Many years ago, long before home alarm systems, a fraternity broke into our house. They were dressed all in black, burst into the bedrooms, pulled down blankets and took pictures. The girls were in various states of nightwear. They cut the phone lines (we only had landlines in those days) and used them to tie a bar across the housemother's room so she could not get out. The trauma suffered by some was very severe. When the police went to the fraternity to talk to the guys, one idiot responded that it was a sorority house so it was fair game. When asked how he would feel it it had been his sister who was woken up by a bunch of guys taking pictures he responded he would be off the wall irate.

Breaking and entering whether a joke or not is not harmless. It is a criminal act. it is time we stop justifying actions as "simple college pranks" whether it is breaking and entering, sexual assault, hazing, giving alcohol to minors or....

DaffyKD

they were probably too scared to admit that it was really a panty raid, haha.

It really depends on what the relationship was between these two groups as to whether it was a "harmless" prank.

All sororities have some fraternities that they are more comfy with than others, some they're getting to know, some that they're neutral on, some they just don't like and some that creep them out. 1-2 the sorority probably wouldn't care and would find it funny, 3 it depends, and 4-5 they would be upset and freaked out.

Without knowing that relationship, it's impossible to tell what the intent/result was. (The comment about "getting stuff on them" may have been taken completely out of context.) But to say that every fraternity will be treated the same just isn't true.

This. Unless you know something about the chapters involved, you don't know whether these guys were breaking in to do something really bad or just to play a harmless prank.

On the one hand, charging these fellas with burglary or something like that, just 'cuz, could ruin their lives. On the other, they could deserve to have their lives ruined. I figure it'll all work out in the end.

Considering school was out, the women aren't living in the house and the house mom is there alone, harmless prank isn't good enough for me. The house mom would be the one to make the discovery and the women aren't going to be back for three months, so it isn't like the sorority of women are being pranked by fraternity men, it is the house mom being pranked by two guys who happen to be in a fraternity.

The video mentioned they tried to cut the electricity (wtf) and there was a lot of damage, enough for them to be booked for felony residential burglary and conspiracy according to the video. The public documents list it as a 3rd degree felony for felony attempt & conspiracy, so no misdemeanors like paying a fine or a written apology will likely cut it. If they haven't previously been naughty they probably won't get what I read of basic sentencing of 3 years for a 3rd or 18 months for a 4th degree felony and the possibility of a $5,000 fine, in addition to other costs. At least they aren't hamming it up in their mugshots.

Uh, is this the guy who thinks a written apology is acceptable?

http://kikisalcido.com/

Was the house empty?

The video in the first post, which is the only news story I've been able to find, states the house was empty other than the house mom. With school being out a week by then I wouldn't expect the girls to be there. More often than not we close our houses for the summer and do maintenance, whereas many men keep their homes open and sorority women rent summer housing. Sigma Chi has apartment style housing here and many women share during summer school.

Let's just say if I were to ever prank someone or someones I'd actually want them to find out so I could see their reaction and then have a good laugh and wait for my turn. I'm the kind of person to leave clues, a "ransom note" and identify myself somehow. I sure as hell wouldn't break in or destroy anything, nor would I surprise someone alone right before dawn. Not that our house moms would be carrying concealed weapons due to our insurance policies but in general I assume people are armed and I'd like to avoid getting shot as well as breaking the law.

ETA: I forgot this in my previous post. There is no mention of alcohol being a factor, but they were arrested at 5 am or something like that. I just kind of assumed at 5 am on a Saturday the decision to break into unoccupied Pi Phi, except for the house mom, was brought to us by the letters L-I-Q-U-O-R. Since they are both 19 that would be another charge but with felony burglary an MIP isn't really worth the court's time. Since they are 19 there could be something from before 18 that could come back and be a bigger problem if they had a special situation for previous issues that was a condition of straightening up and flying right.

lol!

What does it say at the the bottom of the first pic? It looks like "Kim Jew", but that doesn't make any sense.

Probably the photographer's name?

Yup, that's it.

www.kimjew.com

Breaking into sorority houses, regardless of the intent, reminds me of serial killer Ted Bundy's crime spree that took place after sneaking into a sorority house.

Just reading the accounts is enough to put images in your head, not to mention if you had seen the tv movie.

