a sorority on this campus who had an unsuccessful rush and is jealous of all the other sororities because they are essentially the worst chapter. they targeted one chapter in particular and their advisor took pictures of them drinking in the parking garage, in the union, and on the field. this caused the tu administration to further look into the situation, and they found more pictures on facebook from four of the other chapters.

instead of focusing their energy trying to make their own chapter better and focus on how to recruit better, they choose to do this. oh well.

hmmm... i wonder why no one wants to join their sorority... :rolleyes:

Perhaps instead of blaming this chapter, the groups that were "targeted" should blame themselves for drinking in the parking garage, union and field. That's pretty stupid and if you do that you deserve to get busted.

I think it's insane that this clearly went on for many years and the adminstration knew, but didn't stop it. On the other hand, it's a stupid thing to do and everyone involved should be glad that someone didn't get seriously hurt or worse because of the behavior. It would be nice to see the girls (or if it's a chapterwide problem, chapters) stepping up and taking responsibility for the stupidity of their actions instead of blaming another chapter for turning them in and blaming it on jealously regarding recruitment results. Since drinking at Bid Day festivities violates NPC agreements, we know that having any alcohol at Bid Day is in violation of policy and something SHOULD have been done.

I couldn't agree more.

The bottom line is, people where KNOWINGLY breaking the rules. They didn't expect to get busted, but they finally did.

Now they are all pissy because they were busted and are crying about the leanest sentence ever. They could have been on probation ALL ACADEMIC YEAR, but they essentially got four months.

So what? They can schedule their formals and mixers for the year around it.

I hope the chapter leadership, advisors included, will step up to the plate so that their own sistes don't embarrass them again next year.

Aw, someone got busted? Perhaps if you weren't breaking the rules whether you were of the "targetted" chapter or just one who was idiotic enough to post drunken pictures on facebook, you wouldn't have gotten caught.


Seriously, this is a bit like "Well I speed by there all the time and I've never gotten a ticket, so the cop shouldn't get to pull me over THIS time." Just because no one busted you before doesn't mean you didn't deserve it, nor does it mean that you should get some sort of pass.

Focus on hating on the people who "got you caught" because that clearly addresses the problem :rolleyes:

Your (I'm assuming sock-puppet) user name is unnecessary and the barely "blind" reference to your fellow panhellenic GLO is similarly unnecessary. Don't break standing NPC rules just because you think your chapter is "cool" enough to be above them. No one is and you do your GLO and all greeks a disservice when you blame others for your getting caught making poor decisions that have consequences.

Uncalled for and immature.

I've been trying to stay out of this thread for what I'm sure are obvious reasons. However it is somewhat common, or at least easily accessible knowledge that I go to Towson so I'd like to go on record saying that the above "sock puppet" statement was not mine (I don't know if there's any way to prove that for sure but I'd like to think that people will take my word for it). I have my own views on the situation, some angles of which have yet to be discussed but I don't want to start anything here and I do not want to do anything that will reflect negatively on my sorority or my school so feel free to PM me. Thanks.

Instead of focusing your energy trying to make your chapter better, you choose to write a post that exposes you as immature and stupid. Oh well.

At least you had the decency to use a sock puppet username but you were too dumb/rude to mask which chapter you were talking about. You might as well have named them.

I pretty much assumed it was not you or AXiDgirl10 because the poster makes reference to the angry chapter "taking pictures of one and finding the other four on facebook". That would suggest to me that the sockpuppet would not be an AGD, AXiD or KD. If the poster were AGD (definitely not), AXiD or KD, I don't think she would make reference to "the five" that were caught, which suggests to me that she is from one of those 5.

Someone reported ihatesquirrel's post. Ihatesquirrels either needs to name a source or stop posting rumors. If that sort of thing continues, this thread will be locked.

For what it's worth, I think everyone here has done a pretty good job calling BS where it ought to be called.

Thanks.

Some thoughts:

1) Rho Chis, even if they are disaffiliated, are entirely responsible for representing their chapters and always have been. Let's say Suzy RC from XYZ really loves Janie PNM and they are best buds during recruitment. On the last night, Janie is really struggling to decide if she should put ABC or XYZ first on her bid card. Suzy RC tells Janie she is an XYZ and she should put XYZ first so they could be sisters. Janie ends up bidless and heartbroken, and tells the GA what happened. Would you expect there to be consequences? I would expect XYZ to be held responsible for a rush infraction. Sure, Suzy would probably also be held responsible by her chapter, but to the community, the punishment of XYZ is all that matters. Rho Chis are expected to know the rules and follow them, even if they are disaffiliated.

