Pi Kappa Phi Suspends U of Calif.- Berkeley Chapter

[exlurker]

An alleged hazing incident involving 30 BB gun shots is being investigated. Pending the outcome of that inquiry, Pi Kappa Phi has suspended its chapter at Berkeley.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/argus/localnews/ci_2662828

Yes, it's that Berkeley -- the "crown jewel" in the University of California system.

As you might expect, there's a quote from the chapter president indicating that guys in that house often play around with BB guns:

"Guys play around with them in the chapter house all the time."


I'm really reluctant to get into anything even slightly associated with "right to bear arms" issues, but gosh almighty, BB guns can injure, as many generations of dads and moms have reminded kids.

[Kevlar281]

The title of this thread is a bit misleading; Gamma's activities have been suspended for sixty days while the investigation is ongoing. I hope everything works out; I've visited the chapter durring Jounrey of Hope and there all a great group of guys.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by Kevlar281
The title of this thread is a bit misleading; Gamma's activities have been suspended for sixty days while the investigation is ongoing. I hope everything works out; I've visited the chapter durring Jounrey of Hope and there all a great group of guys.

Sounds like they could use some Kevlar -- the armour stuff -- though.

IF it's true, this is one of the dumber things I've heard recently.

A little slip and bye-bye eye.

As for the title - suspend=suspend, whether for 60 days or longer, seems to me.

But of course we all hope things work out for the chapter.

[exlurker]

A few sentences from an update on the San Francisco Chronicle's site:

. . . The student, whose name was withheld, was forced by 15 members of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity to the house at 2908 Channing Way and attacked at about 11 p.m. Friday, said Berkeley police Officer Steve Rego.

The young men took turns using two BB guns to shoot the pledge, Rego said.

When the victim sought treatment at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center in Oakland, nurses shocked by the welts and bruises on his body notified police, Rego said.

The three suspects, ages 19, 20 and 23, have been identified . . ., Rego said. But they will likely not face charges because the victim doesn't want to prosecute, authorities said.

UC Berkeley officials are also investigating the incident.

Fraternity officials did not respond to requests for comment today.. .

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/articl...5/hazing15.TMP

Edited to add: The San Francisco - San Jose - Oakland CBS station has a few more details from the police. According to the story on their web site members also tried to get the pledge to smoke marijuana and drink alcohol, but he refused. The story says no one was answering the phone at the Berkeley chapter and the fraternity's national president was not immediately available for comment. I think if -- IF -- the statements by the police represent what in fact happened, it doesn't look good, unfortunately.

http://cbs5.com/localwire/localnews/...ource_bcn_html

[Pi Kapp 142]

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cg...AG0PC9U621.DTL

http://www.pikapp.org/collegiate/cha...discipline.cfm

[mmcat]

bb gun shootings are supposed to grow brotherhood?
right.

[Tom Earp]

Damn, even made KC TV Media this morning.

From the looks of broken house letters and a ratty ass couch, there are more problems there than meets the eye!

[exlurker]

Update April 22 '05: Pi Kappa Phi Expels Three Members

Three members involved in the BB gun shooting have been expelled from Pi Kappa Phi, according to the online Daily Californian:

http://www.dailycal.org/article.php?id=18450

The investigation continues.

[exlurker]

"Interim Suspension" by Berkeley Pending Further Investigation (Update April 25)

Berkeley has issued a press release saying the university has put Pi Kappa Phi on "interim suspension." The statement also describes what might be done pending the outcome of the school's investigation, which is separate from any criminal investigation that may be going on:

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/r...5_hazing.shtml

[SigmaPezY60]

It is unfortunate that this had to happen. It is important to keep in mind that NOT ALL chapters of Pi Kappa Phi are like that.

So hopefully few of you will judge their organization based on an incident in one chapter. I'm sure that most of you have chapters that do not make your organization look great.

I am a member of a Local Sorority, founded on the dance floor of Pi Kapp's BA chapter @ NJIT. As much as I would love to expand and have chapters accross the US. I am greatful that I do not have to worry about other chapters giving us a bad reputation.

It's important to remember though...that when a Hazing issue makes national headlines. It doesn't just make Pi Kappa Phi look bad. It makes ALL fraternities look bad...and ALL sororities too. It is bad PR for Greek Life Everywhere.

So learn from this. Don't let your organization make headlines for hazing....Make headlines for raising money for charity, helping build a house for Habitat for Humanity, for earning the Highest GPA's, for the good stuff.

For every hazing headline we need to have 10 positive PR headlines. That's the only way that the general public is going to realize that we're not all about parties, hazing, and ditching class.

Graceanne

[exlurker]

Pi Kappa Phi Closes at Berkeley (Update July 5, 2005)

The University of California at Berkeley has announced that Pi Kappa Phi will close for a year. There will be many conditions placed upon it if the chapter returns. Excerpts from the Berkeley press release (the address for the whole press release is at the end of this post):

A University of California, Berkeley, fraternity chapter involved last spring in a hazing incident in which a student was shot dozens of times with a pellet gun, will be closed for a year and forced to start fresh with new membership, campus officials announced today (Tuesday, July 5).

The fraternity will not be allowed to resume operations as a UC Berkeley chapter until August 2006 and only then amid a host of conditions, restrictions and close oversight by the campus administration and the fraternity's national headquarters.

The sanctions taken against Pi Kappa Phi fraternity were reached as part of a settlement agreement between the campus and the fraternity and represent the most severe and comprehensive disciplinary action that UC Berkeley has taken against a fraternity in several years, said Karen Kenney, the campus's dean of students.

