PSU bans Beta and puts huge restrictions on Greek Life

[LafayetteBear]

Well said. I'm obviously still scarred that I didn't qualify to lick stale beer out of the corner of the rec room on a journey to experience the truly finest meat and cheese that life has to offer.

Don't sell yourself short. You've surely experienced a whole lot of fine meat.

 

[auxgym]

Don't sell yourself short. You've surely experienced a whole lot of fine meat.

Sez the guy that brags about living with 40 guys.........

 

[bjf1991]

Probably defined "sexual assault" as "unwanted flirting."

I assume you were trying to be "funny".......
But you will never know how close you are to the truth.

 

[Nitwit]

Lots of arrogance being expressed here. I might as well watch Animal House.

I'm opining that guys who allow underage drinking that leads to someone dying are assholes. Note that they're still assholes even when they're not in the fraternity. It's not the fraternity that made them assholes.

I have plenty of personal experience, as do some female friends. The veneer of the classy social club tends to wear off when pictures of passed out women are passed around Facebook without consent. Complicity in a culture of marketing young women doesn't make you a sweet innocent bystander. It makes you part of the problem. And it makes you an asshole.

Frats = booze (or worse), chicks, access to files of past exams. That's always been the attraction.

 

[Pardlion]

I assume you were trying to be "funny".......
But you will never know how close you are to the truth.

Not being funny. I have read about how rigged some of these "studies" are.

 

[Detective_MackDaddy]

Now the PSU Greeks have something to worry about

STATE COLLEGE - Penn State issued a tough set of rules for fraternity and sorority parties Thursday, even as it issued the Greek life equivalent of the death penalty to the fraternity where a student died during a February party.

The new rules include a limit of 10 alcohol-fueled parties per semester at any single fraternity or sorority; alcohol service at those parties limited to beer and wine, all served by state-certified bartenders; and a ban on kegs.

Penn State is also moving rush - the campus-wide recruitment and period for new fraternity and sorority members - from fall semester to spring semester in 2017-18, to give incoming students more time to become oriented to campus life.

Ads by ZINC
Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims said university officials aren't ready to cut the cord with the Greek organizations altogether.

Sims said he likes the groups' role in establishing smaller communities within one of America's largest student bodies, the additional sense of belonging they create for alumni, and the service works they undertake.

The new rules, Sims said, will give the Greeks at Penn State a new chance to "emphasize these good things,while weeding out the problems that have caused such pain, collectively and individually, to all of us."

To wit:

• Internal university figures show fraternity and sorority members are four times more likely than the general student population to be heavy drinkers;
• Sorority women are 50 percent more likely than other female students to be sexually assaulted, and fraternity men are 62 percent more likely to commit a sexual assault than non-fraternity men.

All of those bad statistics got a human face late Feb. 2, when student Timothy Piazza fell down a set of stairs in the Beta house during a party, and was left unattended for as long as 12 hours as a party raged through the night.

The 19-year-old from Lebanon, N.J. died two days later at Hershey Medical center, and the circumstances of the death are still the subject of a criminal investigation in Centre County.

In the 2014-15 academic year, the Kappa Delta Rho house at Penn State gave the university a black eye with revelations of a members-only Facebook page filled with pictures of hazing activities and female students in compromising positions.

That house's charter at Penn State was suspended for three years.

For all those problems, Greek-letter organizations continue to play a big role at Penn State's main campus.

University officials note there are 82 fraternities and sororities recognized by the school, claiming about 18 percent of the total undergraduate student body as members.

Sims said the new protocols represent a much more aggressive approach by the university to set rules for what are private membership groups that have traditionally been permitted wide berth to self-govern.

"Enough is enough," Sims said. "A fundamental shift is required if these organizations are to be truly successful and sustainable."

One effect of the changes, including the end of self-service from a keg, or strict adherence to underage drinking laws, would be to have fraternities and sororities to operate much more like licensed bars when throwing a party.

The limits on the number of events are also potentially significant.

A Penn State semester is 15 weeks long, so under existing rules, fraternities and sororities faced a liberal cap of 45 alcohol events a semester, or an average of three per week.

That cap was set by Penn State's Interfraternity Council.

Under the new rules, Sims said, that average would be cut to well under one event with alcohol per week.

Sims, in announcing the changes, said enforcement mechanisms are still in development, but will likely involve some combination of university staff and local law enforcement.

A ban on alcohol events this spring has been enforced through random spot checks by Student Affairs staff, a university spokesman said. Penn State could also consider the hiring of a third-party monitoring service.

Violations will lead to immediate penalties for individual houses, and could affect their status at Penn State.

"We are not going to be bashful about winnowing away these organizations if they don't meet our expectations," Sims said.