As a woman, one of my biggest fears is someone breaking into my house while I sleep. Whether it's done as a prank or any other reason doesn't matter. I live too close to a family who lost two teenaged daughters and their mothers to a home invasion not to fear the worst.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alumiyum (Post 2057884) IMO it's not about Greeks or boys...more "kids will be kids". And kids do dumb shit. They should be punished, they should be sent the message that there's no excuse for it, but for things like this (where it's pretty obvious they were just being morons) it shouldn't ruin their futures.

College students are young adults. They’re not kids. I stole a few pieces of candy when I was younger. I lied repeatedly. I climbed onto the roof of my elementary school when I was 16 and was almost arrested. And I learned to cut it out once I hit college. At what point do people start being held accountable for their actions?

We make excuses for college students all the time on this site, but it’s always something along the lines of, “Well, it’s recruitment, and 18-year-old girls can be very superficial..” or “Chapters sometimes don’t see the big picture when electing a president..” etc. But picking a sorority because all of the sisters are “cute” and choosing a president because he’s popular doesn’t compare to breaking and entering. A line has to be drawn.

And what about this story made it obvious that they were just being morons? Besides the awesome excuse the guys gave for breaking in..?

Quote:

Originally Posted by DeltaBetaBaby (Post 2057885) As you said upthread, your campus didn't call the police every time something was stolen.

My campus wasn’t notified every time something was stolen, and no one employed by the campus caught them.

When I was in school, during a party, a few members of one of the sororities stole a fraternity’s lawn gnome that they had in the living room, and left a ransom note. THAT’s obviously a prank… a prank that wasn’t reported to the police by the fraternity.

However, I would expect that had that fraternity seriously felt like they were robbed (maybe not over the gnome, but instead, something of more value), I wouldn’t blame them for contacting the authorities.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 33girl (Post 2058002) It really depends on what the relationship was between these two groups as to whether it was a "harmless" prank.

So… the guys who break in from Fraternity ABC can get away with it, but the guys who break in the next night from Fraternity XYZ should be punished?

You fall into a very gray area if this approach is taken.

Quote:

Originally Posted by VandalSquirrel (Post 2058095) Let's just say if I were to ever prank someone or someones I'd actually want them to find out so I could see their reaction and then have a good laugh and wait for my turn. I'm the kind of person to leave clues, a "ransom note" and identify myself somehow. I sure as hell wouldn't break in or destroy anything, nor would I surprise someone alone right before dawn. Not that our house moms would be carrying concealed weapons due to our insurance policies but in general I assume people are armed and I'd like to avoid getting shot as well as breaking the law.

Exactly.

And forget about weapons… what happened if the house mother completely freaked out and had a heart attack and died? Things can go VERY wrong in these types of situations, regardless of the fraternity members’ intentions.

I know if I was in that house and awake while that was happening, I’d be freaking out and calling the police. I think anyone would.

In conclusion (finally! :p) … None of us know the whole story, or what the guys really intended to do in that house. But IMO, it’s better to play it safe. Don’t break into ANYONE else’s home, and if you do, expect to pay the consequences.

We treat college students like kids, especially in the Greek system. It's the truth. The rules might be there for liability reasons, but they're also there because "kids do dumb shit". We EXPECT them to do stupid things, because otherwise the rules wouldn't be nearly so extensive (I'm referring to risk management). So do the colleges they attend. Shoot, they can't even legally drink a beer (and in my state 18 year olds can't even buy cigarettes, sign a lease, own property, etc). And if they spend a good majority of college being babysat, we can't expect them to suddenly make adult decisions at all times.

They broke in (and as someone said, likely drunk since it was in the early morning hours and only two of them...not like a big group got together and planned a panty raid or something), looked for "secrets"...there's no reason to believe they were doing anything else. If they came in with baseball bats, that would be one thing. But ruining their futures isn't a proportional response, IMO. Like I said, probation, fines, community service...and the ability to learn their lesson without ruining their lives seems fair to me.

Breaking and entering is not a 'kids will be kids' or purely a risk management scenario. It is a criminal offense. We do expect college students not to commit CRIMES on a regular basis.

Why do they get special consideration of their futures, but not the 20 year old on the street who broke into a house?

"Should be" doesn't = "what will actually happen."

I guarantee you that if all the Pi Phis were dating PiKAs, or if they were trying to get a better relationship going with PiKA to help their campus reputation, this news story would have never seen the light of day.

Not a slight on Pi Phi, the same would most likely apply to any chapter of any sorority.