I agree with people turning a blind eye to the drug problems here at WVU, but I think the reason a lot of people do is because they wouldn't know where to begin. Several times each semester we have presenters come in to talk about common issues that greeks and non-greeks face in college like drug usage, alcohol poisoning, promiscuity, stuff like that. And while everyone listens, I don't think it hits home. It pretty much has the same effect it had on everyone back in high school during drug assemblies: if you don't do it already, you still won't, and if you do drugs, you continue.
If one of my close friends did coke, I would definitely try to talk to them about it and encourage them to get help, but other than that, I would probably let it be. The last thing I want is for one of my friends to hurt themselves, but ultimately I can't control their actions. They know what they're doing is wrong, it's up to them to stop.
I don't think this should portray a negative view on WVU's greek system. Being a part of it, it's definitely the best experience I've had in college and I know many people who would say the same. I'm sure cocaine and other heavy drug usage is very prominent in some chapters here, and not so prominent or even non-existent in others. I don't think the students here that aren't greek view us all as coked up.

I disagree, we used to blast Crash Test Dummies back in the days.

Wow, so you're saying that if a sister was doing coke, unless she was a close friend, you wouldn't even say anything??? You wouldn't say anything to a sister who could face death or felony jail time? And on a more minor level (minor after death and jail) affecting the reputation of your chapter?

Again, like I said, we're not talking a little weed here. I'm pretty sure that all of us have taken vows to our sisters and our chapters, and if you're content to just stand there while a sister does this stuff...

If someone's got ANY sort of addiction problem - whether it be coke, alcohol, food, gambling, whatever - you can only encourage them to get help. 18-22 year old college students are not trained therapists and should not handle this on their own. They can't. They might end up doing more harm than good. I'm not trying to talk down to anyone, just stating the facts. I've seen people try to help someone who needed professional care and they ended up in a worse state than the people they were trying to help.

I'm not sure how big the chapters at WVU are, but if someone I wasn't close to tried to tell me I had an addiction issue, my reaction would most likely be to tell them to F.O. and deny the whole thing. The most you can do is ask someone they ARE close to to speak with them.

I know we had a thread on here about if a sister has an abuse problem - do you terminate her for the sake of the chapter's rep or try to help her? It's a case by case basis.

I would think that most orgs have a clause in their bylaws about drug use being a huge no-no.

If someone has a cocaine habit and was my sister, I wouldn't give a crap about pissing them off by confronting them about it. Who wants that associated with their letters? Who wants to see a friend delve into that sort of downward spiral?

So what are you supposed to do, just stand there and watch this person f up their life, damage your chapter, and possibly leave your sorority with a huge liability on their hands? What if she ODs in the house? If the sorority sisters (or fraternity brothers, whichever sex the person is) knew that they were using, and didn't do anything about it, there'd be a lawsuit in a minute. Heck, even if they didn't know she was using and she OD'd in the house or at a function, there'd still probably be major liability.

If a sister was doing coke, yes, i'd vote to terminate her membership in a minute, unless she was making a huge effort to get help with it. Doesn't mean that I'd never talk to her again or write her out of my life, but they've got bigger fish to fry than worrying about being in a GLO.

It's obviously a bigger problem than just a person or two at WVU, though, and there certainly must be things that can be done to try to change the overall atmosphere.

Terminating her membership is a touch selfish as posed, IMO - it seems considerably more 'sisterly' to attempt to get her help, or allow her the proper social outlets for the "if and when" portion of her deciding to get help.

It's also a bit . . . idyllic? to label this a WVU problem. There are fraternity and sorority members at Pitt, UPenn, Xavier, you name it who use drugs illegally. Separating cocaine from weed and even alcohol is just applying an arbitrary manner of degree to each - and obviously, across different instances, people see different degrees. This subject, unfortunately, is an endemic greek problem - it's akin to the onion's great "This Just In: Cool Kids Drink More" article - and we shouldn't look down our noses at one particular facet of it.

Also, from the more clinical side, there are thousands that have recreationally used illicit drugs, and as they've matured and become adults have come out none the worse for wear. This is quite similar to the fine line between alcohol use and abuse - I'd say treat it in a manner consistent with your policies and programs in place for substance abuse, but keeping a handle on legal issues you may or may not face.

I wasn't saying that I would only encourage a close friend to get help. I'd just be more likely to talk to them about it. Obviously if I saw any one of my sisters doing coke, I'd express my concern, but like 33girl said, there isn't much else someone college aged can do because we aren't trained to deal with drug problems.

As far as being concerned about how drugs represent my GLO, I'd be more worried about my sister's health. I wouldn't vote to kick her out of the sorority; instead I'd vote to get some of her close friends to confront her with her problem and get her help. Normally at the functions where people are doing drugs, it's like 95% greeks, and the information doesn't really leave the room. People in the greek system know all the stereotypes about each GLO anyway, and if they want to believe and continue them, it's their decision.

I wouldn't care that they were pissed off at me, my point is that if it's someone you really don't know (and in large chapters, you often DON'T know some of your sisters that well) it's not going to make a damn dent. You need to say to their big or whoever is their best friend in the chapter "hey, Josie has nosebleeds 6 times a day and seems to be way more excited about her new shampoo than a human should be, I think she might have a drug problem, could you speak to her about it?"

While I would say that the only close thing in that blog to a common occurance i've seen at the parties we do is the charging at the door (sometimes chicks are free, depends on the theme of the party and how our funds are looking) and occassionally at the afterparties some drunkass will find a crash test dummies CD out of no where and put it on... All the other stuff I have seen on occassion, coke, orgies, people pulling thier wangs out, sure once in a while but seriously I would say that this is no where near common place every night of the week party stuff.