys know what I'm talkin about..
Posted By: Chris Algiere
Greeks from Alaska Give Back
Editor's Note: This article is about the Alpha Phi Omega co-ed fraternity at the University of Alaska at Anchorage. They have done charity work through such means as helping kindergarten students and building homes through Habitat for Humanity. Ironically, the headline of the story reads, "Frat members better themselves and community" The word 'frat' brings on so many bad connotations -- binge drinking and hazing, just to name a few. We believe the word fraternity is better suited for our Greek organizations. Either way, this organization did some great charity work and deserve the recognition.
By Kaitlin Johnson/The Northern Light
Date published: 2/12/2008
Members of Alpha Phi Omega have one thing in common: an interest in participating in the community.
This coed fraternity makes service, leadership and fellowship its priorities.
The fraternity at UAA became an official chapter of Alpha Phi Omega a little over a year ago, but it has already had a huge impact on one Kincaid Elementary kindergarten class. "One of our advisers, Mandy Yan, teaches kindergarten, so we do a lot with her kids," said fraternity adviser Lois Hall.
Members and six-year-olds worked together to construct gingerbread houses out of frosting and graham crackers during the holiday season.
Alpha Phi Omega has participated in numerous other service projects including organizing a blood drive, building houses for Habitat for Humanity and setting up a clothes drive for Covenant House. The fraternity also assisted the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center by clearing branches and brush from the construction site of a fence surrounding a bison habitat. The fence provides the bison with room to roam safely.
Upcoming projects include monthly cleanups of Goose Lake, a visit to the pioneer home and perhaps another blood drive. The fraternity also expects a few spontaneous projects at Providence Children's Hospital as members think of new activities to do with the children.
Erin Koshiyama, one of five founding members of UAA's chapter, said that community service gives her a sense of bettering herself. "I did a lot of volunteer work in high school, but when I came to college I just stopped. It's more fun and easier to have a group to volunteer with. You can see what you're accomplishing easier," said the elementary education junior.
Allison Morrell is renowned for the gorgeous and massive cakes she brings to events. "I decorate cakes professionally," she explained.
Morell, a philosophy junior, recalled the most fun she's ever had at a service event. "We did this thing called mattress destruction. We used box cutters to take the mattresses apart and found spiders inside. It was this wonderful, dirty experience I'd never have wanted to do again if it weren't for the friends I made."
After destroying the mattresses, the fraternity collected the box springs to be recycled.
Morrell said that the strange and wonderful thing about being a fraternity member is that you are a member of a family with people you haven't even met. "It's like having relationship status with someone you don't have a relationship with yet," she said. "You have to build one after the fact. It's very comforting."
Chapter president Rumar Arzadon said meeting new people was one of the major benefits of being a member. He described the UAA chapter as very diverse, explaining that students from many different backgrounds each bring their own ideas to the fraternity.
Alpha Phi Omega's rush week, the time when fraternities advertise for new members, ended Feb. 9. However, an information night will be held Feb. 15 for anyone who's interested in joining, so students who missed rush week are still eligible to pledge.
Arzadon, an air traffic control senior, said any students who have enthusiasm and a genuine desire to serve their community are welcomed at Alpha Phi Omega. Members must be students, enrolled in six credits or more, and must be willing to attend the majority of events.
However, students don't need to become a member to participate in service events. Everyone is welcome to help.
Morrell said that the strange and wonderful thing about being a fraternity member is that you are a member of a family with people you haven't even met. "It's like having relationship status with someone you don't have a relationship with yet," she said. "You have to build one after the fact. It's very comforting."
Chapter president Rumar Arzadon said meeting new people was one of the major benefits of being a member. He described the UAA chapter as very diverse, explaining that students from many different backgrounds each bring their own ideas to the fraternity.
Alpha Phi Omega's rush week, the time when fraternities advertise for new members, ended Feb. 9. However, an information night will be held Feb. 15 for anyone who's interested in joining, so students who missed rush week are still eligible to pledge.
Arzadon, an air traffic control senior, said any students who have enthusiasm and a genuine desire to serve their community are welcomed at Alpha Phi Omega. Members must be students, enrolled in six credits or more, and must be willing to attend the majority of events.
However, students don't need to become a member to participate in service events. Everyone is welcome to help.
-Posted by Evan Hackler
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