Penny Rue shares her thoughts on Greek life Page 12
Business school dean plans to step down in June Page 4
Deacs disappoint on the road Page 15
Presidential Scholars boost campus presence of art Page 18
OLD GOLD&BLACK WAKE FOREST UNIVERSITY
VOL. 97, NO. 15
T H U R S DAY, JA N UA RY 16 , 2 014 “Cover s the campus like the magnolias”
oldgoldandblack.com
What’s in the punch? The unusually high number of reports of highrisk drinking behavior has school officials blaming the punch, a popular party drink ANNIE JOHNSON Life Editor johnae0@wfu.edu On the second floor of Collins, there was a spot on a bathroom floor stained pink. The hue was the lasting testament to a bad night for one college freshman, who chugged too much red punch at a party and subsequently spent the rest of her night on the bathroom floor. She is just one of many college students who drinks too much and ends up getting sick. While alcohol consumption is not a new problem on college campuses, the prevalence of high-risk behaviors related to alcohol is an ongoing battle for Wake Forest. Vice president of campus life Penny Rue defines high risk behaviors as “drinking to a level when people are not able to make good decisions that care for their own wellbeing.” This can include drinking to the point of vomiting, losing consciousness and combining drugs with alcohol. It can also be denoted by drinking a mixture of unknown contents. High-risk drinking can lead to harm for both the individual and others, making it a priority to cut down on. In recent years, the numbers have gone down or stabilized. Yet, this year, Wake Forest’s numbers seem to have gone up almost across the board. Student Health Services, the student Emergency Medi-
cal Team and the alcohol education class have all reported increases in visits. According to director Cecil Price, Student Health Services had seen 55 alcohol-related visits last semester. The yearly average is between 100 and 110, that’s compared to the 140 visits it saw for the entire 2012-2013 school year. An additional 40 students were helped by student EMTs and instead of being transported to Student Health were determined to be safe to be left in their rooms or were transported directly to the hospital. In the alcohol education classes, substance misuse coordinator Lavi Wilson reported that she had already seen 184 students by early November, compared to the 161 who were referred last year in total. Price also said that the student Emergency Medical Team’s numbers have jumped 120 percent. So why a rise in high-risk drinking behaviors this year? “This year feels different to me,” said Price. But it’s tough to put a finger on what exactly, has changed. The answer to such a complicated question has school officials blaming, in part, the punch. The Punch According to Charlene Buckley, associate dean for judicial affairs, there has been an abnormally high number of judicial cases involving alcohol in which students in question had consumed punch at the time of their sanction. “Punch is not a good choice if you’re underage, of age, [or] if it’s your birthday,” Buckley said. “It’s not something you can drink responsibly.” What makes punch, also known as jungle juice, a dangerous drink is that there is no set recipe, and ingredients differ depending on who makes it. According to one fraterni-
ty social chair, a typical cooler-full of punch has two handles Standard Drinks (1.75 liters each) of vodka, 10 liters of soda and a pack—Beer et of flavored powdered like Crystal Lite for taste. Some people include energy drinks, sugary juice or other additives to —Malt Liquor mask the taste of the vodka. The vodka used is cheap and almost certain to give binge drinkers a hellish hangover. A —Wine 1.75 liter bottle of Aristocrat (80 proof ) costs only $17.75. Everclear vodka, which is 190 proof, is also a popular choice. The alcohol by volume can differ so significantly from party to party that drinkers never have a measure of consistency. —Liquor “Not all punch is created equal,” said the social chair. With little or no knowledge of what actually goes into it each
Punch, Page 7
Sigma Nu loses charter amid investigation Second fraternity leaves campus after new allegations of hazing spurred an internal investigation BY IAN RUTLEDGE Print Managing Editor rutlig11@wfu.edu On Dec. 23 the brothers of the Wake Forest chapter of Sigma Nu fraternity received a letter from the national fraternity’s High Council informing them that their charter had been suspended indefinitely. The national fraternity cited alcohol-related and hazing violations that were dis-
covered following an investigation by the organization’s nationals. However, university officials, the chapter members and national fraternity all declined to disclose what sparked the investigation. “Wake Forest [also] conducted its own investigation of Sigma Nu and concluded that violations of University policies had occurred, for which the University also has taken action,” Steve Hirst, director of Student Leadership and Organizations, said. “Wake Forest supports the decision by Sigma Nu’s national leadership and no longer recognizes the local chapter as a registered student organization.”
According to Hirst, the fraternity will not be allowed to reform under new letters or operate in any manner on or off campus. Furthermore, if any chapter member were to defy these terms, that individual could face charges under the “Trial Code of The Law of Sigma Nu Fraternity, Inc., the results of which could include expulsion from Sigma Nu,” according to the executive director of Sigma Nu. Individuals could also face consequences under the University’s Student Code of Conduct, Hirst added. Despite the ominous outlook for the chapter, this status may not be permanent. “We will have the opportunity to reinstate the charter in the future, we guess in about
three years,” Brian Kellogg, sophomore and former president of the chapter, said. Hirst confirmed this possibility. “Sigma Nu has generally discussed with Wake Forest the possibility of recolonizing the cam-
See Sigma Nu, Page 5