2. Towson should have been concerned with PREVENTING this behavior, not punishing it. They could have put word out in advance that this would be a "no tolerance" year and that alcohol on bid day would be taken very seriously. Then, if people still chose to drink, they would have deserved what they got. As it was, you can't silently condone something for years and then suddenly change your tune.

3. It is nearly impossible for one chapter to decide on its own that there will be no booze on bid day. If your chapter is the one following the rules, and everyone else isn't, your NM's want to know why they aren't having the same fun as the other girls in the dorms. I would be really curious to know the difference between "sanctions" and "probation", but they should really treat all chapters the same.

I will defend Ihatesquirrels on one thing only, the AGD advisor did report the drinking to the administration, but I won't agree that this was malicious or inappropriate. She was present that day and saw the dangerous situation. Acting, rather than continuing to watch this recur is responsible.

In my field of work, I have seen what can go wrong (medically/surgically.) They were lucky that more serious injuries weren't sustained during this fiasco.

I think people can argue that she should have spoken to the other chapter advisors first, but she did the right thing to stop this nonsense. In terms of liability, she would be responsible if something happened while she was present as an advisor. I think the rumor that this was all done maliciously may stem from prior actions, but no one has ever given me any details to support these allegations.

Unfortunately, one of the houses is in serious trouble with their nationals and may loose their charter. This, of course, is due to multiple infractions not just the Bid Day event.

The Towerlight reports that last month Zeta Tau Alpha national conducted a membership review of its chapter at Towson:

http://media.www.thetowerlight.com/m...-3127295.shtml

The article has very few details, which is probably as it should be.

According to Miele, during a membership review, the national organization interviews members of the individual chapter to make sure their values are connected.

"[Greek] organizations are value-based organizations and they want to make sure the undergrads are getting the most out of this type of organizations," Miele said.

This kind of doublespeak annoys the piss out of me.

Why don't they just say "they want to find out who the ding-dongs are who drank on bid day and got caught and posted pictures all over the internet"?

I'm sure they wouldn't be worrying about if the girls were "getting the most" out of ZTA if the semester was just going along with no problems.

ZTA, thank goodness, will stay on campus. I'm not sure what the entirety of the sanctions imposed on them by nationals consisted of, but they did remove the entire leadership from office. I have a feeling they will be scrutinized closely. I've heard that the majority of the chapter are good, upstanding members.

Praise God that I did not see my sorority listed!

Hopefully, the suspended/sanctioned chapters can rebound!

i graduated from Towson many years ago. We had the running of the bulls event back then too. EVERYONE DRINKS.... yes its a dry rush. But lets get real ladies. We all know we drank back in college even when we werent always supposed to.

Its unfortunate that these girls were injured this year to the point where panhel felt it necessary to eliminate the event forever. I remember when I ran to AOII i got the hugest bruise on my knee. And then again when I was a rho chi and ran to them I was tackled and knocked in the face by elbows. Lot's of us got injured in some way or another. It was all part of the fun. Battle wounds if you can call them that.

And yes, when i was a rho chi I drank before bid day too just like these girls did (we never included new members. rho chi's would have a pre bid day party before meeting up with our rushees). We all did... girls from Alpha Phi to Phi Sig to Zeta to AGD, phi mu and KD and AZD. WE ALL DID IT!! We were just smart enough to do it responsibly and without getting caught. We knew we'd get in major trouble if we were caught, so we used our brains. No one was exempt from drinking ill tell you that.

Although, we ALSO DID NOT HAVE FACEBOOK BACK THEN. Facebook was a major issue in this case (from what i heard) where panhel went online and printed pictures that girls posted of themselves drinking before bid day was completed. I have pictures of myself drinking on past bid days. I just didnt have facebook back then to post them on.

I do think Panhel made a bigger deal out of this than they should have. But, whatever is necessary to keep our girls safe is fine by me. I just feel sorry for the future new members who won't get to experience all the fun that once was "The Running of the Bulls!"
(probably one of the most fun events that ALL sororities participated in as one)

It's true that most college students, regardless of whether they are Greek, drink, and drink underage. I went to school a few miles down 95, and I can tell you that drinking is NOT a bid day tradition. No one drinks on bid day! Is my school in the minority or is Towson?

What is with the urgent need to drink on bid day? This day is so important because you have to be out making sure that the new members feel welcome and they fully understand the time and financial commiment they are making since many blow it off during rush. They also need to be meeting the sisters and if they've been drinking, how many will they remember? I could not imagine drinking on bid day, nothing would get done and it'd be a fiasco! If my sisters had been drinking on bid day I would have quit on day one.

