Who is Bobby Petrino? pg. 12 PAGE 1 WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2010
Vol. 105, NO. 11
UATRAV.COM
Behind Closed Doors Lawsuit alleges hazing, negligence
Defendants
Phi Delta Theta Fraternity, Inc.; Arkansas Alpha Phi Delta Theta House Corporation; Arkansas Alpha Phi Delta Theta (UA at Fayetteville Chapter); Parice Bowser, Danny Pugh, Sr., Monica Holland, Clint Frizell, Robert Darnel, Don Hollings, Andrew Scherz, Eric Hurley and John Does 1-100.
by NICK DEMOSS News Editor
Plaintiffs Nicholas Brown Douglass Brown Rebecca Brown January Brown
A former Phi Delta Theta fraternity pledge is suing three UA officials, the fraternity and several students for an undisclosed amount of money to pay for damages related to his alleged hazing during the fall 2009 semester. Though the suit, filed by UA sophomore Nicholas Brown and his family, asks for payment for damages, the main goal of the suit is to obtain a court order banning alcohol in the Phi Delta Theta house, said their attorney Russell Wood. “Neither Phi Delta Theta nor the university is going to stop them from having alcohol in that house,” Wood said. “The bigger theme here is that we’re going to do everything in our power to keep an 18-year-old kid from getting killed up there. The money’s not the most imsee LAWSUIT on page 2
Photo Illustration Photo by Larry Ash
Students Responsible for Actions Scholarships by SABA NASEEM Staff Writer
The UA’s purpose is to create an environment of education, and when an individual or a group of students deviate from this environment, they fall out of the norm and are held accountable for their actions, the dean of students said. With regard to alcohol, “the decision to use alcohol or not is the individual’s choice,” said Daniel Pugh, vice provost for student affairs and dean of students. “The university is not telling
them to do it.” There is no explicit statement describing the university’s responsibility in protecting a student from himself or herself, but university policy states a student’s responsibilities on campus and off campus. “If students or student organizations are cited by staff, faculty or other students for a possible violation of local, state and federal laws and/or university policies on campus, they may be subject to the formal judicial process of the university and/or appropriate legal action,” accord-
ing to the university student handbook. Recently, the family of a freshman whose alleged hazing by members of Phi Delta Theta Fraternity in November 2009 sent him to the hospital, filed a suit against the state chapter of Phi Delta Theta, its national organization, three employees of the university and members of the fraternity. Greek Life rules at the UA prohibit any form of hazing, which is an “intentional or unintentional reckless action with or without consent that endangers a student or cre-
ates a risk of injury for the purpose of initiation into or affiliation with a student organization recognized by ASG or any other UA sponsor,” according to the UA hazing policy. The UA collaborates with the Greek organizations on campus and they are required to work with UA policy, Pugh said. “There are more than 800 cases in regards to alcohol each year, however, if it happens within a Greek organization, it just gets more atsee RESPONSIBILITY on page 6
Still Available by SABA NASEEM Staff Writer
Although the semester is in full swing and many scholarship doors have been closed, there are still opportunities for students to apply for money to help pay for the spring 2011 semester and for students to fund their study abroad plans. The deadline for the Academic Challenge Scholarship (Spring term) is Nov. 1 for those students who missed the fall
2010 deadline. To apply, students need to complete both the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and the YOUnivesrsal application. Students are eligible if they have been continuously enrolled as a full-time student, they maintain a cumulative 2.5 GPA and complete 15 hours each consecutive semester. Suzanne McCray, vice provost of enrollment management see SCHOLARSHIP on page 6
Snoop Dogg Crime Report by PAIGE THOMPSON Staff Writer
GARETH PATTERSON Staff Photographer Rapper Snoop Dogg performs Sunday in Barnhill Arena. Snoop has released ten albums over his rapping career and is also the chairman of Priority Records. Only three people were arrested by UAPD at the concert on Sunday night.
WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 27, 2010 VOL. 105, NO.11 UATRAV.COM
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The Oct. 24 Snoop Dogg performance at Barnhill Arena spawned three arrests - a surprisingly low number for some UA students and officials. The concert was the free student concert put on by the Headliner Concert Committee each semester. It was a kick-off to homecoming week with a large crowd. Officials said they expected the number of attendees compared to that of John Mayer’s audience three years ago. Even with such a large audience, the concert remained under control. “It was a calm concert as far as a arrests,” said Lt. Gary Crain of UAPD. “We had seventeen officers on duty, two in the transport van for any arrests and fifteen inside
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the building. Snoop Dogg had his own security along with the security company hired for the concert.” Two people were arrested for public intoxication and one person was arrested for having marijuana on their person, formally known as an illegal substance arrest. The relative calmness of the concert was unexpected for Jenny Higgs, head of the Headliner Concert commitee, who helped plan the concert, she said.
“Because the specific music being sung has a strong focus on use of substances, the amount of crime was fairly small for what we are used to dealing with at these concerts,” Higgs said. “We thought there would be a certain genre of people would get arrested.” Even some students found the small amount of see SNOOP on page 2