A collective failure to abide by the new rules could also prompt Penn State to re-impose the ban on all alcohol that has been put into effect this spring. Sims added.

Sims said the ban on Beta Theta Pi - already closed in the wake of Piazza's death - was made permanent as ongoing student conduct investigations have uncovered persistent patterns of serious alcohol abuse, hazing, and the use and sale of illicit drugs.

"The serious violations we have found... which combine with a student's tragic death to lead us to conclude that Beta Theta Pi, despite its notable history at Penn State, merits no continuing place in our community."

This post was updated at 12:39 p.m. to include some information on the number of students involved in fraternities and sororities at Penn State.

You see, this is the difference between GREEKS and ITALIANS. Mia Faccia, Mia Razza, Una Faccia, Una Razza, my ass!

 

[bjf1991]

Not being funny. I have read about how rigged some of these "studies" are.

LITERALLY (and yes, I know what that word means )

In Penn State's "study", It was considered an act of sexual assault if:

"You ever turned down romantic advances of a man, and he was unhappy about it" (interestingly, it apparently "didn't count" if the romantic advances were made by a woman)

I shit you not...... I've seen the "study"

"Study" = AKA "the complete piece of shit put together to provide support for a pre-determined agenda"



I'm no huge fan of "Fraternities"
If I was asked, I'd probably say it's a mix of "good and bad", and some of the "bad" is pretty significant
If I was asked, I'd probably say the degree and frequency of "mean spirited" shit - - including "sexual" mean spirited shit - - is probably somewhat worse on campus today than it was 20-30 years ago (and probably throughout society)
If I was asked, I'd probably say the "Fraternity System" could be much improved..... and some of them are "out of control" far too often.



But that doesn't change the fact that:

Think of the worst kind of agendized, self-interested meatheads you can imagine.
Raise that to the power of infinity.

That's what we have running Penn State.

 

[DrJC]

Now the PSU Greeks have something to worry about

STATE COLLEGE - Penn State issued a tough set of rules for fraternity and sorority parties Thursday, even as it issued the Greek life equivalent of the death penalty to the fraternity where a student died during a February party.

The new rules include a limit of 10 alcohol-fueled parties per semester at any single fraternity or sorority; alcohol service at those parties limited to beer and wine, all served by state-certified bartenders; and a ban on kegs.

Penn State is also moving rush - the campus-wide recruitment and period for new fraternity and sorority members - from fall semester to spring semester in 2017-18, to give incoming students more time to become oriented to campus life.

Ads by ZINC
Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims said university officials aren't ready to cut the cord with the Greek organizations altogether.

Sims said he likes the groups' role in establishing smaller communities within one of America's largest student bodies, the additional sense of belonging they create for alumni, and the service works they undertake.

The new rules, Sims said, will give the Greeks at Penn State a new chance to "emphasize these good things,while weeding out the problems that have caused such pain, collectively and individually, to all of us."

To wit:

• Internal university figures show fraternity and sorority members are four times more likely than the general student population to be heavy drinkers;
• Sorority women are 50 percent more likely than other female students to be sexually assaulted, and fraternity men are 62 percent more likely to commit a sexual assault than non-fraternity men.

All of those bad statistics got a human face late Feb. 2, when student Timothy Piazza fell down a set of stairs in the Beta house during a party, and was left unattended for as long as 12 hours as a party raged through the night.

The 19-year-old from Lebanon, N.J. died two days later at Hershey Medical center, and the circumstances of the death are still the subject of a criminal investigation in Centre County.

In the 2014-15 academic year, the Kappa Delta Rho house at Penn State gave the university a black eye with revelations of a members-only Facebook page filled with pictures of hazing activities and female students in compromising positions.

That house's charter at Penn State was suspended for three years.

For all those problems, Greek-letter organizations continue to play a big role at Penn State's main campus.

University officials note there are 82 fraternities and sororities recognized by the school, claiming about 18 percent of the total undergraduate student body as members.

Sims said the new protocols represent a much more aggressive approach by the university to set rules for what are private membership groups that have traditionally been permitted wide berth to self-govern.

"Enough is enough," Sims said. "A fundamental shift is required if these organizations are to be truly successful and sustainable."

One effect of the changes, including the end of self-service from a keg, or strict adherence to underage drinking laws, would be to have fraternities and sororities to operate much more like licensed bars when throwing a party.

The limits on the number of events are also potentially significant.

A Penn State semester is 15 weeks long, so under existing rules, fraternities and sororities faced a liberal cap of 45 alcohol events a semester, or an average of three per week.

That cap was set by Penn State's Interfraternity Council.

Under the new rules, Sims said, that average would be cut to well under one event with alcohol per week.