I wonder how this got to be such a tradition and how their bid day is structured. (I'm wondering if they have houses and don't have to worry about certain things women at my school would) any info?

My school had houses, and there was no drinking on bid day. None. And honestly no one really gave it much of a thought... we were too busy getting to know our new sisters. Sober.

I haven't posted in awhile and I've just been lurking, but I am inclined to reply to this...

I can't believe that an alumnae that graduated "many years ago" would say this. It WAS NOT made a bigger deal than it should have. Something needed to be done. Greek life at Towson needs to have many changes if we want to stay on this campus and improve our reputation. And we are working to make those necessary changes. We have had several programs and retreats to decide how we are going to do this.

We most likely will still have "Running of the Bulls," so don't worry, new members will still be able to experience this. We are just structuring it a little differently, so it will be safer. And we will have a more selective Rho Chi application process to ensure that the Rho Chis will be following and implementing the rules. We are also trying to plan several other fun alcohol-free events for all sororities to participate in on Bid Day.

I understand it was tradition, but seriously, do you want to keep a tradition that could possibly get all of Greek life eventually removed from Towson? We have a bad enough reputation as it is with the administration and the rest of campus.

Don't worry. I wasn't referencing all chapters with houses. Just this particular campus I was wondering.

Not sure how this is a tradition, but to answer your question, Towson sororities do not have houses.

I missed you!

Obviously some of these chapters are guilty of a little more than having recruitment counselors drink.

NPC rush IS DRY. That means no drinking, to make sure it's clear. Every member of an NPC sorority has the responsibility to know and follow recruitment rules. If no copies were given to the chapter, their Recruitment officer should have marched to the Panhellenic adviser's office and gotten a copy to distribute to members. There's no excuses on that one.

While some responsibility definitely does rest on the adviser's shoulders, it ultimately falls on the shoulders of the girls who actually did this. We're in college, we're old enough to use common sense. Tradition or not, it's not NPC-legal. And of ALL people, the recruitment counselors should know EVERY recruitment rule way before it ever starts.

I do have to say it's pretty ridiculous that these girls weren't sent home. If we (recruitment team) ever show up to an official event (including the men's fraternity parties, as according to IFC, they are also dry parties) having had a drop, we're kicked off of the team, no questions asked.

I realize it's really hard to control or police every member of a chapter when they're out on their own time, but it is the chapter's responsibility to police them at official events, when there are tons of sisters to watch out for each other. There's just really no excuse for any of this. If it's an official rush event, including an official Bid Day activity (from running to whatever official event the chapter holds), it has to be dry.

And I have to say I am not very sympathetic at all to this whining about the punishment. I know every campus has different attitudes towards alcohol, but on mine if our chapters were pulling this...stuff...our punishments would be a lot more harsh.

If this immature attitude is representative of YOUR chapter, I wouldn't hold it in high regard at all.

It's time to learn about personal responsibility. If my chapter sisters do something WRONG during recruitment and another sorority turns my chapter in, you'd better believe it's my own sisters that I will be angry at for ruining things for me, not whoever caught them doing it. It's their responsibility to make smart choices, and even though everyone messes up sometimes, BLATANTLY stupid stuff doesn't get much sympathy for me, whether it's myself that did it or my friends. That's just part of trying to grow up and act like an adult.

I have to point this out as well. If one chapter turns another in, doesn't that tell you something? Which chapter wasn't participating in the rule breaking...;)

Don't be so sure! I have it on good authority that EVERY chapter had Rho Chi members drunk on bid day. I agree that recruitment is a dry event. The girls have learned their lessons...I hope. I think that you are overly harsh considering you experienced a well run system that enforces its rules. Towson is not such a campus. I hope that none of this happens again, but I have to tell you that it sounds pretty ingrained as a "tradition" and to keep the problems at bay, they'll need a much stronger panhellenic advisor. As for being mad at a sister who ruined everything for the rest of the group, I know the AOII perpetrator personally. She is an upstanding, serious girl who has very high grades in a very difficult major. She is the last person you'd expect to be involved in such an event. She doesn't make any excuses and will tell anyone who asks that it was a serious lapse in judgement. Now...can we let this discussion die already!?

I don't doubt all of the recruitment counselors participated, but some chapters apparently had more than that going on. So I do think it's likely that the one turning them in wasn't the one to be adding a little something to the recruitment counselor's misdeeds.

