PiKA Natl. tells CSU to "eat dirt"

[hoosier]

Fraternity Won't Revoke CSU Charter After 'Rise And Ralphs'

University Officials Disappointed With Pi Kappa Alpha's National Board

September 22, 2005

FORT COLLINS, Colo. -- The national headquarters of Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity said it will not revoke the charter of its Fort Collins chapter, even though Colorado State University is withdrawing official recognition of the group for the next seven years.


The school said Sept. 8 that it was stripping Pi Kappa Alpha of its status as a student organization -- one week after early-morning binge drinking parties called "Rise and Ralph," involving eight Greek organizations.

Pi Kappa Alpha was the most-severely punished of the groups.

Executive director Eric Wulf of the Memphis-based fraternity said punishing an entire chapter with no formal charges or hearing is not a proper educational response -- and that withdrawing recognition does not address personal accountability.

Investigators at CSU said the "Pikes" not only kicked off one party, but also had a long history of alcohol-related problems.

Campus life executive director Anne Hudgens said it's the first time in school history that CSU hasn't "worked in partnership" with a national organization like the fraternity's headquarters.

She said the group is no longer accountable to its peers or the university. Because its school recognition has been revoked, the fraternity can no longer have a presence on campus or interact with other Greek organizations, she said.

Many of the students who attended the parties either skipped school, or went to class drunk, she said. The parties are called "rise and ralphs" because they occurred at about 5 a.m. and students try to drink until they vomit.

The parties took place Sept. 1 and held at several fraternity houses and private homes. The parties were to celebrate the end of sorority recruiting. But the parties also occurred nearly one year to the day after a CSU sophomore Sam Spady died of alcohol poisoning at another fraternity house. After her death, the school banned alcohol inside all the Greek houses.

The Phi Kappa Phi fraternity, Chi Omega sorority and Delta, Delta, Delta sorority were also suspended and Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity and Kappa Kappa Gamma, Pi Beta Phi and Gamma Phi Beta sororities have been put on social probation.