|
Wisconsin chapters tend to be more lackadaisical about rules. I think part of it is that the majority of us are very far removed from our headquarters, and because on many of the satellite (ie, non-Madison) campuses, the local groups are very prevalent and the national groups may feel they have to break rules in order to remain competitive.
Wisconsin's drinking culture really is unlike that of a lot other places - people feel it really is their God-given right to consume a beer whenever they desire one, regardless of the law.
I have attended two UW system schools (one for summer school) and graduated from MU. I saw every single fraternity at Platteville engage in poor risk management, ranging from a keg on the front lawn to attempting to steal ritual equipment from another chapter. I saw chapters at Whitewater drinking on their front lawn in the middle of the day and rolling kegs down the street. I saw a chapter at Marquette lose their house, and I've witnessed chapters at Marquette and Platteville haze.
My boyfriend's chapter was founded with the intention of being different, and 90% of the time, they are, but this also hurts them to some extent - they had very negative interGreek relations for a long time, and my freshman year, I heard all about how they weren't a "real" fraternity because they didn't beat the snot out of their new members.
I understand why chapters have these attitudes - at some point, some members decided it was a good idea and then there was alumni pressure. My chapter was engaging in some activities similar to that of sugar and spice's, and we got in a LOT of trouble for it. Meanwhile, one fraternity is making their pledges run around naked and another one is engaging in activities that would work hoosier into a frenzy.
I think thee are definite exceptions to this on every campus - but how much have they been stigmatized??? In Wisconsin, following risk management guidelines, especially within fraternities, is not "cool." I would love to see this change because so much of the behavior that occurs is absolutely ridiculous.
From what lifesaver says, it sounds like the chapter in discussion in this thread could have handled it internally and did not. They should have, and it would have saved us this discussion. If nothing else, maybe it will be a wakeup call for a lot of other Wisconsin GLOs to think about whether this behavior is worth losing their charter.
|