From abc4.com

LOGAN, Utah (ABC 4 News) – The Utah State University student who admitted giving the alcohol to Michael Starks is going to jail.

Starks was found dead of alcohol poisoning after an initiation ritual into the sigma nu fraternity with their sister sorority chi omega.

Whitney Miller admitted to supplying the alcohol for the ritual. In exchange, prosecutors dropped the hazing charge against her.

Monday in court, a judge sentenced her to miller to 30 days in jail, three years of probation and 2-hundred hours of community service where she will have to talk to high school students about the dangers of alcohol.

From Statesman Journal

Hazing would be barred at schools and universities, and student participants and organizations subject to fines.

Senate Bill 444 passed the Oregon House without change on a 49-0 vote Wednesday.

Senate President Peter Courtney, D-Salem, introduced the bill after a
hazing incident at Western Oregon University, where he works.

State university rules ban hazing, but state law exempts athletic teams from the hazing ban WTF!?!?!. The bill would change the law, extend the ban to public schools and update definitions. Hazing covers physical brutality, activity adversely affecting physical health or safety, compelled consumption and inducement of illegal activity.

A student organization would be subject to a maximum fine of $720; a participant, $360.

Fun fact: college sports teams make a lot of money for host institutions. Greeks; not so much.

From courthousenews.com

LAS VEGAS (CN) – A man claims his daughter’s sorority ruined his prized Corvette – one of only 17 1969 Corvette L-88 Automatic Roadsters ever made. Jeffrey Hendershot says the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority at the University of Nevada Las Vegas dented, scratched and spilled paint on the ‘Vette while building a homecoming float, then refused to pay the $33,000 repair bill.

Hendershot says he bought the car in 1987 and restored it to its original factory condition, making it “highly collectible” and worth $300,000 to $500,000. He says the car was featured in the Bloomington Gold “Special Collection” Corvette Car Show, where it was recognized as “rare, unusual and historic.”

In October 2006, Hendershot says, his wife allowed their daughter and her Alpha Gamma Delta sorority sisters to build a homecoming float at their house, where the car was stored in the garage under a canvas tarp.

During three weeks of construction, Hendershot says, sorority members stacked piles of wood and building materials on the hood, causing “noticeable scratches and dents,” and spilled paint on exposed parts, including the wheels and rims.

Hendershot says he had to have the car taken to a Southern California body shop that specializes in restoring collectors’ cars. He says the car had to be repainted with a special type of paint, disassembled and put back together, costing $33,101.81.

He says the sorority agreed in December 2006 to pay for the damages, but he hasn’t seen any money.

Along with the $33,000 in damages to the car, Hendershot seeks $3,500 in attorney’s fees and other related costs.

He is represented by Mark Borghese with Weide Miller.

People who study urban myths say that this is one of the most persistent, and they’ve identified at least 100 campuses where it is fully accepted as the truth.

It’s bullshit. I don’t care who told you, it’s not true. There is no such law in any municipality in the country. Read here if you don’t believe me.

Story from http://www.uwrfvoice.com/news/article/2338/

A legend circulating around UW-River Falls says that the sororities on campus are not allowed to have houses for their chapters due to a City of River Falls ordinance.

This, however, is a myth, according to the future River Falls City Administrator Scot E. Simpson. As the myth states, no more than eight women can live in a house at one time in the City of River Falls without it being considered a brothel.

The zoning section of the City ordinances of River Falls states that a fraternity or a sorority house means a building occupied by an organized group of 10 or more students where succession of membership and lodging are given to the houses occupants.

The City has no problem with both sororities and fraternities having houses within city limits, the myth was something that was started a long time ago and has been traveling through Greek chapters and campus every year, according to Simpson.

The only houses that are currently being used by campus Greek life are those that are occupied by the three fraternities: Alpha Gamma Rho, Theta Chi and Delta Theta Sigma. The five sororities on campus include Alpha Omicron Pi, Sigma Sigma Sigma, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Sigma Alpha and Phi Mu.

Although some members from each sorority may live together, they are not allowed to have a specific house designated for their sorority according to an agreement called the National Panhellenic Housing Agreement.

There are some sororities members that are aware of this agreement, but there are some, especially new members to the Greek community that have been given the myth as a reason as to why their chapter does not have a house.