I don't think I'm being harsh at all. Weak system or not, reading the recruitment rules is something all recruitment counselors should do. They are RECRUITMENT COUNSELORS. They should know the rules. This includes a ban on alcohol. And if they choose to break the rules, then that has nothing to do with having a weak system...that's just bad judgment. Just because you don't get caught doesn't mean it isn't wrong. Most of us probably speed, or drank underage at least once, or maybe cheated on a quiz in high school. But if we got caught that doesn't mean we don't deserve to be punished.

They should be mad at the sister. At least she has the moral fortitude to realize that and take responsibility for her actions. That means she's probably a smart girl and won't do something like that again. Some people don't have her ability to learn from their mistakes because they won't accept responsibility like she did.

Last year a Rho Chi got caught for being ridiculously drunk by IFC.

Now he's the head justice of j-board.

I love Arkansas.

I don't disagree with any of this...in a perfect world. Recruitment counselors at Towson apparently didn't know the rules. Last time I checked, most college students aren't that responsible without a good example showing them the right way. Many of these chapters have no alumnae interaction and do whatever feels right to them whether or not it abides by panhellenic rules. Yes, some chapters did have more involvement with drinking than others (one chapter actually), but the vast majority were behaving themselves as needed. I would love to say that these Rho Chis were terrible girls who just wanted to flaunt the rules, but it's not the case. No one has ever laid down the law on this campus, so I can't entirely fault the women from continuing behaviour that was overlooked by the administration for years. Unfortunately, these girls get to pay the price when others got away with it. If any of them complain, they know that what they did was wrong and that they brought it upon themselves. However, there were very few women at fault and a whole load of innocent girls, including the NMs. No one is saying that the women involved shouldn't be held responsible. They were. The point is that none of this occurred in a vacuum. And like elephantwalks story, many of the women who were involved but didn't get in trouble got elected to panhellenic executive board positions in December. Hmmm....I wonder if they'll continue to turn a blind eye to the problem?

Surely, SURELY, even those involved now see why it must change. ???

I sure HOPE so! Even now, however, the advisor is very weak and there is little patrolling of what most chapters are doing. The advisors of AOII are working to change the practices of our chapter, but not all chapters are lucky enough to get that kind of support. I guess we'll see what happens in the fall.

In college you're old enough to know you have to follow rules/laws or take responsibility for the consequences when you do not. And it's best to follow the rules in the first place. Regardless there is no excuse for the recruitment counselors of all people not knowing the rules.

I never said they were terrible people. There made a terrible decision.

I just have little sympathy. Any time a sorority breaks recruitment rules the whole chapter suffers. You hope your sisters care about themselves and you enough to not risk the whole chapter, but let's face it, sometimes people do dumb things. And that's just the way it is. The whole chapter suffers.

Did you see the post in the thread that pointed out there were 54 recruitment counselors - for a rush that consisted of 275 PNMs - because of a rule in Towson's Panhel constitution?

Just pointing out that being a Rho Chi here is not the elite or highly vetted position here that it is at many schools.

I think you have a great point - especially if, as has been reported, all the sororities had members who were Rho Chis and drinking. When the one who blows the whistle gets a lesser penalty, even if they did the same thing, it isn't going to go over well.

If you're an advisor, you should be looking at the state of the whole Greek system, not just your chapter. If she thought this practice was dangerous for her girls, it is dangerous for all the other sororities also.

I have been saying the whole time that there is a problem with the Panhellenic system at Towson. There is a poor example passed down from year to year and condoned by the panhellenic adviser.

As for the comments about the "rat" adviser....it's her job to report these actions. She has a responsibility to act. This does not include discussing it with the collegiate members and letting this behavior go on! You say you want things to change...it takes someone acting instead of wishing to actually make changes.

"Something of Value," a Panhellenic program, came to Towson and reviewed what was going on. There recommendations should be inacted in full, but I know they wont.

I think what g & p meant was that knowing the climate of the campus, the advisor should have given the chapter a heads up and let them know she was reporting it, so they would be more prepared for any backlash that came their way. (The behavior - drinking at bid day - was already over & done with.) From his/her post, it sounds like the collegians were getting ragged on and they didn't even know why. I don't think g & p meant the advisor shouldn't have reported it.

Actually, the Something of Value report did have quite a few recommendations regarding the drinking culture and hazing on campus. If you didn't get the full report (I just read it today!) PM me and I'll send it to you.

Slight hijack, but not enough to actually start another thread....
I have a question for everyone....what if the chapter adviser had talked with the chapter about this, and they ignored her? Isn't it her responsibility to report it anyway?