U. of Michigan Sorority Will Press Charges
 

A sorority at the U. of Michigan will press charges in the case of illegal entry into their house (allegedly to steal composites). One of the chapter officers is quoted as indicating that it's a security issue. Several members of a fraternity were arrested in the incident, which is reported in the Michigan Daily.

http://www.michigandaily.com/vnews/d.../41b455f173591

As many GCers will recall, the U. of Michigan has seen a lot of negative incidents involving Greeks over the last couple of years or so. This doesn't help.

My opinion is that the sorority is doing the right thing from the standpoint of sisters' safety and general risk management principles.

Who is pressing the charges?

Is it the international sorority? The local alums/housing board? The current undergrad chapter members?

It was a prank...I know it was foolish but you are about to ruin some kids' lives over this.

-Rudey

Putting the intent of the break-in aside, I'm glad they're pressing charges. Doing so tells everyone that they don't take this crap lightly, and anyone who tries to break in will be punished!

Sure, it was composites they were after, but what'll happen if G-d forbid, someone breaks in and assaults one of the sisters? No one likes the fact that someone broke into their house, ask anyone who's ever been burglarized...it's a sense of violation and you have a hard time feeling like you're safe.

I agree, they need to be punished...this year it is a composite and then next year what are they going to take? Composites are pretty expensive and I would hate for any sorority or fraternity to have to try and replace their composites because of a fraternity prank.

From what I understand composite "stealing" is common on many campuses. I don't think it's so much that they took it, as it is that they broke in to do so - that's different than having people over for an event and them leaving with it. People that you don't know well entering thru your bathroom is just major ick factor.

I know my house would take the security thing very seriously, considering a certain infamous event where security was breached... if you know what I mean.

Not technically. They are having charges brought against them for something that they decided to do. They've ruined their own lives; whether it was mean spirited or not, prank or not, breaking and entering is illegal.

cosign. I don't care if it was a composite. What if it had been a computer? Would it still be a prank? What if the people stealing the composite weren't greek, what if they were high school boys? Let's look at this... 1) enter a girls bathroom (in the residential part of the house, I assume. Where a woman might have been showering or doing something else private) 2) poke around in the house looking for what they wanted 3) TAKE something they did not pay for simply for shits and giggles. 4) think that because they said it was a prank that it was OK. Anyone else seeing something wrong with that?

Not technically what?

I don't disagree that a law was broken. I just think it's harsh is all. They might not think the same way as I do, but I'm not pressing the charges.

It does make me wonder though, who is pressing the charges. I am curious as to how things like this work.

-Rudey

From my understanding fraternities and sororities have often kidnapped each others mascots and composites. It makes all the difference that it is a composite and not a computer and that it is a fraternity and not high school boys.

Your what if situations don't make sense here to me.

-Rudey

I think the problem with this situation, unlike other pranks that we've heard about involving composite swapping, is the method by which it was stolen- breaking in through the women's bathroom, at 4 in the morning.

Also not smart on the men's part because many young women are trained in self defense now adays. I'd imagine that if a man broke into your dwelling at 4am someone could get seriously injured.

As someone who's apartment had been broken into in the past, it is a MAJOR violation of your feeling of personal safety. It's hard to describe to someone who's never dealt with it.

I def. agree 100%.

The year before I started college a pledge class from a different school broke into our house during their hell week for a panty raid and two of our members wound up in the hospital and two other members wound up with broken arms. It was not a funny situation.

Only the police and prosecutor's office can decide when to press charges. The chapter and HCB only have the ability to decide whether or not to bring a civil suit.

It may seem like a prank at the time, but can get out of hand.

We had an (Unnamed Fraterity) come into our house and steal the only Composite of the Local I started. I was livid. When I got back home from the visit, I emailed that chapter and IHQ.

Plainly put it, get it back or I would prefer charges.

We got it back damaged. According to the Fraternity, they were going to suspend the people responsible for the theft.

Theft, the taking of property that does not belong to said person.

Breaking and entering, entering without permission through distruction of property.

Nice signature, love it!:D :cool:

I beleive it says Theta Chi and Tri Delta, and I hate to see things like this escalate this far. 15 years is a long damn time!:(

Two words: Ted Bundy.

If someone can break into your house to steal a composite (prank or no prank), someone can break in for much more evil purposes.

While I don't like to see these guys get criminal records, somebody has to draw the line. Good for the sorority involved!!

I don't know how Delta Delta Delta's House Corporation is set up, but if the individual chapter house is owned by the local House Corp, it would most likely be them who would be pressing charges.

Maybe I'm reading too far between the lines here, but it sounds like some of the girls may have gotten sexually assaulted or harassed or things other than the composite were stolen. The article implies that there was more going on than just composite-stealing.

