Me too. Shades of Zippy Zamboni.

I'm a huge Tennessee Vol fan, have several relatives who are current UTK undergrads, quite a few who are graduates -- and one cousin (and a friend) who are alums of this actual Pike chapter. This is an embarrassment to the university, to Greek Life and to Pi Kappa Alpha International. UTK just won a contest to have the Today Show broadcast live from campus on October 1st -- nice timing, not.

Not surprisingly, this has gone internationally viral. The guy who was taken to the hospital has had his name and picture plastered all over the web. I've always heard the best way to handle a viral situation is to just let the news die....but I have to wonder if this guy's name will ever completely fade away, or if he's going to be branded for a long time with nicknames I have seen today but won't repeat here. Also, some potential employers Google job applicants to see what comes up. That may not bode well for this guy when he graduates. So...if you were his parents, would you encourage him to change his name? Not trying to be funny here...just wondering what would you do if your kid's name was linked to this act of extreme disgust and stupidity, one that could haunt him for a long time and well past the day when he finally grows up and might want to live like a mature, responsible adult.

Also, some reports say the UTK police don't think hazing was involved, but are investigating the possibility. Suppose it's proven that it was. I guess that would takes this to a whole new level and criminal charges could be filed, up to sexual assault? If so, the guys who did the hazing might be joining a new fraternity called Tau Sigma Pi -- Tennessee State Pen. This could get very, very, very serious. Even if it's not hazing...if there were guys present who were 21, could they be charged with reckless endangerment of a minor(s)?

These guys rank as the dumbest college boys I believe I've ever heard about. Thanks for embarrassing UTK...and I know my cousin and friend really appreciate how they sullied THEIR fraternity and will likely cause them to be kicked off campus. :(

As least two major networks featured this story on their morning newscast, complete with photos of the Pike house at UT, random photos of campus, and one even showed the Pike Headquarters in Memphis.

One thought is to let it die; another is for their headquarters to make a strong public statement and deal with it head-on. On the campus where I advise, there have been jokes all over the place, two include: This takes BROMANCE to a whole new level! and Talk about BUTTHOLE BROTHERS! Both are crude I know, but as long as this remains prominently in the news, the more damage it will do to Pi Kappa Alpha International's reputation. And--rush is still going on on many campuses.

Also, that young man is hardly the only one who ingested liquor this way. In a fraternity house, everybody knows, probably several watched, and others participated. Maybe they should step forward and take some of the heat off their brother. As painful as it seems, perhaps he should resign his membership--sad, but perhaps better for him in the longrun to show he divorced himself from this whole dilemma. (Or dilemm-ema!--SORRY, COULD NOT RESIST!)

It IS hard to resist some of the puns this situation opens to door for. Even as someone who really does love the University of Tennessee and finds this situation disturbing on many levels, I've had a few LOL's at some of the comments I've read on news articles. I guess, for me, it's some comic relief for what really is an embarrassing situation.

I do feel kind of bad for the kid having his name released to the world. Some news sources have even pulled photos off his Facebook page and published them as well. Supposedly he is too young to legally drink, but isn't enough of a minor to avoid having his name/photo published.

I agree that some of his brothers who participated/watched/knew/whatever need to step up and take a little heat off of him. If there has ever been a test of brotherhood, being your brother's keeper and standing up like men, this would be it. As far as leaving the fraternity, I have a feeling some will be doing just that -- maybe not of their own will, but relinquishing those pins anyway. Pike International de-brothered 25 UTK Pikes a few years ago over a hazing incident that sent three pledges to the hospital with staph infections. One story is that they were made to do push-ups on broken glass; another account says they did push-ups on a dirty bathroom floor. Whatever, the pledges got sick and 25 brothers got booted. Actually, I think the chapter will be closed.

Press release from PIKE: http://www.pikes.org/media/media/Pre..._PIKE_9_25.pdf

The people from Tennessee who are familiar with the news station who did so can probably answer that better than I can.

I heard a while back about high school boys that were soaking tampons in alcohol and then sticking them up their, um, rears.

I guess the reasoning was that then you don't have alcohol on your breath and it takes less to get drunk so you don't have to steal as much...

I really don't understand why it was necessary to do that either. I'm assuming it was legal to do so, though -- otherwise all these outlets have opened themselves up to lawsuits. As of this morning, a CNN satellite truck was parked in front of the house. It's made it to Anderson Cooper, U.K. Daily Mail, a multitude of discussion boards, newspapers and TV stations.

I feel for the parents of this young man. They must be heartsick, distraught and worried to see their son's name and photo be sent out around the world.

Update from The Daily Beacon, UT's student newspaper

http://utdailybeacon.com/breaking-ne...-pike-scandal/

Additional Beacon story:

http://utdailybeacon.com/news/2012/s...e-allegations/

OMG, there is even a term for this?? Butt Chugging????

On the one hand, this was extremely stupid.

On the other hand, the kid lived through the situation, so I don't see how this is national news. Kids drink to get drunk all the time. This one did something exceedingly stupid and he probably had a very embarrassing trip to the hospital to show for it.

Should the chapter face some sort of sanctions? Probably. Closed? I really don't think this merits closing a chapter. It appears that someone was at least smart enough to seek medical attention when it was needed.

I completely agree with you, but I'm afraid that with the (inter)national media attention that this story has received, HQ will feel that they have to close it down. I don't believe it was a hazing incident. I believe it was a purely stupid incident.

Pike has been on campus for well over 100 years, and they have been a very strong chapter for all the decades that I've been aware of UT's greek life. It's a shame for everyone involved.

I actually heard this was a myth, but who knows. Either way, this entire story is disturbing. If you're so desperate to get intoxicated that you (the general you) start putting things up your butt, there's a good chance you probably have other issues.

Either that, or you seriously need to get your priorities in order.

According to Snopes, the vodka tampon is an urban legend.
http://www.snopes.com/risque/kinky/vodka.asp

UTK's Daily Beacon published this article a couple of weeks ago about the university's plans to crack down on alcohol consumption at fraternity houses:

http://utdailybeacon.com/news/2012/s...ks-told-sober/

Now with the alcohol enema event, I imagine all the fraternities at UTK are on "double secret probation." One person (an alum at one of the UTK houses) told me his chapter has already been told by nationals that their charter will be pulled if they have ONE violation from here on out. UTK's huge and long-standing FIJI chapter had its charter pulled last spring -- two weeks after they'd initiated their new spring pledge class. Can you imagine -- you're a full brother for two weeks when, boom, your whole fraternity experience is over with.

I think the Pike chapter will be closed. As amIblue said, the international media attention may cause HQ to feel like they have to. "Out of sight" might be the only way to do any damage control and preserve the chapter's long history. Plus, the stigma associated with this will likely have a very bad impact on recruitment over the next several years. Maybe in 5 or 6 years, after current undergrads have left and moved on (you hope), Pike can come back, re-colonize and start new.

Then again, as quickly as things move through cyber-space only to be just as quickly replaced by the next big/shocking/outrageous/stupid story, this could blow into the land of ancient history before Thanksgiving. You never know, but it will be interesting to see how the investigation concludes and how this is handled

A Pi Kappa Alpha alumnus is interviewed about the situation ......


http://www.wate.com/story/19639893/p...-on-uts-campus


ETA: Reports that an individual denies he was "butt-chugging"; article also reports on some alleged evidence:

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2012/se...e-say-bloodst/