Sigma Sigma Sigma Closes Missouri State U. Chapter

[cuteASAbug]

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to a sorority with a long history at the school, but that Bartlett girl needs to shut her trap. Everything that she says makes Tri Sigma sound worse.

[AGDee]

Yes, they rarely realize that talking to the press is not a good idea. Losing your chapter is nothing compared to some of the legal trouble we've read about here. Blaming the "greek rules" rather than the law is an interesting take on it also. But, she is a sophomore with a lot of living to do.

[Buttonz]

Originally Posted by cuteASAbug

I'm sorry to hear that this happened to a sorority with a long history at the school, but that Bartlett girl needs to shut her trap. Everything that she says makes Tri Sigma sound worse.

Agreed. If you check out the second link that was posted one of hte sisters wrote a huge reply to the article that make me go .

[cuteASAbug]

Originally Posted by Buttonz

Agreed. If you check out the second link that was posted one of hte sisters wrote a huge reply to the article that make me go .

That's the one I was talking about.


ETA: This may just be the finance person in me, but I would also like to know who was paying for this. Buying alcohol for 60 underage girls isn't just illegal and dumb. It's also expensive.

[LaneSig]

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs...801170388/1007

Some reactions from the parent of one of the freshmen members.

Parents of banished sorority girls upset

Earlier trouble signs existed before an investigation.

Steve Koehler
News-Leader


The newest members of a Missouri State University sorority banished for hazing and underage drinking are caught in limbo.
Sigma Sigma Sigma members were left without a house to live in, the option of joining another sorority or a way to appeal the decision.


Parents expressed anger Tuesday that the sorority's national council pulled the sorority's charter for four years, leaving their daughters without a second chance to experience sorority life. It's the first sorority on campus to lose its charter.

"My daughter's only crime in this whole mess is that she chose the sorority that now appears to have been a sinking ship," Julie Zvacek wrote in an e-mail to the News-Leader about her daughter Kathryn, a freshman. "MSU and TriSigma should not have offered sisterhood to 59 unsuspecting girls going through recruitment in the fall."

For the record, I think it is unfair to blame Tri Sigma national hq for what happened. Why not blame the sisters who allowed it to happen?

[texas*princess]

It is such a shame that the new members will not be able to experience being a Tri-Sigma as a collegiate because of the actions of a few.

My favorite quote from the article:

"Anyone knows college and high school kids drink," she said. "The (Greek) rules don't go with the times there are now. They're outdated."

Ummm, sweetie, they are not just "Greek rules"... they are federal laws that the University and Greek system are abiding by.

[SWTXBelle]

I also think it's sweet that she seems to think that high school and college kids never drank until now - they invented drinking!

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

I also think it's sweet that she seems to think that high school and college kids never drank until now - they invented drinking!

Just like every generation invents sex. We all know our parents couldn't have ever done THAT.

[SWTXBelle]

WHAT??? We didn't invent sex??? I was sure we had in the 80s!

[exlurker]

The Story Continues -- A Lawsuit Begins (Update, May 16, 2008)

As experienced GCers probably expected because it's the way American society is, several women are suing Sigma Sigma Sigma national, the local chapter, the university, and so on.
Excerpt from article on the web site of the News Leader, a local paper:

Their hopes of experiencing the "college sorority experience" dashed, nine former members of a shuttered Springfield sorority filed suit against Missouri State University and several Greek organizations this week.

MSU freshmen Claire Walker, Nicole Buechler, Ashleigh Fountain, Mandy Kisker, Hope Allen, Jillian Otis, Brittany Ortman, Katie Zvacek and Alyssa Ruff all pledged to the local chapter of Sigma Sigma Sigma in November.

Less than two months later, the sorority was shut down after an investigation found members had hazed pledges and played drinking games.

Under Greek rules, its members are now barred from joining another sorority, since they'd already pledged to Sigma Sigma Sigma.

So the nine plaintiffs filed suit Wednesday against MSU, the local and national chapters of the sorority, and a sorority oversight group. The petition also names as a defendant Dixie Williams, assistant director of student activities
. . .

Entire article:

http://www.news-leader.com/apps/pbcs...805160366/1007

Note: I think the author of the article probably misused the word "pledged," since merely pledging, without initiation, doesn't bar a woman from becoming an initiate of another NPC organization. Or is it possible that in some way the school and the local college Panhellenic are interpreting rules to mean that a "pledge" is still binding, even when the chapter is closed? Oh well, we'll probably hear more about this.

Edited Saturday, May 17, to add: In another article

http://ozarksfirst.com/content/fulltext/?cid=21151

there’s this bit of information:
. . .
The university says it was not the decision maker in whether the students could join another sorority. It will aggressively defend its case and has no plans for a settlement.