Sims, in announcing the changes, said enforcement mechanisms are still in development, but will likely involve some combination of university staff and local law enforcement.

A ban on alcohol events this spring has been enforced through random spot checks by Student Affairs staff, a university spokesman said. Penn State could also consider the hiring of a third-party monitoring service.

Violations will lead to immediate penalties for individual houses, and could affect their status at Penn State.

"We are not going to be bashful about winnowing away these organizations if they don't meet our expectations," Sims said.

A collective failure to abide by the new rules could also prompt Penn State to re-impose the ban on all alcohol that has been put into effect this spring. Sims added.

Sims said the ban on Beta Theta Pi - already closed in the wake of Piazza's death - was made permanent as ongoing student conduct investigations have uncovered persistent patterns of serious alcohol abuse, hazing, and the use and sale of illicit drugs.

"The serious violations we have found... which combine with a student's tragic death to lead us to conclude that Beta Theta Pi, despite its notable history at Penn State, merits no continuing place in our community."

This post was updated at 12:39 p.m. to include some information on the number of students involved in fraternities and sororities at Penn State.

Now the PSU Greeks have something to worry about

STATE COLLEGE - Penn State issued a tough set of rules for fraternity and sorority parties Thursday, even as it issued the Greek life equivalent of the death penalty to the fraternity where a student died during a February party.

The new rules include a limit of 10 alcohol-fueled parties per semester at any single fraternity or sorority; alcohol service at those parties limited to beer and wine, all served by state-certified bartenders; and a ban on kegs.

Penn State is also moving rush - the campus-wide recruitment and period for new fraternity and sorority members - from fall semester to spring semester in 2017-18, to give incoming students more time to become oriented to campus life.

Ads by ZINC
Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims said university officials aren't ready to cut the cord with the Greek organizations altogether.

Sims said he likes the groups' role in establishing smaller communities within one of America's largest student bodies, the additional sense of belonging they create for alumni, and the service works they undertake.

The new rules, Sims said, will give the Greeks at Penn State a new chance to "emphasize these good things,while weeding out the problems that have caused such pain, collectively and individually, to all of us."

To wit:

• Internal university figures show fraternity and sorority members are four times more likely than the general student population to be heavy drinkers;
• Sorority women are 50 percent more likely than other female students to be sexually assaulted, and fraternity men are 62 percent more likely to commit a sexual assault than non-fraternity men.

All of those bad statistics got a human face late Feb. 2, when student Timothy Piazza fell down a set of stairs in the Beta house during a party, and was left unattended for as long as 12 hours as a party raged through the night.

The 19-year-old from Lebanon, N.J. died two days later at Hershey Medical center, and the circumstances of the death are still the subject of a criminal investigation in Centre County.

In the 2014-15 academic year, the Kappa Delta Rho house at Penn State gave the university a black eye with revelations of a members-only Facebook page filled with pictures of hazing activities and female students in compromising positions.

That house's charter at Penn State was suspended for three years.

For all those problems, Greek-letter organizations continue to play a big role at Penn State's main campus.

University officials note there are 82 fraternities and sororities recognized by the school, claiming about 18 percent of the total undergraduate student body as members.

Sims said the new protocols represent a much more aggressive approach by the university to set rules for what are private membership groups that have traditionally been permitted wide berth to self-govern.

"Enough is enough," Sims said. "A fundamental shift is required if these organizations are to be truly successful and sustainable."

One effect of the changes, including the end of self-service from a keg, or strict adherence to underage drinking laws, would be to have fraternities and sororities to operate much more like licensed bars when throwing a party.

The limits on the number of events are also potentially significant.

A Penn State semester is 15 weeks long, so under existing rules, fraternities and sororities faced a liberal cap of 45 alcohol events a semester, or an average of three per week.

That cap was set by Penn State's Interfraternity Council.

Under the new rules, Sims said, that average would be cut to well under one event with alcohol per week.

Sims, in announcing the changes, said enforcement mechanisms are still in development, but will likely involve some combination of university staff and local law enforcement.

A ban on alcohol events this spring has been enforced through random spot checks by Student Affairs staff, a university spokesman said. Penn State could also consider the hiring of a third-party monitoring service.

Violations will lead to immediate penalties for individual houses, and could affect their status at Penn State.

"We are not going to be bashful about winnowing away these organizations if they don't meet our expectations," Sims said.

A collective failure to abide by the new rules could also prompt Penn State to re-impose the ban on all alcohol that has been put into effect this spring. Sims added.

Sims said the ban on Beta Theta Pi - already closed in the wake of Piazza's death - was made permanent as ongoing student conduct investigations have uncovered persistent patterns of serious alcohol abuse, hazing, and the use and sale of illicit drugs.