"UC Berkeley has a zero-tolerance policy on hazing, and the offenses in this case were especially shocking and disturbing," said Kenney. "Strong disciplinary action was called for and is appropriate."

The complete press release is on one of Berkeley's web pages at:

http://www.berkeley.edu/news/media/r...aternity.shtml

[Kevlar281]

Official News Release

[Tom Earp]

Good, if the foo shits, then one must wear it!

God, Please Ask Me to Be President of School, Not IFC!

Froot Loops is Out, Logic should reign!

[hoosier]

Hidden away at the end of the article in the San Jose newspaper was this reveavling thought, that they didn't want a "renegade/unaffiliated" chapter:

"It also came as college administrators nationwide tackled similar problems. At Chico State, officials dramatically reformed that school's Greek system after Pleasant Hill native Matthew Carrington died during a hazing incident.

"Carrington's fraternity had been expelled from campus in 2002 for numerous violations, a fact not lost on UC Berkeley administrators as they considered punishments for Pi Kappa Phi. Rather than expel the chapter and risk a similar result, the university gave the fraternity a year to clean up its act, said Dean of Students Karen Kenney.

"We would have had no control over the members" if the university had revoked the fraternity's charter, she said. "We could have had a renegade chapter crop up in a house or apartment complex."

[hoosier]

Making a Lot of Lemonade
Though Life May Have Soured for Pi Kappa Phi Members, Some Good Can Still Be Salvaged
By SAM KIM
Monday, July_18, 2005
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As most anyone can expect, I’ve had a lot of people ask me how I felt regarding the recent punishments that have been levied on my fraternity, Pi Kappa Phi. To them I can only say, “What do you think?” While it is a crushing blow to a fraternity that has given and taught me a lot, I’m glad that our existence here at Berkeley remains intact, albeit in a vague semblance of its original self

I guess the most frustrating aspect about the whole ordeal is the lack of transparency in the university investigation. The university conducted their investigation and punished us accordingly for what they believed we did; I have no objections with that. However, a part of me always wonders what the pledge (who, to the extent of my knowlege, was shot with an Airsoft gun, not a BB gun) told them and if the university simply took his word at face value and discredited those who testified on our behalf.

Furthermore, the oh-so-enjoyable media has created such a negative image of our fraternity that I don’t even bother trying to explain our side of the story anymore. While there were certain parts of the story that carry validity, other parts of the story were largely overexaggerated. For those who are willing to lend an ear, I would just like to clarify that this type of hazing that we were found guilty of is not any type of the norm for my fraternity.

When reading about what happened and formulating a horrid image of Pi Kappa Phi in your mind, ask yourself one question: “What self-respecting person would join a fraternity who shot him with an Airsoft gun numerous times?” That’s right, no one. Our membership of more than 30 people testifies to the fact that this is not something we practice regularly. I’m the first to admit that this incident should not have happened. Many members in our fraternity, including myself, were angered when they heard about what happened and appropriately rebuked those responsible. What happened was not right and I apologize to that pledge for having to endure it

I openly admit that we screwed up with the hazing, but the other violations that we were punished harshly for, throwing parties, is something I have a little trouble accepting. Throwing parties is what fraternities do, bottom line. In my time as Interfraternity Council Vice President for Risk Management, I’ve seen many fraternities punished for the same violation. I don’t necessarily feel that this is a problem that can solely be placed on the Greek community’s shoulders; the university has been less than responsive towards any attempt at changing the status quo. The current Greek Social Code (party handbook for those non-Greeks) forces fraternities to jump through hoops, plan months in advance, and pay thousands of dollars to throw a legal party. With this new moratorium, this further exemplifies the unwillingness of the university to work together with us, but rather press on with its own agenda.

I know exactly what many of you must be thinking: “Poor frat boys and sorority girls who can’t have their booze.” Let me be the first to say that I would have been thinking the same thing before I became Greek. The Greek community supplements a person’s college experience and develops a person in ways a classroom cannot. Being Greek has provided me with friends, opportunities for leadership, and exposure to a diverse group of people. Many of those who have had the biggest impact on me have been those I’ve met in the Greek community. Greek organizations do not only exist to party; we are organizations who pride ourselves on leadership, academic excellence and philanthropy. Just this past Relay for Life, the two teams who raised the most money were Greek affiliated. Moreover, my fraternity alone has raised over $30,000 this past year to help people with disabilities. So before you go discounting Greeks and labeling us as selfish, vain alcoholics, know that Greeks are normal college students—we like to have fun, yes, but we also do positive things for the community.

Although I am disappointed that I will no longer to be able to serve on IFC, I have the utmost confidence in the ability of the Interfrater-nity and Panhellenic councils to formulate proactive solutions to the perceived problems in the Greek community. To my knowledge, the IFC has already begun to work actively this summer to devise a multiple-pronged attack to the issues of hazing and alcohol. While it may be a slow process, I feel the university and the Greek community may finally be able to forge a collaborative relationship, rather than the adversarial one it has seemed to be up until this point.

A lot has happened during the past semester and while it has drained my time and energy, I would do it all over again. Yes, the continuous streams of phone calls from media outlets asking for comment not only regarding my house but also the moratorium were annoying to say the least, but I’ve learned a lot from these unenviable situations. With only a year left in college, I plan on enjoying the rest of my career here at UC Berkeley as a Pi Kapp and Greek, regardless of whether the university recognizes me or not.

Sam Kim is former vice president of the Interfraternity Council. Send comments to opinion@dailycal.org.