uga police, news blame wrong fraternity in drunken debacle

Greeks are used to standing together or falling apart, but the local Chi Phi and Chi Psi at the University of Georgia are taking it to an extreme. Chi Psi apparently threw a party Saturday, a party at which underage drinking was allegedly taking place, evidenced particularly vividly by two separate arrests of partygoers after leaving the premises, one for public urination that led to the discovery of underage drinking and marijuana possession, and the the other occasioned when the suspect leaped in front of the arresting officer's car.

And yet the police described the person to whom they spoke from the fraternity as the Chi Phi president, and attributed the party to his fraternity—this despite the fact that Chi Phi is located a mile from the Chi Psi house. Police documents are inconsistent: the interviewee is presumabyl wrongly identified as the Chi Phi president, while the arrest location is given as the Chi Psi house, and yet the narrative is written as though it took place at the Chi Phi house. Uncontroverted, apparently, is that Chi Phi did absolutely nothing wrong, other than have a simialr name of the offending fraternity.

The police mistakes were compounded when local newspapers picked up the story, evidently withough any fact-checking whatsoever. "The article quotes me as walking to the officer and talking to him, I wasn't even in Athens that night. I was back in Atlanta with my family. They never contacted me about the article or what was said," explained Chi Phi's president. Their vice president seemed in a forgiving mood: ""We understand that the Greek letters are easily confused. But we are just glad our name is being cleared."

Actually, that remains to be seen. "The Greek Life office said they were investigating the claims, but were awaiting police reports," reported the UGa Red & Black.

UGa Red & Black

αφα alum invites nphc greek advocacy at umkc

Dr Lawrence Ross, Jr has an important message for greeks at the University of Missouri at Kansas City: keep up the good work, and always try yet harder. He was lecturing to an engaged crowd on his history of NPHC greeks cum college biography, "The Divine Nine: The History of African American Fraternities and Sororities." He leavened the dryer bits with personal anecodtes about his own search for belonging and meaning in college as a pledge and brother of Alpha Phi Alpha. NPHC greeks represent some 1.5m members, thus comprising up to ten percent of the African-American population. That is a substantial cohort, and with the demographics, says Dr Ross, come responsibility: "Remember when you're initiated that you're a servant to the community, to move the African American community and the community in general forward." He described the pantheon of NPHC all-stars, invoking the Rev Dr Martin Luther King, Jr, and Dr WEB Du Bois, as well as the giving hospitality of black greeks living worlwide from South Korea to Ghana, before turning to what his student audience could do themselves.

He placed particular emphasis on showing the way forward to high school students who do not have and may not even conceptualize the opportunities UMKC students have in such abundance: "A lot of African American kids don't even think of college as an option. What [black] fraternities need to do is go do actual physical visits to high schools and do step shows to raise money for scholarship funds." Nor did his call to action fall on deaf ears. An undergrad Alpha Phi Alpha brother approved: "I really enjoyed coming here, [Dr. Ross] is a really good speaker and had some good insights."

UMKC University News

csulb δδδ hosts runway show for charity

Delta Delta Delta national has undertaken an audacious commitment: "10 in 10" for St. Jude's Children's Research Hospital, or raising ten million dollars for the cause in ten years. Fewer than three years in, they are already over halfway there, notching up $5.6m nationwide. And the Tri-Delt at California State University, Long Beach is doing its part, hosting its annual runway show for the charity—for this year, they have racked up $6000 in contributions. A model from each sorority is asked to represente her group, and each struts her stuff on the catwalk modelling high-end jeans. The apparrel is conveniently available for purchase following the festivities. The event has become something of an icon, with sisters vying for the privilege. "All my girls are jealous," said the Sigma Kappa model.

Daily 49er

penn greek life targeted in meningitis quarantine

A meningitis scare has reared its ugly head once again, at the University of Pennsylvania, and this time it seems to be hitting greeks. Three students at Penn were affected, and the only common vector identified among all three was their affiliation with the greek system; at least two of the three lived in the Pi Kappa Alpha house. "As a precaution, the University of Pennsylvania decided to shut down the party scene and off-campus through the weekend. The cancellation applies to all gathering where significant interaction with food, drink, or intimate contact is likely," reports eFlux Media, a health news site. Question: "intimate contact"? Your correspondent accepts that an event can be readily assessed as involving food or drink, but how exactly is the university predicting which will lead to intimate contact? If it were that easy, many a lonely man on Valentine's Day would have a far easier time figuring which singles' nights to patronize. Penn also "urged anyone who had been to a fraternity or sorority event since Feb. 2 to visit health services," said the New York Times. Perhaps greek parties are ipso facto defined as events involving intimate contact? Or is the view that partygoers should generally get check-ups after subjecting themselves to greek houses? (Perhaps some of both.)

It should be emphasized that viral meningitis is no laughing matter. Flourishing most among closely-packed populations as are found at colleges, it can be potentialy fatal. Anyone with any reason to suspect he might be at risk should seek medical care immediately.

eFlux MediaDaily PennsylvanianN.Y. TimesPhiladelphia InquirerMSNBC