BERKELEY University suspends fraternity

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<p><a href=“http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/06/CALFRAT.TMP[/url]”>http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/07/06/CALFRAT.TMP&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>BERKELEY
University suspends fraternity
Cal’s Pi Kappa Phi barred for 1 year over pellet gun hazing</p>

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<p>A UC Berkeley fraternity whose members hazed a recruit by shooting him at least 30 times with a pellet gun in April can’t rush pledges, barbecue with alumni after football games or partake in sorority mixers for a year after it agreed to be suspended in a deal with school officials. </p>

<p>Pi Kappa Phi, which was also under scrutiny for serving alcohol to minors during a March party, can return in August 2006 – but only under a raft of conditions that university officials said represented the strictest discipline for a fraternity in recent years. </p>

<p>“I’m disappointed that 95 years of Pi Kapp history ended like this,” said fraternity brother Sam Endicott, a 21-year-old senior and political science major, after the deal was announced Tuesday. “However, I understand and accept the university’s course of action, and I look forward to helping re-establish the chapter as an alumni.” </p>

<p>Endicott, who in May had to give up presidency of the school’s Interfraternity Council, said the hazing happened when “a few brothers went way too far, and unfortunately the whole chapter has to be accountable.” </p>

<p>The agreement, which avoided a formal disciplinary hearing, comes two months after UC Berkeley indefinitely banned alcohol from 70 campus fraternities and sororities and the events they sponsor. Drinking and hazing have long been staples of fraternity culture, but the university is taking a hard line after highly publicized stumbles. </p>

<p>The pellet gun shooting sent the 19-year-old pledge to the hospital with bruises. In May, four people were arrested after a rowdy party cruise on the bay sponsored by the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. </p>

<p>Chico State University officials, meanwhile, have cracked down on Greeks after incidents that included the death of Matthew Carrington, a 21-year-old student from Pleasant Hill, during hazing. </p>

<p>“UC Berkeley has a zero-tolerance policy on hazing, and the offenses in this case were especially shocking and disturbing,” said Karen Kenney, dean of students, in a written release announcing the disciplinary action. In an interview, she added, “Like other places, we have increased our education and outreach as well as our sanctions.” </p>

<p>The penalty went further than last year’s suspension of Alpha Tau Omega, which was accused of hazing underage pledges with excessive exercise and alcohol, Kenney said. That fraternity was allowed to continue many activities. </p>

<p>The Pi Kappa Phi settlement bans Berkeley’s third-oldest fraternity from all social functions, places members on inactive status and levies a $4,000 fine. If the chapter is revived, it must press on with few of its 35 or so underclassmen but with heavy scrutiny. Old and new members must do community service. </p>

<p>Kenney said the university made a conscious decision not to shut the fraternity down completely and risk spurring a “renegade group.” Officials are mindful that the Chico death happened in a rogue fraternity that had been expelled. The settlement mandates that an adult director move into the three-story Pi Kappa Phi house on Channing Way in August and that the fraternity produce a seminar on hazing. </p>

<p>“We tried to come up with a comprehensive plan to try to change the culture,” Kenney said. </p>

<p>UC Berkeley has also convened a task force to look at the Greek system and the way it recruits, parties and avoids sexual assault. </p>

<p>Pi Kappa Phi’s Berkeley “Gamma” chapter was founded in January 1909, has been in operation ever since and is one of 131 chapters around the country. Its “track record the last few years hasn’t been the best,” acknowledged Mark Timmes, chief executive officer of the Pi Kappa Phi national headquarters in Charlotte, N.C. </p>

<p>But he added that many members in Berkeley are solid, even if they succumbed to “group-think.” He said he “didn’t think the culture was so corrupt” that the house couldn’t be salvaged. </p>

<p>The university’s Student Judicial Affairs office is weighing student conduct charges against men involved in the hazing that prompted the suspension. </p>

<p>According to Berkeley police, the victim of the April 8 incident was forced by 15 members into a room at the house at about 11 p.m. He was stripped to his T-shirt and boxer shorts and interrogated on the whereabouts of other pledges, then was repeatedly shot by three members – ages 19, 20 and 23 – from a distance of 5 feet. </p>

<p>Police said the pledge rebuffed his brothers that night and refused to smoke marijuana and drink beer. He did not want to press charges, police said.</p>

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<p>“E pluribus unum”</p>

<p>I hope many more bite the dust …</p>

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<p>Xiggi:</p>

<p>Alas, it’s just more window-dressing from the university presidents. There is no effort to really get rid of the problem. It’s just a slap on the wrist, really designed to protect the fraternity system by creating a false PR illusion that the university is “tough” on frats.</p>

<p>If the UC Chancellor were serious, he could get rid of the frats within 12 months. Disband the greek system on campus and take care of the renegade chapters by assisting the Berkeley police to make underage drinking raids every night for a month or two.</p>

<p>The reality is that the universities LIKE the fraternities because the Greek system handles the whole social side of running a college, which would otherwise require some effort by the university.</p>

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<p>People are always printing bad things about frats. I never liked them, but underage drinking on a college campus, OH MY GOD! Someone did something to someone to make them join a group, OH MY GOD! I totally disagree interesteddad, if you ban the fraternities, you are just going to push the underage drinking underground where it will cause more problems than it does now. At least when students underage drink at frat parties, there are older brothers there looking out for them to make sure they are not doing anything stupid.</p>

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<p>“At least when students underage drink at frat parties, there are older brothers there looking out for them to make sure they are not doing anything stupid.”</p>

<p>That is EXACTLY what people MIGHT expect, but the truth is very different. </p>

