<p>Unfortunately, I agree that it’s best to expect this behavior. I’ve seen enough of it and it’s not exclusive to college campuses. I’ve seen horrible behavior at baseball games, football games…you name it.<br>
Years ago, we went to Tampa during a pre-Super Bowl game, and my son wanted to wear his home team’s jersey -the team that Tampa was playing in the game that weekend. I didn’t think it was a great idea but I relented - I didn’t think Tampa was known for having crazy fans. Well, we went out for a dinner and a movie and by the end of the evening, I made my son put on a jacket and zip it up to cover his jersey. No, we’re not talking about playful jabbing here. Some fans were downright nasty and threatening - and to a 14 year old kid! Never again…
That said, the video is VERY disturbing. My son goes to PSU - and happens to be in a frat (he tells me it’s one of the “good” frats - let’s hope so). If he was one of the kids throwing beer cans on tape, I think he would know that he’d seen his last tuition check from us. In any case, we’ve been to big games at UP and certainly haven’t seen anything like this. It’s too bad.<br>
Lastly, speaking of stoo-pidity - how dumb is it for the vice president of the frat to post this on You Tube?? Bye bye frat…</p>
<p>Toneranger…I agree that it was very stupid for them to post it on Youtube. It shows the mentality of the behavior. They are bragging about it basically and cheering it on and wanting all to see it! </p>
<p>I feel bad for PSU because it is bad publicity at a fine school. It really just reflects on those involved (though there certainly were many standing by watching and cheering such behavior…hard to believe).</p>
<p>Also, the kid who threw it at close range COULD have injured that person considering it is a hard metal object and the proximity, had it hit the head. The mob mentality is just very yuck.</p>
<p>“so ,opie, if this was your sister who got beer thrown and her was was chased, that is fine with you I take it because hey, she is too stupid to realize that its okay to harrass people”</p>
<p>cgm,</p>
<p>I thought I did answer it, but here goes… had those boys done that to my daugther and I found out who they were…I would systematically. one by one, family member by family member, first and second cousins too do things far too terrible to mention here. You see the difference between the irish and the others is we are smart enough not to attach the thing to ourselves…
</p>
<p>As I said you can always hope the other person will do the “right” thing. It’s pretty dumb to assume they will. You see, I think you assume where I came from was kinda silver spoony… nope. Not in the least. That’s why I don’t own a gun. I’d use it.</p>
<p>In the annals of bad frat history this is really a minor blip. A few poorly aimed beercans and some beer are really not felony assaults. Probation for a year.
There are regularly worse cup fights in the stands at Wisconsin games between Section O and Section P of UW students. Now they are plastic cups and most are empty but its a huge raining of cups. They do it for amusement.</p>
<p>ah, so only when it affects YOU do you have a problem with behavior, but in general you don’t care if OTHERS are treated poorly</p>
<p>see me, I think that it doesn’t have to affect my directly for me to find it offensive and harmful</p>
<p>tone- I had a similar experience with my then 9-year-old son at a professional hockey game. He was wearing a rival team’s jersey because he had just recieved it for his birthday, and even he was verbally assaulted by some opposing fans who walked past.</p>
<p>barrons, its the attitude of, well, we have the RIGHT to harass people who are in different attire then we are that is the problem, that attidute that the frats have the RIGHT to throw things, that fans have the RIGHT to toss beer on people, after all, its in the name of team spirit…that is the problem</p>
<p>At least the OSU fans got the last laugh…on the football field.</p>
<p>What a bunch of dummies (caught on tape no less).
But, the video does not show what happened beforehand…maybe the OSU fans were taunting…</p>
<p>now imagine if these were some inner city kids harassing someone for wearing the wrong colors, is that okay? and if not, why is it okay if someone is wearing the wrong jersey?</p>
<p>and so what if they were “taunting”</p>
<p>its called IGNORE THEM</p>
<p>What the arguement here seems to be what is vs what should be. </p>
<p>I don’t think any of us disagree with what should be, but some of us are a bit more experienced in what is. A situation like this dissappoints rather than surprizes me…</p>
<p>This isn’t new, what’s sad is it is always the sterotypical kid who really couldn’t fight if he had to, being bold in a crowd. Acting out in a way that he would never consider if a crowd wasn’t around. no balls. all show.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Ask Notre Dame about the Stanfurd band… ;)</p>
<p><a href=“http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1997/10/15/MN69409.DTL[/url]”>http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/1997/10/15/MN69409.DTL</a></p>
<p>“ah, so only when it affects YOU do you have a problem with behavior, but in general you don’t care if OTHERS are treated poorly”</p>
<p>OK OK CGM, you win. Get me their names and addresses and I’ll take care of it. Should I include their family pets? </p>
<p>I mean I wouldn’t want to appear to be uncaring… </p>
<p>You’re asking silly, silly questions that deserve silly, silly answers dear.</p>
<p>Bottom line - you can’t always control what other people do but you can control what risks you take. When it comes to sports, like it or not, passions run high. Wearing an opposing jersey and taunting (or walking through a frat party for the home school) is like waving a red flag in front of a bull. Does it excuse the crazy (and violent) behavior captured in this video? Absolutely not. But I would wouldn’t hesitate to tell my child, or anyone who was willing to listen to avoid such situations…you better believe it.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Good point, UCB. For those who don’t know, the Stanford band has been banned from ND games for life for their inappropriate and offensive antics at a ND football game. It goes to show that not just frats or athletes, but even musicians (oh the shock of it!) can seriously misbehave at athletic events.</p>
<p>doesn’t it go “stupid is as stupid does?”</p>