This is something that is not required to be addressed among sororities on campus but can lead to confusion among the newer members. Ashley Clow, in her first year as a member of Sigma Sigma Sigma, found that when she asked her sisters why they did not have a chapter house she received a mixed response.

What Clow found was that the first response she was given was that due to a City ordinance concerning the amount of girls living in one house they were not allowed to own one for the chapter. The second response that she received from senior members of Sigma contained information about a national housing agreement that bound the sororities in deciding not to have houses for this campus. The National Panhellenic Housing Agreement was first drafted in 1989.

“The purpose of this agreement is to secure for all sororities an equitable housing plan through cooperation with each other and with their respective National Councils,” Sara Gliniany, UWRF’s Greek Coordinator, said.

The agreement was drafted because the National Council wanted to make sure that all of the sororities on campus could afford housing for their chapter. They decided that if one sorority could not afford to own a house than the other sororities should not have them as well out of respect. This was also intended to be used to cut the cost for students who wished to be a part of a sorority on campus, according to Gliniany.

When asked if they would like to see their sorority obtain a house within the next couple of years, the response from some members was mixed as to whether or not it would benefit or hinder their sisterhood.  There is a worry that while having a house may increase the number of potential new members for a sorority it would also bring with it more unwanted drama among sisters, Clow said.

“I think that it would be amazing if we could have houses because everyone would be centrally located so that we would not have to take up a room on campus just to have a meeting, this would allow all sisters in the sorority to have better communication as well,” Alexis D’Aquisto of the Phi Mu sorority said.

There are some members of sororities on campus who feel that the addition of a chapter home would be the best thing because it would separate sororities from feeling like a club on campus instead of a sisterhood.

“Right now the sororities on campus seem more like a club than a sisterhood because we are not allowed to have a house,” Katie Sheehan of the Alpha Omicron Pi sorority said. “I think that the sisterhood among us would become stronger and would also make Greek life more popular within the campus.”

From DRNonline.

HARRISONBURG – Alpha Phi Sorority of James Madison University donated $14,235 to the Rockingham Memorial Hospital Heart Check program.

The sorority raised the money during a week of events in February. Events included a 5K road race and Red Dress gala, part of the American Heart Association’s national campaign for women’s heart health awareness.

“With the outstanding support of the Alpha Phi Sorority of JMU,” Hostetter continued, “we will be able to provide, at no cost, heart health screenings in English and Spanish to women served by the free clinic and community health center.”

Through its annual fundraiser, Alpha Phi has raised nearly $30,000 for RMH Heart Check since 2006. The funds are put into the RMH Heart Fund, which is managed by the RMH Foundation.

Excepted from WSET-TV

A Longwood University sorority is having to shut its doors after allegations of hazing and underage drinking. This isn’t the first time the Zeta Tau Alpha chapter has been in trouble this year, in fact they had just gotten off probation, and less than a month later their national council voted to shut them down.

As Longwood University gets ready to say goodbye to graduates this weekend, a long-time sorority is also saying farewell. VP of Student Affairs Tim Pierson said, “We are saddened by this, this is a loss for Longwood.”

The Zeta Tau Alpha chapter’s national headquarters was tipped off about possible underage drinking and hazing. “There were no reports of any physical harm,” Pierson said.

After a brief probation–the national council found the chapter broke the rules again and decided to close ZTA. Meaghan Marsilia, member of Alpha Sigma Alpha, said, “That’s really shocking to me sad.” Alpha Sigma Phi Member Chris Grant said, “I thought it was a little too drastic.”

What makes it so difficult to close these doors is that this is the Alpha Chapter of the Zeta Taul Alpha sorority, founded here on the campus of Longwood University–more than a hundred years ago. “That’s where your history is–that’s where your foundations are,” Marsillia said.

And some wonder whether the chapter is falling victim to a more sensitive time. “You can’t even sneeze the wrong way on a pledge and they’re going to think it’s hazing,” Grant said.

“When you define hazing, what do you really mean? You know, it’s go take the trash out? Yeah it happens… I ask my boyfriend to take the trash out–do I haze him?” Marsilia said.
A privacy policy prevents the sorority from discussing the specifics of the hazing allegations. But they say it was severe enough to close the chapter down. A tough decision for everyone involved.

Delta Zeta member Christina Olveira said,  “Even if you don’t have the letters, sisterhood means something else, I know it sounds kind of cliché, but it’s true.”