THE UNIVERSITY DAILY KANSAN
OPINION
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 19,2005
WWW.KANSAN.COM
Columnist sounds off on Sigma news
PAGE 5A
The final decision was announced on Sept. 8. Sigma Nu pledges sat in the middle of the chapter room. Actives and parents sat along the three walls, covered in 121 framed composite photos. The national executive director informed the men that they had 30 days to move out. Within the next few hours, police were on their way to search the entire house for alcohol and illegal substances. Guards were soon posted inside and outside of the house where they will remain until Oct. 8; the final date that members can go inside their first collegiate home.
d
The downfall began in Oct 2003 when a tradition led to the injury of an Olathe pledge. Members who lived in the house two years ago feel that the event was blown out of proportion. Even today the victim laughs about the attention brought upon the fraternity because of his fall. Either way, he was sent to the hospital and an investigation began. This led to the chapter's placement on social probation.
ment on social problems.
A year later the chapter was free from the shadow of the incident. Four months later the fraternity had a Rock-Chalk Revue after party at the Teepee with the TriDelta sorority. A friend of a Sigma Nu active came in town to watch the performance and joined in the revelry afterward. He left the party, began to cross the street and was hit and killed by a driver who initially left the scene of the accident then later returned.
TRAVIS BROWN opinion@kansan.com
These incidents had horrible impacts on the chapter's reputation. Two summers ago I participated in formal rush to choose a house.
if any at all. Most negative things I heard were about Sigma Nu. "A couple years ago, they held a pledge by his feet off one of their balconies, but they were like really drunk, and dropped him, so he died." "I heard they make pledges jump off the top balcony. Four floors down." "Now they can't haze at all' cause the national board is like, so hard core on their ass."
her new position.
The day after pledges moved into their new home, the new house mom began documenting and photographing incidents that took place. Once a party had died down, she was known to pace the house, taking pictures of the mess before members could wake up to clean the house the next morning. Members began to feel as if she was hired to provide alumni with
their ass.
The chapter's reputation has upset alumni, ultimately leading to action. The former house mom was fired at the end of last year. She was forced to retire after several decades of overseeing Greek life. Mrs. Corcoran was fond of the members, made sure not to intrude on their social lives, and took it upon herself to teach respect and manners to "her boys." The actives knew that her replacement would probably hold a different outlook but were amazed at how their new pseudo-maternal guidance treated her new position.
evidence that could be used to take action against the chapter. This is a theory that has grown throughout the entire process. Members are concerned that the decision was more financially based than has been led on.
been led on.
So when a pledge dropped the fraternity and complained to the national board, serious repercussions were inevitable. According to members, the pledge's decision was more heavily based on personal disagreements with another member than being uncomfortable with hazing. This led to an investigation in which the documentations of the house mom were used.
The board described hazing as anything that pledges must do that actives do not have to partake in. This included house cleaning, a curfew, mandatory study hours and requirements to stay on campus from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m. No pledges objected to these pams but rather viewed them as beneficial. Their parents were particularly in favor of those that established good study habits and a healthy sleep routine.
the house from were as the National board based its final decision on hazing. This is a matter that the fraternity has a zero-tolerance policy on.
I'm sure this column comes across as fairly biased towards Sigma Nu, but I guarantee that I am not a member. I was, however, a Sigma Nu pledge. I lived in the house for a semester and dropped just before initiation. The fraternity was not for me and I got involved in a handful of events that could have possibly ruined my life. I don't blame that on the house but merely
the fact that the testosterone mixed with bad influences left to incubate in a fraternal environment can lead to horrible outcomes, a potential at any of the chapters at the University of Kansas.
city of Kansas.
So, I should be thinking "Good riddance. They made me miserable and this is my opportunity to bash the hell out of them." But the injustice behind the matter is too obvious. I could not continue living in a fraternity house, but my issues were not based on the discomfort of hazing. I never once felt that I was required to do anything I was not comfortable with and I understood the purpose behind all required activities. Cleaning up after other people's filth, sickness and lust was tedious and sometimes appalling. But it's a messy lifestyle and unfortunately, just as in every chapter, the yet-to-be-initiated must deal with the dirty work.
with the dirty work.
The fraternity is currently attempting to appeal the matter. There is a growing chance that they may be able to get the chapter back. But running naked through the halls of a neighboring sorority on top of $500 worth of vandalism and $700 worth of theft is not going to help their cause.
Kevin McKernan/KANSAN
and the most memorable times of their lives. To others, the house meant everything. Fraternities can be incredible liabilities and can promote an unhealthy lifestyle. Sigma Nu was no more in the wrong than any other fraternity on this campus.
To some men, the fraternity brought them the best friendships
this campus. I think I can say with confidence that the activities that were under examination were not nearly as appalling as some that occur in other Kansas fraternities. So, I merely propose a national investigation on every chapter of this University.
Brown is a Dallas sophomore in journalism.
▼ SAY A LITTLE PRATHER FOR YOU
Kansas wild faces trial
Lions, Tigers and Bears! Oh my!
my:
While wildlife is beautiful and intriguing, it's just as it sounds: wild.
For 17-year-old Haley Hilderbrand, reality cut life short when she visited the Lost Creek Animal Sanctuary in Altamont, Kan. on August 18.
back a 300-foot
According to msnbc.com,
Hilderbrand died from wounds
sustained during the attack.
She was posing for her senior picture with a 7-year-old tiger when it severely bit her. The owner of the sanctuary was restraining the animal, but what can a 180-pound man do to hold back a 500-pound animal?
