Pi Lambda Phi-CNU Suspended
 

I don't know much about the situation, so here are the articles:

http://www.thecaptainslog.org/2011/0...ue-to-alcohol/

"An apparent incident during the Christopher Newport University’s chapter of Pi Lambda Phi party Friday night led a new member to be taken to Riverside Hospital due to alcohol poisoning early Saturday morning, according to officials."
It was an off-campus party, and brothers of the chapter were the ones who took him to the hospital and stayed with him there.

http://www.thecaptainslog.org/2011/0...al-suspension/

"In a phone interview, Ian Lowe, Director of Chapter Operations at Pi Lambda Phi International, confirmed that the CNU chapter has been placed on operational suspension by internationals."

As of yesterday, four members have been expelled, and all of the new members (except the one that got alcohol poisoning) were given alcohol violations by the school. This issue has sparked lots of problems at my school, including teachers saying that we should get rid of Greek life entirely. Today there is an unsanctioned protest planned:
http://www.thecaptainslog.org/2011/0...a-phi-members/
Unfortunately the event is now a secret event on Facebook, and even though I was invited to it, I said I wasn't going and deleted it from my profile, so I can't view it either.

In general, would you say that there have been overreactions to a situation like this? 3 out of the 5 sororities told their members not to go to the protest today, and as far as I know, 2 out of the 7 fraternities were told the same thing.

See, this is what's messed up. They tried to do the right thing by taking him to the hospital and got punished for it.

And if I wanted to go to a protest....I would go whether my sorority said I could or not. I wouldn't wear letters maybe, but if I agreed with the point of it, I would go.

The four students expelled include the President and New Member educator, along with two other brothers, for charges including hazing and providing alcohol to minors.
The fraternity is suspended until 2014 as well.
Other information that I was just told: the new member is question said he wasn't hazed, that he continually said it was his decision to drink that much.
The president had this to say about the protest:
'I just need to state that this is not a protest organized by Pi Lambda Phi. While we encourage the support, we are currently under operational suspension and need to keep a low profile. We will not directly involve ourselves in this protest, but we truly appreciate your support. We hope this event makes the appropriate statement to the CNU Administration."

It is good that his brothers took him to the hospital and stayed with him instead of letting him "sleep it off" or dropping him off at the hospital door.

This is a teachable moment. Not every teachable moment has to be a punishable moment. The University can do more campus programs on alcohol and/or place posters around campus reminding students how to be safe at on-campus and off-campus parties.**

Punishing these people and talking about doing away with Greek Life (only fools who didn't like Greek Life in the first place go to that extreme) do not accomplish anything.

**There are colleges and universities that have mandatory classes on alcohol for first year students; have posters and safe-tips around campus year-round; and encourage ALL students (not just GLOs) to be responsible. That doesn't mean that underage drinkers are encouraged to drink (not every college student drinks under the age of 21) but it means students are told to drink responsibly, and not to binge drink, no matter how old they are.

This doesn't even (on its face) appear to be a hazing incident. I really question the judgment of these administrators for expelling students who just did the right thing when someone overindulged, potentially saving a life.

What sort of message does that send to the next students who might have to deal with a pledge who is dangerously intoxicated?

I would go far as to say what sort of message does this send to the entire student body? If you are responsible and take your friend who may have had too much to drink to the hospital, you will face expulsion. So instead, you should save your own hide and not do anything and have a potential death. Ridiculous.

I hope that if any of the Phi Nus go to the protest they do not do it in letters.

Agree wholeheartedly. A similar incident happend a few years ago with the Alpha Kappa Lambda chapter at Truman State University (MO). A pledge, on his own accord, drank too much at a party. Some brothers recognized that he was suffering alcohol poisoning and took him to the ER for help. The officers of the chapter reported the incident to the Greek Life Office at TSU. The result of their actions (and honesty): a 2 year suspension from the campus.

If students think they will be punished when something wrong happens, they won't seek the help that is needed.

That was extremely admirable and surprisingly mature on their part. It seems as though they followed protocol and procedures every step of the way.

It is unfortunate that their forwardthinkingness (word?) was met with punishment. The illegal nature of underage drinking aside, we can't tell college students/young adults to think and be responsible but then punish them when they think and are responsible. They should not be treated like teenagers unless they act like teenagers.

Potentially... in CNU's defense, I'd want to know whether the alcohol poisoning was due to some sort of hazing. If that was the case, then I'm fine with expulsion and criminal charges being brought. If this was just some 19 year old kid going full retard, I'm in the camp who thinks CNU is acting very irresponsibly.

Thankfully, nothing bad happened at the protest today. There were a lot of greeks there, but they weren't in letters, and if they were, they covered them up or took them off. Most of the media was sent away (TV crews from the local station and the Daily Press) because no one would talk to them, but there was this article written up:
http://www.dailypress.com/news/educa...,1570686.story

I personally did not participate in the protest, but there was a lot of support for the chapter and for the tentatively expelled members.

The thing about people going to this protest and taking off their letters/not wearing letters go against everything fraternity and sorority life stands for. No matter what, once you are initiated you are ALWAYS in your letters. It doesn't matter if you are physically wearing them or not. You are always in letters, especially at a small school like CNU where everyone knows who you are and what fraternity/sorority you are in.

Not necessarily.

I'm thinking that was more so the press didn't go ape and focus on them (OMG SORORITY SUPPORTS FRATERNITY THEY MUST BE THEIR HOES OMG) rather than believing that any students wouldn't know that ASA Annie or KDR Kurt was there, letters on or not.

I think that while the letters rule usually applies, this particular situation is a little different:

- People who attend the protest are expressing a personal opinion and are thus representing themselves instead of their affiliated organizations. While people can still draw the connection, it is important to emphasize that the opinion is a personal one.

- They may face possibly unfair sanctions if they are identified. Of course, administration can do the additional work and figure out who is involved, but considering the circumstances, not wearing letters is a measure of protecting their organization instead of what's right/wrong.

- The protesters are speaking out on behalf of Greek life in general. For this protest, it doesn't really matter what organization they're in.

If the reports really are what they say, then I think the administration was very irresponsible in how they handled the situation. They need to remember that organizations can sometimes continue to operate without campus or HQ recognition, and if this happens, the situation becomes a real pain. This has actually been a real issue at my university, where there are a few chapters that openly advertise alcohol during recruitment.