Quote:
Originally Posted by FuzzieWuzzie
Um, as a member of Alpha Xi Delta and a black woman I am embarrassed and I feel that the punishment is justified. These ladies were representing their organization, their school and themselves. All 3 were let down. Just because it’s a "black" museum, would it make it any better if they were at the natural history museum and started playing baseball with a dinosaur bone? NO!! It would not.
The freedom center is a beautiful building, with gorgeous views. My wedding reception of 250 was held there. It is a venue that can really make a memorable event. So when you say they have never had an event there, that BS.
Additionally I also feel that the women of Pi Beta Phi should have received the same treatment. You state that these women showed total disregard for others, well so did AXiD. I think that the punishments should have been equalized but we don’t know all of the other things that were going on behind the scenes.
And on reading more and more about these incidents, (because it’s on every news & radio station here in Cincinnati) it reminds me as to the reason I chose not to attend Miami for my undergrad. IMO, everything there turns into a black or white thing. But I digress; I won’t get started on that tangent.
But bad behavior is bad behavior.
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The center definitely does appear to be a place with gorgeous views as I saw for the first time on the news the other night. I would actually be inclined to go visit were it not for the lack of professionalism shown by their staff in addressing this matter (their spokesman going on the radio to trash the sorority, etc.).
Saying that "everything there turns into a black or white thing" is beyond hilarious- I'm not even going to dignify that with a response. We're glad you went elsewhere.
If there's one thing I will agree with you on, it's that the punishments should have been (at least) equalized. Like I said before, I'm not arguing that Fuzzie should have gotten off scot-free. But their sentencing came after Pi Phi's, and to give them twice as much of a punishment in light of the details is reproachable.
Get the chip off your shoulder, in no way did I nor do I intend to suggest that it being a black history museum makes it less important than any other museum. You'll note that I said that the actions of the only student who approached a monument in any way were completely unacceptable.
However, I think if you (and anyone else) takes an honest look at this situation, if we exclude the incident mentioned above, this all would be boiling down to the Freedom Center biting off more than they could chew and now having buyer's remorse. The DJ told the Freedom Center staff prior to the event that the sorority had been banned from BB Riverboats, where they'd previously held an event, for being too out of hand. This almost undoubtedly changed expectations and how they approached the night, and they included this in their letter to Miami. Of course, BB Riverboats has now come out and said that was entirely untrue. If you haven't already read the actual letter from the Freedom Center, I suggest you do so. I have a feeling some of the outrage stems from the fact that people are considering these two incidents one in the same rather than separately looking at them objectively and tearing them apart piece by piece.
So lets do just that. The Freedom Centers' complaints were as follows:
1) The students brought their own alcohol into the center.
Well, by their spokesman's own admission, they were providing alcohol for the attendees, so basically doesn't this just boil down to them wanting to get paid while the attendees get drunk? Much the same as how baseball stadiums won't allow you to bring in anything more than peanuts and water but of course, if you want a slice of pizza or a hot pretzel they'll be more than happy to allow you to consume one in the stadium as long as you pay their price.
So with that, not a big deal at all, but something worth a little bit of punishment.
2) Girl is too inebriated upon arrival and her date curses sorority members and staff.
Standard procedure for these sorority events is that if you're too out of control, you are sent home in a taxi on your own dime rather than allowed in. They did the correct thing in arranging for a taxi and they even tried to get her date in line. The girls did everything right here. In this case, there is likely no problem identifying the individual in question, so he should be penalized individually under the code of conduct.
3) Couples (presumably) having sex in the family restroom
Not classy, but guess what? You have 'family' restrooms and they are doing their business outside of public view. Again, not classy but not illegal, nor is it anything that I would think could be sanctioned under the code of conduct.
4) Bathrooms trashed/girls vomiting
Not good, but some of this has to be expected with a formal. Girls vomiting doesn't surprise me at all, the bathrooms being in somewhat poor shape is unsurprising. I agree that there should be some punishment for this, but this isn't on the same level as people purposely pooping because they think it's funny like at the Pi Phi formal.
5) Guy tries to pee on exhibit and then service elevator
Again, something that was in no way condoned by the sorority, and I assure you they will (if they haven't already) give up his name in a heartbeat. So punish him for his pathetic behavior under the code of conduct. This isn't like the Pi Phi situation--the Fuzzie girls weren't sitting there laughing/cheering on this kid as he acted like a clown. The fuzzie I spoke at length with about this situation was livid about what he did. By no means was this encouraged by the group.
6) Drinks spilled on dance floor
Not surprising at all, although some punishment is warranted if it was done as nonchalantly as the letter suggests, rather than being the result of people bumping into each other as ~250-300 people try to dance. I've been to numerous formals/on numerous dance floors (including with some of the girls that attended this), and I've not seen someone just blatantly throw down their drink--the people nearby would kick their rear end for getting it on them.
I suspect, both from the tone of the letter and what I know, that this was largely a case of the Freedom Center staff being told what they were by the DJ and then seeing things the way they wanted to see them. Perhaps they have the same attitude as the poster I'm responding to, and saw a bunch of white girls come into their center and decided to make it a black/white thing. No doubt something should be done, but this incident didn't even come close to being on par with the Pi Phi situation. Yes, it should be punished more harshly considering the venue, but even then 2 years is overboard. Realistically, Fuzzie should have gotten social probation if it was just at a random place. Given it was at the freedom center, I would agree a semester (or maybe even year) long suspension is in order. However, if that is going to be the case, Pi Phi's suspension should be no less than 2 years. Having the punishments the way they are (reversed) is a complete misappropriation of justice.
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