While zoos and conservatories can be a great place for people of all ages to see animals from around the world, there is something disturbing and unnatural about keeping a wild animal locked up for all to see. Circuses, zoos, safari parks and marine parks are just a few places that use animals as a source of income and entertainment.
sustained during the Even though this incident was isolated, it raises a question: What was an African tiger doing in Kansas?
ERICA PRATHER
opinion@kansan.com
While I am just as guilty of attending a circus or going to a zoo as the next person, I've come to see the animals on the other side of that fence as more than just something to look at in awe.
Think about the purpose of the cage that separates you from the animal. Some of the specimens on display at zoos are capable of killing a human instantly. They have adapted and evolved over time to their indigenous habitats.
The tiger was acting out of instinct when it struck out at Haley. The tiger was killed on site, after Haley was pronounced dead, according to Traveler magazine.
When dealing with wild animals, it must be taken into consideration that these animals do not abide by the laws of human society. They don't have morals or understand the 10 commandments.
and practical difficulties involved, particularly in returning an animal to the wild, the lack of suitable re-introduction sites, the disruption to wild animals and the possibility for the spread of disease between resident and reintroduced animals," the Web site said.
cording to the This unnecessary extermination acted as retribution of sorts for taking a human life.
ments.
Bornfree.org, a British-based Web site that lobbies against the captivity of animals, said zoos do not perform well in endangered species conservation. "Zoo-based conservation is fraught with problems such as lack of genetic diversity, the inability of zoo-bred animals to cope with life in the wild, the high costs
Human beings generally lack respect for the ecosystem. We put major highways in the middle of the natural prairie and the roads are littered with the carcasses of animals who've wandered onto them.
them.
We overtake every inch of land possible, driving species into endangerment or extinction.
The least we can do is leave animals on other continents alone. We've become so accustomed to seeing wildlife and feeling that we've conquered it that posing with a tiger for a picture seems ordinary.
You don't have to be an extreme animal rights activist to sympathize with wildlife behind bars.
bars.
By not patronizing circuses and zoos, you can choose not to support wildlife captivity. Hilderbrand's death is a harsh reminder of how powerful nature is, and how much it should be respected.
Prather is a Wichita Junior in English and communication studies.
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Free for All, I have to draw you.
I am sick of the beautiful truck. I'm going to make the ugly stick.
Don't jingle your keys. We are not K-State.
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That rug tied the room together, did it not?
The boy who left me that note at the Union. Thank you so much, that really made my week.
My roommate is on the porch with a BB gun, shooting at a squirrel because it jumped near him. That's the problem with our world. Instead of talking out our differences, we shoot squirrels.
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My roommate just called and said a squirrel jumped near me. Well the truth is that it jumped on my crotch, actually. That's the reason it got shot by a BB gun.
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To all your freshman who don't know what they are doing: You sit on the bleacher behind you and you stand on the one in front of you. If I see it again this weekend, we're going to have major problems.
✩
Use the libraries to vote for Baby Jay at www.capitalonebowl.com.
Do you have the number for the girl on the front of Sex on the Hill 'cause she's hot!
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I smell an embezzlement plot. Isn't $80,000 a bit much to change the font on the Jayhawk?
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To the girl who took my St. Louis hat from me at The Ranch, you better bring it next Thursday,
'cause I'll be there.
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To the girl who's boyfriend plays at Mizzou, you don't have to worry about cheering for him, 'cause he'll be in jail by the time the season starts.
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Bill Braskey has nails in his tea. That's tea as in T-E-A,
'cause you know, I'm saying this not typing it. Yeah.
This girl studying in the library just pulled a Bud Light out of her backpack and started drinking it like it was a Diet Coke.
I just had sex on the hill. Twice!
Guy 1: Which one would win in a fight, the Star Trek Enterprise or a Star Destroyer?
Guy 2: The Enterprise under Kirk or Picard?
Guy 1: Uhhhh, Picard.
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I've got a sorority girl on my lap. She's drunk and she's eating my ice cream. What should I do now? (Editor's note: Um, tell her you're in medical school?)
Last time I made out in the Chi Omega fountain, I got herpes.
Kanye West hates white people.
Why are all the girls that are against recruiting on campus so militant-looking?
There's going to be round-robin mutiny at the Rhombus House!
Who are we to believe? A once poverty-stricken Kanye West, or a rich, hand-me-down oil company tycoon like President Bush?
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Where can I get a Save KU Info T-shirt?
Congratulations for the completely arbitrary statistic comparing 20,000 babies killed by abortion to 2,000 soldiers being killed in Iraq. By now, 2 billion people decided not to have sex. Are they baby-killers too?
Last time I made out in the Chi Omega fountain, some guy got herpes.
Eric Jorgensen, stop writing articles about stuff you don't know about.
I'm being serious about this, every time I go to my 002 Math class, I die a little on the inside.
I bet Benjamin Franklin got a lot of action. I mean, he did invent the lightbulb and everything.
I stole the entire Tennessee street sign, pole and all. When is the wedding?
Something about popped collars says to me, "I'm trying way too hard."
Tell the stupid girls at the salad bar talking about the boys they hooked up with to get their act together 'cause I want some croutons!
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I don't know what's worse, the fact that the NCAA banned the mascots, or that the Student Senate supports it.
So you said the power of the press got back the hot dog cart, let's see what you can do about the crossword.
I'm in a sorority and I don't pay for my friends. My parents do!
I just don't know what to say.