While composite-"borrowing" is pretty common on my campus, breaking and entering in order to do it is not. If the girls feel unsafe by the circumstances surrounding this prank, I definitely agree with pressing charges. You have to send a message about what's okay -- and if stealing composites is okay but breaking into the house to do it is not, then by all means press charges. Otherwise, what's next?

And yes, ISUKappa, I'm pretty sure that's how it works.

So it's alums?

-Rudey

Again, I can't speak for Delta Delta Delta, but our House Board/House Corporation is comprised of alumnae volunteers. It would be the alumnae acting on behalf of the House Corporation, which is its own legal entity.

Composite borrowing is something that happens pretty regularly here on campus and the proper procedure is to have your chapter president e-mail the other chapters president so that we know the composite will be taken and to expect it. Also so we know where the composite is.

If someone didn't follow procedure or broke in I would hope that they would be prosecuted simply because procedure is there for a reason. Also generally it is harder to take the sorority composites because of alarms or door codes. We did have an instance when I was a freshman when a fraternity pledge broke into our house and charges were pressed. Alcohol was involved but we still pressed charges to show we weren't impressed by the so-called prank. People felt unsafe and wanted to move out because of the incident. In that case the girl whose room was entered illegally pressed charges because some of her things were stolen.

I interpreted the article the way you did. It seems that the men were there for more than just the composites.

If men broke into my home through a bathroom window at 4 AM when I was in college, I would have been terrified. I'd be terrified if it happened now.

While there wasn't anything official at UK that I know of, getting approval and some sort of "inside help" - usually from the chapter president or social chair - was the norm "way back when".

Often, it was the sorority's House Mother who would be in on it and the one to help out. I recall that one time, a chapter's composite was "borrowed" and it was hidden in the House Mother's room/apartment until it could be sneaked out.

In any case, the idea was that you would leave some sort of clue - maybe a beverage holder with your letters on it near by, or a note with a clue - and the sorority chapter would then come to your house and serenade you to get it back. Usually, the women would be invited in for an "impromptu" mixer. Then with a lot of pomp and ceremony, the composite would be returned.

Just to get back on track, the charges aren't really about "borrowing" composites, but rather about breaking and entering and broaching the security at a sorority house.

Whoever is filing the charges -- chapter or house corp -- is doing the correct thing in my opinion. To let this kind of thing slide sets a very dangerous precedent.

Please also keep in mind that another chapter on UM's campus was broken into earlier this week (before the TChi/DDD incident) in a similar way--a burglar who has not been identified came up the fire escape and broke in though a window, stealing $2,000 in cash and several laptops (reportedly).

So "break-ins" on this campus are being taken seriously right now, as they should be. I'm not saying the two incidents are related....but you can imagine why people are on high-alert.

Perhaps related to this. What would happen if a fraternity came to kidnap a composite and the chapter enjoyed that sorta thing and didn't file charges, but it was the house corp and alums that wanted to? Has this happened before?

-Rudey

Good question. I don't know if it ever has happened. In Delt, a couple of the undergraduate officers of most chapters either sit on or attend the House Corp meetings, and I suspect some accomodation could be met if there was a disagreement.

I have a suspicion that fraternities and sororities different and that alums for sororities probably get more say...

-Rudey

I got more information from someone "in the know" on campus who actually gets the police reports and she said that the police were called before they knew who had broken in, the boys ran from the police and one, when caught, assaulted a police officer.

Overall, this was a case poor judgment which escalated to an extreme situation. I have to say, if I was in bed and heard someone breaking into a bathroom near me, I would call the police also, rather than getting up to see who it was.

And you would be using the proper response!

I know that I'm a little too much into the whole crime thing, but in case y'all never heard it, Ted Bundy was never apprehended for breaking & entering or murdering - he was always caught on a (poor) driving charge. Even after he killed the two and assaulted two other sorority members in Florida. You can't play it "too safe"!

As a former Corp. President and Alum of that chapter, yes our organization does allow for a member to be present and discuss chapter needs. The theft thing has NEVER been taken likely at the campus I advise. We have had our original charter stolen and multiple composites stolen. As collegiates and Alums we both agree that this is not OK. I think Alums get far more upset about it than the collegiates. However, we do take the imput of the collegiates into consideration. But the housing corp has the final say. Also, our housing corp does not need to be made up of Alumnae. It can be parents, friends, whoever. It is the job of the housing corp to protect the best interests of the members as well as the house. Safety first!

The chapter I advise now is on the west coast and things here are vastly different than at other schools. I attended a large mid-western school with a strong greek presence. "Borrowing" composites there was perfectly acceptible. However, at the school I advise now, that is not the case. Most of the time the composites are somehow damaged. They are not returned in original condition. They are not taken knowingly.