September 11, 2015 | The Miami Student

Page 1

ESTABLISHED 1826 – OLDEST COLLEGE NEWSPAPER WEST OF THE ALLEGHENIES

The Miami Student FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 11, 2015 VOLUME 144 NO. 5

WWW.MIAMISTUDENT.NET

MIAMI UNIVERSITY OXFORD, OHIO

Sigma Nu Viking party leads to suspension EMILY TATE

MANAGING EDITOR

FALL 2014

Last spring, the 33 pledges of Sigma Nu fraternity were ordered to down 100 beers each, recording every drink with a mark on their chests, according to university records. The incident in question occurred April 2, during Sigma Nu’s annual Viking party. At the time, the fraternity was on disciplinary probation with the university. The hazing, which also prevented pledges from showering or shaving, was one factor that triggered the Epsilon Nu chapter’s threeyear suspension from the university, according to records released to The Miami Student this week. Miami officials also penalized the fraternity for breaking its earlier SIGMA NU BEGINS PROBATION FOR ALCOHOL VIOLATION

promise not to host, co-host or take part in any event where alcohol was present. The university turned down two appeals by Sigma Nu, saying the chapter produced no new evidence in its favor and identified no fault in the university’s judicial process. Records of the university’s investigation don’t say how long it took each pledge to drink his 100 beers — or whether, in fact, any of them did — and Sigma Nu members weren’t saying either. But university officials estimated the ordeal lasted no longer than a week. Sigma Nu’s suspension, which took effect April 20, is set to last through March 5, 2018, when the youngest members will be months from graduation. One Sigma Nu member said he hopes his fraternity can negotiate a deal to come back sooner. Sopho-

APRIL 2015

more Austin Worrell was the only one of five members contacted by The Miami Student who agreed to discuss the allegations. He said many of his peers are frustrated with the university’s judicial process. “Whether it’s a personal investigation or Greek investigation or any organization’s [investigation], there is a feeling Miami’s judicial system doesn’t fairly support the rights of its students as adults in the legal system,” Worrell said. Worrell denied the hazing, calling it “outrageous,” and said the tallies on pledges’ chests were part of a fraternity tradition to “mark each other with tattoos.” He said the marks were not intended to record the number of beers each pledge consumed. “Injustice happens, and unfortunately it happened to us,” he said. “We were given the maximum sen-

APRIL 3 Pledges were not allowed to take showers or shave, must drink 100 beers and must mark on their stomachs each time a beer is consumed. Photos depict men with tallies on their chest.

APRIL 2 Sigma Nu fraternity, on probation at the time, held Viking party in fraternity house.

MAY 2015

APRIL 20 Disciplinary Board Hearing held for Sigma Nu. Fraternity suspended for hazing, violation of sanctions.

Report reveals the reasons behind differences among faculty salaries

GREEK LIFE

BONNIE MEIBERS SENIOR STAFF WRITER

NEWS p. 3

NEW HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ON ROUTE 27 City Council to approve a plan to build new housing development on Route 27

CULTURE p. 4

INTRODUCING HUMANS OF OXFORD

In the style of the famous photoblog, every Miamian has a story to tell.

OPINION p. 6

RESTRICTING U.S. GUN LAWS

Editorial board purports the necessity of stricter gun laws in the wake of mass shootings

SPORTS p. 10

FOOTBALL TAKES ON WISCONSIN Miami is the 33-point underdog against the Big Ten team

TODAY IN MIAMI HISTORY

At a Phi Kappa Psi party in February, “inappropriate pictures” were taken of a student attendee, without the person’s consent, and then distributed via the messaging app GroupMe. These photographs, along with hazing violations, would later lead to the fraternity’s four-year suspension from campus, a Miami Student records request revealed. The victim depicted in the inappropriate pictures had attended a Phi Kappa Psi-hosted party Feb. 10, where the fraternity also served alcohol to minors, university records show. However, due to previous allegations of hazing, Phi Kappa Psi was on a university-mandated disciplinary probation when the pictures were reported in April. Those hazing allegations came about in March, after two anonymous phone calls to the university tipped off officials to the activities occurring within Phi Kappa Psi. After those calls, the university conducted interviews with newly recruited members. The fraternity’s former chapter adviser sent the university a report attributing the hazing to members of the 2012 pledge class. After this report, the Office of Ethics and Student Conflict Resolution found the fraternity responsible for the hazing and put Phi Kappa Psi on disciplinary probation April 3. Later that month, Miami received the report from the pictured student, whose name was redacted from all records.

SIGMA NU »PAGE 9

MARCH 2018

JUNE 2015

JUNE 2 VP of Student Affairs Jayne Brownell reviews Sigma Nu’s second and final appeal. Suspension upheld.