<p>BARRONS, you are mentioning one of the typical lines of reasoning I have read on CC in certain situations…the one where “it could be worse” and it “wasn’t that bad” and in your case, “it wasn’t a felony!” Well of course it could be worse! It doesn’t have to be SOOOOOO bad to comment about or to find inexcusable. It can be bad for its own sake, even if not “the worst.” It’s not the worst. Who said it was a felonious crime? It was an assault with words and objects. It was a mentality that is disconcerting to see (though the physical assault is likely some form of illegal misdeamor as well). What is bothersome to me is such a mentality. You can be fiercely loyal to your team without degrading fans of another team or assaulting them. I don’t think someone wearing a jersey for a visiting team should feel at risk at the opposing school. Where do you draw the line? </p>
<p>While not as severe, it is a similar mentality to racial tensions or gang behavior. You read about some kid beating up another cause he was white or Black and going to jail for beating with even a sneaker. The beating was out of hate for the “other group.” So, while the sports fan thing is not as severe as that, it wreaks to me of the same kind of thinking…hate for those who follow another way or group. I just can’t imagine my kid despising or ridiculing or anything like that against kids who attend another school who feel loyal to their school. Even on CC, I am VERY VERY VERY turned off by student posters who put down other schools. That sort of thinking just is very different from the norm I see among my kids and their friends. They picked schools that fit them but have nothing against schools that others attend. The degrading of other schools is a mentality that perplexes me and same with what these kids did to fans from the rival school. Cheering for one’s own team…I get it. Degrading those who follow another, no, I can’t see taking it that far. That type of thinking can permeate other areas and behaviors. Even seeing the other kids cheer the can throwing kids and not stopping it is pretty bad to me. Not the worst thing I’ve ever seen, but not a pretty sight. Had it been my kid in the video, I’d not be too proud. I’d even worry about repercussions or legal issues. Had it been my kid who had things thrown at her that could have caused injury, I’d have to see what, if any, actions I’d take.</p>
<p>While some are saying this is common behavior, I venture to say that assaulting others with beer cans in another context would likely bring some charges.</p>
<p>Here is a statement released today by the Executive Director of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity in Memphis…</p>
<p>Memphis, TN – The Pi Kappa Alpha International Fraternity released the following statement regarding an incident that occurred after last weekend’s Ohio State-Penn State football game behind the Pi Kappa Alpha house at Penn State.</p>
<p>The International Fraternity absolutely does not condone the activities which have been brought to its attention through the footage available on various video internet sites. The International Fraternity has reiterated that point with the Chapter leadership and the University.</p>
<p>“The International Fraternity teaches its members that sportsmanship extends beyond the playing field. The actions of the individuals involved with this incident do not live up to that ideal.”</p>
<p>“At this time, The International Fraternity has administratively suspended the Beta Alpha Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha in order to assist the authorities in completing their investigation.”</p>
<p>“The International Fraternity has received the assurances of the Chapter that they will fully cooperate with the ongoing police investigation in order to help identify the individuals responsible for this deplorable behavior. Once that investigation is complete, The International Fraternity will make a decision based on the facts of the case, following its established process, regarding the status of the Chapter at Pennsylvania State University.”</p>
<p>not that it matters, but it was a Pitt student…
Penn State issues statement on the incident…</p>
<p>University Park, Pa – An investigation into a homemade video posted to YouTube that depicted Penn State fans hurling objects at two Ohio State fans prior to a football matchup on Oct. 27 has yielded information on some of the participants, including the fact that the main actor shown in the video is not a Penn State student.</p>
<p>The off-campus incident, captured on video behind the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house located in the Borough of State College, is being widely condemned by University officials and fans from both schools. Local police have been investigating and have discovered that the person most prominently displayed in the video is a student at the University of Pittsburgh who was visiting for the weekend. Penn State’s Office of Judicial Affairs has been in touch with administrators at Pitt. In addition, the two Ohio State fans who are shown in the video have been identified as members of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Ohio State. It is reported that they attended a party Friday evening at the Penn State chapter house, but upon arriving on Saturday were not welcome.</p>
<p>Penn State officials have consulted with the Pi Kappa Alpha National Fraternity to determine what action might be taken against the fraternity while the investigation into the incident continues. Penn State’s Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life has temporarily suspended Pi Kappa Alpha chapter activities until the investigation is complete.</p>
<p>Anyone with more information on this incident should contact the local police at (814) 234-7150.</p>
<p>Me thinks a social probation finding is in the works for the Pikes.</p>
<p>It was wrong. The frat has embarrassed their own brotherhood along with their college and alumni. Luckily it was a small group of people out of the 150,000 or so jammed into PSU for the weekends events.</p>
<p>In a better light PSU’s frats and sororities have raised 46 million dollars for pediatric cancer research since the inception of their fundraiser “THON” . <a href=“http://www.thon.org/whatisthon/index.php[/url]”>A Day at the THON 5K powered by PNC Bank – THON.org. the largest student run philanthropy in the WORLD.</p>