When will a fraternity die
 

I have just read the article about a Sigma Chi being hurt jumping into a wading pool.
Everybody will be sued for this negligent behavior.
I've read so many posts like this I now must ask when will the first national go under due to an accident or death, when will insurance be so expensive that chapters go local or can't recruit ,when will a national file for chapter 11 reorganization?
I see it coming by 2010 if this behavior doesn't change.

Re: When will a fraternity die
 

Haven't heard of this. Would you please provide a link to the article. Or at least provide some details such as when and where this happened.

Thanks.

Re: When will a fraternity die
 

Unfortunately, you're not the first to ask the question. More unfortunately, it may take one of these things to wake everyone else up.

Re: Re: When will a fraternity die
 

Please see the May 24 Daily Barometer student paper of Oregon State U. A 20-year-old (i.e., underage) young man dived headfirst into a makeshift pool with about 17 inches of water in it. He's in critical condition -- fractured vertrebra and possibly spinal cord injury. There allegedly was drinking involved. The "pool" reportedly was for a party.

http://barometer.orst.edu/vnews/disp.../429353a64dbac

You can get other reports by going to Google News and typing in something like

oregon fraternity critical

or something along that line.

When I saw the news this morning, I thought pretty much what g41965 mentioned: there's the potential for a lawsuit here. Of course, right now I'm just hoping for the best possible medical outcome for the young man.

Edited to add the address for another story from station KATU:

http://www.katu.com/news/story.asp?ID=77356

Also edited to remove the implication that the injured man was a member of the fraternity.

Re: Re: Re: When will a fraternity die
 

First off, my thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Manning and his family.

Second, thank you exlurker for the link. I did a Google search and it didn't produce anything current and/or specific to this topic.


Now to address the original post, this may be important to note from the article.

So even with the proper risk management checklist completed, this gentleman was at this party. And as such, his actions may have put this chapter at risk. Thus simple compliance may not be enough. It seems like more adherence to the rules are needed to insure these unfortunate - and potential life threatening events - do not happen. Otherwise, the alternative may not be that good.

We shall see.

I luv the Sigma Chis, but they sure seem to get more than their share of bad risk management incidents and lawsuits.

Of course, being known as one of the biggest and richest GLOs attracts stuff too.

Next year, probably some other GLO with get the excess attention.

Many and big lawsuits eventually put the KKK out of business, but they never had the assets of a major GLO with 180 chapters.

Who in their right mind wouldn't?

I agree. While not dismissing the risk management issues of Sigma Chi, these incidents may just be the tip of the proverbial iceberg for all GLOs. Sigma Chi IHQ has been diligent (good?) - for the most part - about being up front with risk management issues. And for better or worse, they get more publicity.

Stepping forward now, and addressing these issues in a more public light, may very well benefit the Brotherhood down the line.

Let us hope and pray there are fewer and fewer incidents across the GLO spectrum.

True. Yet an importance difference is that the KKK is inherently evil while GLOs are not. Regardless of what some may think.

I know this is off topic, but the KKK is out of business? when did that happen? I am, of course, against this type of organization, but i do find it hard to beleive that those people invovled with the KKK would let money get in the way of their organization.

The KKK is definitely still around. They have rallies and try to recruit openly around here. They had a rally here in huntington a few years ago. It was not welcomed by the town, but they still do exist.

Re: Re: Re: When will a fraternity die
 

This story sounds familiar...didn't something like this happen within the past year or two? I swear I remember us discussing a story regarding someone who dove into a shallow pool dug into the backyard of a fraternity for a party theme....

And yes, the KKK is still alive and functioning in various places. They are around in Arkansas (where they were either founded or where the "home base" is in Harrison...can't remember for sure, but I know the Ozarks are full of 'em).

PsychTau

The KKK, if I recall, was broken up as a national org by the federal government. They still have local "chapters" but not an official national governing body.

As far as a national GLO getting shut down in 2010 - we'll be lucky if it takes that long.

Two years ago, a well-respected national GLO came very close to having shut down due to liability lawsuits (I won't say which one, but it's one of the biggies), as well as a BGLO came close as well a year or so ago.

I would not be surprised to see one shut down by 2007 at the latest.

I would agree with LXAAlum. I think we will unfortunately see the demise of one (or more?) national fraternity within a few years.

One multi-million dollar judgement against a fraternity is all it would take. It's not hard to imagine a risk management situation that could initiate such a lawsuit. Could a national fraternity survive such a disaster? I'm not so sure. Several national fraternities have great financial resources. On the other hand, many do not.

While all fraternities have liability insurance, its only going to protect them to a point. What if a national fraternity were to lose or have it's liability insurance canceled? Should this happen the national may not be able to operate, effectively shutting down day to day operations. This scenario could prove to be just as deadly to a national as a huge judgment against it.

Is Great Lakes a 'nat'l' party that Sig Chi has? I thought it was local to our campus...could be a coincidence.

I feel horrible for that young man, his family and his chapter. The reality is that no one was egging him on and there is slightly unclear information about if he was drinking. While it does sound like he was, it doesn't sound like it was a fraternity wide sponsored event. I think we need to remember that people being stupid will never change. He probably helped build the pool, he had to have known at some (sober) level that it was way too shallow to dive into. However, (and I'm not call him stupid, but the diving intot he pool) at some point this society has to say that your bad judegement does not make me liable.
/soapbox

Ditto to LXAAlum.

A past COO told me that most Nationals were problematic when it came to Funds as Risk Insurance will keep going higher when many stupid things are done and law suits are filed. Remember whether one wins or loses, there is still a large outlay of money for legal fees.

He also stated that there could be mergers among Nationals for preservation sake. Before turning noses up about this, just take time to think about how stable your own organization is.

Active dues are a monetary input, but not near enough to pay for Staff, IHQs, Regional and National meetings, publications, etc.

Alum donations are a major part of the picture for sure so please give if possible.

Not meaning to preach, but I have gotten so much out of LXA, the Brothers from Chapter and all over, plus being able to meet people such as the GCers which mean a lot.