SIGMA NU FREE TO PARTICIPATE IN FORMAL FRATERNITY RECRUITMENT

KATIE HIHN PAGE DESIGNER

Phi Kappa Psi suspended through 2019 academic year

FACULTY SALARY DISCREPANCIES

In December 1989, the New York Times reported about “sexist behavior and a lack of respect for human dignity” during Sigma Nu’s fall Viking party — the very same party Sigma Nu was suspended for this spring, nearly three decades later. And, in February 2007, Miami issued a news release announcing Sigma Nu’s suspension on the grounds of prohibited alcohol use and disorderly conduct. Months earlier, in December, a fight had broken out among members of the fraternity at Golden Key Lounge in Oxford, and a bus driver transporting the Sigma Nus called them “unruly and violent.” According to university policy, the fraternity renounces all of its rights and privileges during the suspension period. But Worrell said

MARCH 5, 2018 Sigma Nu’s suspension ends. Rebuilding may begin

MAY 20 University Appeals Board meets to consider Sigma Nu’s appeal. Terms of suspension not changed.

SOURCE: OFFICE OF ETHICS AND STUDENT CONFLICT RESOLUTION, UNIVERSITY DISCIPLINARY RECORDS

NEWS p. 2

tence for a minimal crime.” Miami’s Vice President of Student Affairs, Jayne Brownell, said the university imposes lengthy suspensions for a reason. “The entire idea behind this [fraternity’s] closure is to kind of give time for the chapter to turn around, start fresh, bring in a new perspective,” Brownell said. The national headquarters for many Greek organizations believe a clean slate starts when the last remaining members have graduated. That’s why, Brownell said, a single year’s suspension is often not effective. “It doesn’t change the culture,” she said. “The people who have gone through it are pretty much thinking that is normal behavior.” This is not the first time Miami’s Sigma Nu chapter has come under fire.

SPRING 2019

GREEK LIFE

After this report, the university notified the fraternity of three alleged violations of the Student Conduct Regulations — mental abuse, prohibited use of alcohol and disorderly conduct — and called a disciplinary hearing April 27. After the hearing, both Phi Kappa Psi and the victim had the right to appeal. Phi Kappa Psi took advantage of this opportunity and entered a plea of “not responsible” for all three violations. However, the appeals board found that there was no new evidence presented, no procedural defect and maintained that the sanctions were appropriate. Therefore, based on the evidence presented, the university found the fraternity responsible for mental abuse, prohibited use of alcohol and disorderly conduct. The Miami University Code of Conduct defines mental abuse as “intentional or reckless acts that cause or reasonably could cause physical or mental harm to any person are prohibited.” This makes the pictures that were taken and distributed a chargeable offense. Two Miami and Phi Kappa Psi alumni said this is not the fraternity they experienced. Chuck Bath said hazing never occurred while he was attending Miami. Bath graduated Miami in 1977 and was in the first pledge class of Miami’s chapter of Phi Kappa Psi in 1974. “Phi Psi was sort of formed to combat the hazing in other fraternities,” he said. This no-hazing policy is what set the fraternity apart from others on campus, another Phi Kappa Psi SUSPENSION »PAGE 9

MU’s Child Development Center earns 5-star rating

CONNOR MORIARTY PHOTO EDITOR

Miss Melissa, teacher at the Child Development Center, watched a butterfly hatching from its cocoon with her class of preschoolers. CAMPUS

VICTORIA SLATER MANAGING EDITOR

Far away from the hustle and bustle of campus, on an idyllic stretch of shady land off Western Drive, exists another university. Here, students live the college dream. They are cooked full meals each day, play outside at recess and have designated nap times. This is Miami University’s Child Development Center, one of four child care centers that operate under the Mini University umbrella. This summer, Ohio awarded the Mini University on Miami’s campus, and its three other locations in various areas of Dayton, a 5-star rating for meeting the state’s highest education standards. The “Step Up To Quality” rating measures the quality of teachers, curriculum and staff-child ratios among 1,400 Ohio child care centers. Of the 300 centers in Butler and Warren Counties, the Child Development Center was one of three to receive a 5-star rating.

“Our commitment to providing both an education and care to the children is what sets us apart,” said Christy Grundei, director of the Child Development Center. Opened in 2002, the Child Development Center offers care and education for up to 120 children of Miami University faculty, students and community members. The children range from 6 weeks to 12 years old, with the majority in the three preschool classes. Some come each day all year round; others attend part time, after school or just during the summer. Grundei said the Mini University’s four campuses take a more modern approach to child care — they operate more as a school than simply as a day care. “The term ‘day care’ is an old school term,” she said. “Traditional child care nowadays is much different than when I was younger. As part of the Step Up to Quality, our system is education based. It is a learning environment that beCHILD CARE »PAGE 9

On this day in 2012, The Miami Student reported the suspensions of Phi Kappa Tau and Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternities had caused overcrowding in the housing system. Several RAs were “forced” to take in fraternity members.


Turn static files into dynamic content formats.

Create a flipbook
Issuu converts static files into: digital portfolios, online yearbooks, online catalogs, digital photo albums and more. Sign up and create your flipbook.