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I am the President of the housing corporation which owns and operates the Sigma Chi Fraternity at Oregon State University. There seem to be a few inaccuracies in the reporting of this unfortuante incident.
First and foremost, Sigma Chi extends its hopes and prayers to Kevin Manning and his family. Kevin was injured when he dove headfirst into a shallow pool at the Beta Pi chapter of Sigma Chi.
The pool was set up for an approved party at the house on Saturday. Kevin, who had not attended the party, was passing by the house early Sunday morning with some friends. He dove headfirst into the pool before anyone could stop him. Authorities say that he injured himself when he dove in.
Authorities also indicate that Kevin may have been drinking before he had the accident. While this incident did not involve any violation of drinking laws on the part of Sigma Chi, we are saddened that Kevin’s injury may be alcohol related. We recognize that alcohol abuse has become an epidemic among college students and, as a result, Sigma Chi Fraternity takes a very hard line on alcohol abuse in our chapters.
Certainly incidents such as this have an impact upon our Greek system as a whole. While this particular incident was a result of poor judgment on the part of a non-member, trespassing upon the premises, Sigma Chi will likely bear the burden of dealing with this issue for years to come.
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