<p>Whenever there is a debate about the negative impact of fraternities, we tend to to analyze and justify their existence by looking at them through the eyes of responsible adults. However, despite internal rules and outside controls, it is a fact that most activities at fraternities are led by students who are not of legal age to drink and are quite far from being able to make the right decision for themselves, let alone for others. For instance, during the unfortunate hazing night that claimed the life of a very dear friend in Colorado, the senior members of the frat were NOT present. Looking at the pictures of the students who were escorted out of the frat house by police would have easily confirmed the youth of the young criminals -yes, they were and are criminals and not “brothers”.</p>

<p>For some, drinking is not a problem. Drugs are not a problem. Fraternities are not a problem. Lack of accountability is not a problem. However, it is the combination of all these elements that becomes lethal. </p>

<p>Frat defenders love to point out the multiples benefits of fraternities such as social work or providing housing. In my opinion, all frats should be given a chance to focus on the benefits. The good frats should be given the chance to dissociate themselves from the bad apples. How could this be done? By imposing severe penalties and make the frats post HUGE bonds to ensure their solvability against civil claims. For instance, $5,000,000 for a wrongful or accidental death caused by alcohol, $1,000,000 for a alcohol poisoning, $100,000 for excessive alcohol consumption or drug consumption, $10,000 for every reported hazing case. After each year of operation, the bonds would be decreased for good operators. Those fully funded bonds would be available for civil lawsuits. Cannot buy the insurance, have those alumni sign security guarantees. There always seem to be quite a few who like to remember the “good old times” of Animal House. Cannot find the funds? Sell the property to the colleges and close shop. Good riddance, I would say!</p>

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<p>And the hazing is obviously still alive and well…read the book Pledged about sororities…it is a true eye opener</p>

<p>It wasn;'t just the drinking by the way</p>

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<p>My D doesn’t want to be in a sorority. I agree with her. Beside the cost, which would be a strain, she can do community service on her own in areas that interest her, and she can retain her “free” spirit. Definitely not for her. When we went to William and Mary for a tour, there were 10 tour guides, ALL greeks. And even tho they told us on the tour that we didn’t have to be greek in order to fit in, the fact that there were NO tour guides that weren’t greeks told us a lot about how the college feels about them (and the fact that greek life started there). And they talked a lot about their greek life, more so than about the school life, because they had limitted experience there. Huge factor in her decision not even to apply. So if the colleges want to do something about the abuses, they need to not place these kids in such a visible position. Our first contact with a school should NOT be greek. I know, I know - it isn’t fair to the individual kids, but first impressions are important to the school.</p>

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<p>Several points to make:</p>

<p>1) I believe Joev pointed out perhaps the most important point of this whole discussion: greek life is OPTIONAL. No one is forcing you to try to join one of these organizations, no one is strapping you down to a table and funneling alcohol into your mouth, the choice is up to the individual. Anytime people remark on someone being “forced” to drink, it must be taken within the context of that individuals choice to attempt to join whatever organization it may be.</p>

<p>2) Before you jump on that statement xiggi, yes, I believe that 18 year olds are perfectly capable of making intelligent adult decisions. That is why we allow them to vote and go to war. If you examine european models of drinking you discover that nearly every european country legally allows 18 years olds to drink and the drinking culture begins much earlier.</p>

<p>3) You’re obviously anit-greek xiggi so it would seem unfair of you to criticize something you’ve never been a part of. I am certainly sympathetic to the fact that you had a close friend die due to heavy drinking, but simultaneously, do you know the statistics of how many students suffer from alcohol poisening on a regular weekend at places like Colorado or UCSB? Fraternities provide an organized place for social events, they do not force people to act like idiots. If you are too stupid to measure how much you can drink then the fault lies with you. Unless you can come up with some plan to entirely eliminate underage drinking, or ever better, drinking in college period, you will never eliminate drinking accidents. Sure, the college college could work with the police to eliminate underage drinking through raids, but you know what would happen? People would binge drink even more before going out because they wouldn’t feel safe drinking outside of their own residences, thereby creating an even more dangerous situation.</p>

<p>4) interesteddad, “There is no effort to really get rid of the problem. It’s just a slap on the wrist, really designed to protect the fraternity system by creating a false PR illusion that the university is “tough” on frats,” banned for a year and only able to restart with members NOT CURRENTLY IN THE FRAT is no slap on the wrist. </p>

<p>5) Cheap shot xiggi, but just to clarify “WE tend to to analyze and justify their existence by looking at them through the eyes of responsible adults.” Are you suggesting that you are in fact a responsible adult while those who chose to engage in greek life are not?</p>

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<p>nevermind forget it</p>

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<p>Tomadog02, thank for your post. We have had lengthy discussions on CC on this precise subject, and I understand and respect the opinions of people who disagree with my position. </p>

<p>However, while I was mostly oblivious to the issue before last fall, two separate deaths have hit very close to home and make me realize that the issue of personal choices is not as black or white as some suggest. </p>

<p>Please google the name “Gordie Bailey” or “Gordon Bailey”, read the articles, and let me know if the young men involved in this sad case acted as responsible adults during and after the hazing incident. </p>

<p>Please realize that I am not naive enough to believe that alcohol consumption can be removed from college grounds, and neither do I believe that campus should be dry. Drinking and partying is a well entrenched part of a student’s life. However, I believe that the clear cases of excessive behavior should be a rarity as opposed to the current norm. </p>

<p>We all make mistakes, but it is a shame that some are irreversible.</p>

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<p>Suspending a fraternity for a year is window dressing? I don’t think so. It has serious economic (and recruiting) implications for the organization. To me, a meaningless slap on the wrist would be more along the lines of doing some community service. Suspension is pretty hardcore.</p>

<p>I wasn’t aware that University presidents were making these decisions, either, but I confess I don’t know the chain of command at UC schools or how the IFC, Dean of Students, and President(s) worked together to develop sanctions.</p>