Cornell: Allegations of Racial Taunting, Throwing of Objects, etc.
 

See the Cornell Sun's web site for more detailed article. Please remember that the alleged incident is under investigation.

http://www.cornellsun.com/section/ne...lack-students-

A short excerpt – initial paragraph of article – is below:

"Citing Trayvon Martin, People Allegedly Threw Bottles at Black Students From Fraternity Roof

May 6, 2012
By Jeff Stein

Allegedly taunting them with references to Trayvon Martin, a group of people on the roof of the Sigma Pi fraternity house reportedly threw bottles and other objects at black students who were walking by the house early Sunday morning, according to several accounts. . . ."

It's already stupid for brothers to be on the roof, but what kind of event calls for randoms to be on your house's roof?

1.) Maybe an alumnus had just donated a super high powered deluxe telescope and people were really up there to check out nearby galaxies?

2.) Who needs a reason when (possibly) drunk/high on a weekend?

Seriously, the alleged incident sounds like a risk management nightmare (the risks of falls from roofs being as frequent and well-known as it is) as well as a public relations horror story.

Yet another good reason for guest lists and for social events to not be held at your house. To be letting randoms on your roof though while inebriated is just insane.

Alleged perpetrator reportedly identified; was reportedly NOT a brother of Sigma Pi; see:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/the-co...b_1496841.html

“Sigma Pi President Zach Smith '13 said in an email Sunday afternoon that the fraternity has "figured out who the perpetrator was, and will turn his name over to police." The individual identified was not a brother of the fraternity, he said. “

ETA See the next post from exlurker. Apparently the perpetrator is a Sigma Pi from another chapter who was just visiting Cornell.

Update -- the following is reported by the student paper:

"I want to assure you that the person who committed the acts on Saturday night/Sunday morning was not a brother in our chapter. He is a Sigma Pi visiting from another university,"

For the article where it appears, see
http://www.cornellsun.com/section/ne...nity-says-stat

Reportedly there's some question about how many people on the roof were involved in the alleged actions; see

http://www.cornellsun.com/section/ne...pi-controversy

Comment: If this "visiting" person is in fact a Sigma Pi from another chapter, and if he in fact was the perpetrator of the alleged activities, I wonder what his chapter (and Sigma Pi HQ) will do? Time will tell, I guess.
How do you solve a problem like whatever-his-name-is . . .

Just to clear up the roof safety, their roof is not a "roof" in the typical sense. It is a terrace designed to be used for socializing.

Here is a video of it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PzslS...layer_embedded

As one might have expected, both Cornell and Sigma Pi HQ have temporarily suspended the Cornell chapter pending the outcome of the investigation(s). See

http://www.ithacaindy.com/2012050911...acial-Taunting

A man has admitted to being the person who threw cans, etc. He has been fined and Cornell has banned him from its campus. See

http://www.ithacaindy.com/fla-man-fi...-incident/958/

I'm a student at Cornell and let me tell you that this incident only added more negative attention to the pile that the Greek Life there already had. The system is big at the school (partially because Ithaca is in the middle of nowhere), but the student body typically has very mixed feelings about it; and the SAE incident last year only exacerbated that.

One could also say that the perceived exclusivity of many of the fraternities and sororities there also highlights the inclusion issues of much of the student body, but that's another story. Diversity doesn't mean anything if the students can't look at each other without fear.