"The serious violations we have found... which combine with a student's tragic death to lead us to conclude that Beta Theta Pi, despite its notable history at Penn State, merits no continuing place in our community."

This post was updated at 12:39 p.m. to include some information on the number of students involved in fraternities and sororities at Penn State.

 

[DrJC]

Along with being a psychoanalyst, I am also a certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor in NY state. As a former fraternity member and active board member for many years at Alpha Tau Omega, I saw firsthand the change in fraternal life and values that was occurring at Penn State. When I was an active brother, for the most part beer was the only alcohol dispensed at the fraternity and it was always from a keg. A single keg as a source of dispensing beer enabled us to exert control over the substance far more successfully then dispensing beer in cans. I always felt it was a big mistake to eliminate kegs, as you could always have a pledge or brother with strict instructions pouring from the keg for guests or house members.

Second, the time limit for a party was 1:30a.m. The taps were closed a 1am and all women had to exit the fraternity in order to return to their dorms by 2am or risk being locked out. The general feeling (and they were right) was that you needed to call it a night after 1am.

Third, we had a live in house mother. NO women were allowed to go to the second and third floors. There were NO room parties. The house mother guarded the stairs. And, it worked with no problems.

To the best of my recollection, there were no rapes, no DWI's, no automobile accidents, and surely no deaths. The only student deaths were suicides or a fall from a balcony in an apartment house.

From a professional point of view, 18 and 19 year olds are still not mature. They are still impulsive, lack good judgment at times, and are prone to acting when they should be thinking. In the distant past, fraternal life and university regulations (enforced by the IFC) provided rules and guidelines that protected us and fraternal life. Were there small violations on occasion - of course, and they were dealt with quickly and effectively. And the brotherhood of most fraternities and the officers provided sound leadership and control over the occasional unruly brother.

Sadly, those times have passed and the meaning of fraternalism has been eroded by impulsive acting-out, abuse of substances, narcissistic self concern, and a University that has done more to promote a bad situation than to resolve it.

It is interesting to note, that I just returned from a meeting of the NY State Grand Lodge of Freemasons, whereupon I was informed that there are pilot projects to begin on select campuses in NY to have Freemasonry lodges established on select campuses and available to students as a fraternal experience.

 

[WTNuke]

Along with being a psychoanalyst, I am also a certified alcohol and substance abuse counselor in NY state. As a former fraternity member and active board member for many years at Alpha Tau Omega, I saw firsthand the change in fraternal life and values that was occurring at Penn State. When I was an active brother, for the most part beer was the only alcohol dispensed at the fraternity and it was always from a keg. A single keg as a source of dispensing beer enabled us to exert control over the substance far more successfully then dispensing beer in cans. I always felt it was a big mistake to eliminate kegs, as you could always have a pledge or brother with strict instructions pouring from the keg for guests or house members.

Second, the time limit for a party was 1:30a.m. The taps were closed a 1am and all women had to exit the fraternity in order to return to their dorms by 2am or risk being locked out. The general feeling (and they were right) was that you needed to call it a night after 1am.

Third, we had a live in house mother. NO women were allowed to go to the second and third floors. There were NO room parties. The house mother guarded the stairs. And, it worked with no problems.

To the best of my recollection, there were no rapes, no DWI's, no automobile accidents, and surely no deaths. The only student deaths were suicides or a fall from a balcony in an apartment house.

From a professional point of view, 18 and 19 year olds are still not mature. They are still impulsive, lack good judgment at times, and are prone to acting when they should be thinking. In the distant past, fraternal life and university regulations (enforced by the IFC) provided rules and guidelines that protected us and fraternal life. Were there small violations on occasion - of course, and they were dealt with quickly and effectively. And the brotherhood of most fraternities and the officers provided sound leadership and control over the occasional unruly brother.

Sadly, those times have passed and the meaning of fraternalism has been eroded by impulsive acting-out, abuse of substances, narcissistic self concern, and a University that has done more to promote a bad situation than to resolve it.

It is interesting to note, that I just returned from a meeting of the NY State Grand Lodge of Freemasons, whereupon I was informed that there are pilot projects to begin on select campuses in NY to have Freemasonry lodges established on select campuses and available to students as a fraternal experience.

What was your major when you were here?

 

[DrJC]

What was your major when you were here?

Liberal Arts with a minor in History/Psychology

 

[WTNuke]

Liberal Arts with a minor in History/Psychology

Ah okay, I'm in the Human Development and Family Studies doctoral program now. We end up having a number of students work at counseling centers, drug/alcohol clinics, or they enter MSW programs. I wondered if you had been through our program (just a version of Dev. Psych)