San Diego State Suspends 6 Frats in Wake of Drug Raid

Six SDSU Fraternities Placed on Suspension

By Patrick W. Connelly
Co-Editor, The Frat Boy News

A day after a massive drug raid on the campus of San Diego State University in which 75 students were arrested, school officials on Wednesday suspended six fraternities until further notice.

The fraternities suspended were Lambda Chi Alpha, Phi Kappa Psi, Phi Kappa Theta, Theta Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Alpha Mu, a news release on the university's Web site said.

The fraternities were placed on an "interim suspension" until a "hearing into evidence gathered" in the raid, the university said.

The raid was the conclusion of about a year long investigation by the university and Drug Enforcement Administration into a drug ring involving students and an off-campus gang with ties to Mexican drug cartels, police said.

It was spawned by the 2007 sudden death of 19-year-old San Diego State University student and Alpha Phi sister Shirley Jennifer "Jenny" Poliakoff.

Miss Poliakoff died in her apartment the morning following a sorority dance. At the time of her death, she had cocaine and alcohol in her system but she didn't necessarily overdose, her parents told The San Diego Union Tribune.

The original 75 students charged included brothers of Phi Kappa Psi and Theta Chi, police said. It was unclear Wednesday night if brothers of other fraternities were also among those charged.

A Theta Chi brother sent out a mass text message to people police called his customers alerting them he and his associates in the drug dealing operation wouldn't be able to sell cocaine while they were away in Las Vegas, agents of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration said.

In the bust, police seized money, weapons, and drugs including cocaine, ecstasy, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, hash oil and methamphetamines, they said.

A total of four pounds of cocaine, 50 pounds of marijuana, 48 hydroponic marijuana plants, 350 ecstasy pills, 30 vials of hash oil, a shotgun, three pistols, three sets of brass knuckles and $60,000 in cash were among confiscated items, police said.

More than 130 transactions between undercover agents and sellers took place, police said.











Posted May 8, 2008 on The Frat Boy News.

Ohio State Celebrates Greek Week with Dance Show

Greek Week Show Sells Out

Thirteen dance teams made up of Ohio State University fraternities and sororities took the stage at the annual Greek Week variety show in front of a sold out audience.

The brothers of Sigma Alpha Mu took home the first place trophy after performing a dance routine to Aerosmith and Run-DMC's "Walk This Way."

"From past years, we have learned to play off the crowd and make good song selections," Adam Freedman, a Sigma Alpha Mu brother, told Ohio State's student newspaper. "It is the ultimate feeling when you showcase what you enjoy and are recognized for it."

The sisters of Kappa Alpha Theta "brought sexy back" when they performed a dance to a Justin Timberlake song.

The event raised about $3,000 for Children's Hospital and the Children's Miracle Network.

Chapman Dean Criticized for Not Allowing New Frats on Campus

Scarlet Letters

The 18 students who began the journey of making Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity a reality at Chapman University in California never expected to face so much criticism from the college's administration to establish the organization on campus.

“It’s not like we just made this decision without looking at what was on campus already,” Pascal DeMaria, one of the groups original organizers at Chapman told OCWeekly. The students researched the fraternity, traditionally a Jewish organization, but received anything but help from the university in getting the frat recognized.

Joe Kertes, Chapman's dean of students, was said to have written a letter to the fraternity's national headquarters asking for it to disavow any relation with the campus, including all prospects of establishing the fraternity.

From that point forward, the students were not allowed to formally recruit new members, were prohibited from holding social events as a group, and were even told to remove a group they had created for the frat on Facebook.

Students at Chapman were under the impression that they could potentially be suspended from the university if they joined the brothers. DeMaria even took the dean's actions as far as filing a grievance with the U.S. Department of Education.

Only 11 of the original members are still active, and it may be at least six years before Chapman allows another fraternity to be recognized on campus.

Cal Frats Can't Pass the Fire Code, Can't Party

Failed Fire Inspections Block Frat Party Registration

Four fraternities at the University of California in Berkeley won't be allowed to officially register parties with the college until their fire codes meet par.

The frats - Alpha Epsilon Pi, Chi Psi, Sigma Pi and Sigma Alpha Mu - failed fire inspections last week. Brothers believe that the rule may force them to have underground, unrecognized parties until the meet the fire standards.

Missing Wallets, Burnt Popcorn, and Stolen Cars

The Frat Boy News daily campus police report for Saturday:

Washington University in St. Louis (compiled by Student Life)
Feb. 24: SIGMA ALPHA MU - Complainant reports his wallet missing from his room after a large gathering in the house. Time of occurrence: from Feb. 23 at 8 p.m. to Feb. 24 at 1 a.m.

March 4 - 1:52 p.m.: Victim was showing a potential buyer a vehicle. While test driving the vehicle, the "buyer" stole same. Theft report filed with St. Louis City Police

Feb. 23 - 2:49 p.m. A pull station activated in the hallway near room 108. The fire department responded. Burnt popcorn was discovered in the trash can in the ground floor kitchenette.

Greek Numbers Down at Lehigh, Frat crackdown hurts recruitment

Fraternity Bids Down, Greek Hopes Still High

Campus administrators have tried to put a positive spin on it, but the fact stands: Numbers are down for Lehigh rush.

The Brown and White, Lehigh's student newspaper reported that 238 men accepted their bids this year versus approximately 293 last year, a nearly 19% decrease.

“Numbers are down this year, but not when you average it out among the chapters,” said Tim Wilkinson, assistant dean of students for fraternity and sorority affairs.

Wilkinson is referring to the average number of new recruits per chapter, which stands at 13.1. This same measurement came in at 13.9 per chapter last year, representing a 5.8% decrease.

Most blame the poor recruitment on the crackdown on fraternities that has resulted in Alpha Chi Rho losing their house and Kappa Sigma losing their charter. The Hill, where most of the Greek housing is located, has also seen an increase police presence.

While the FratBoyNews does not deal in conspiracy theory's, we are wary that Lehigh, under the leadership of their new President is undertaking an anti-Greek stance. These low recruitment levels will likely trigger new evictions under their Greek occupancy rule, which requires a 90% occupancy level for Greek organizations to keep a house on campus. This is how Alpha Chi Rho came to be without a house.

It's a chilling time line: August 2006 a new President takes office at Lehigh, six months later, two fraternities are gone, police now patrol fraternity hill, and recruitment is down. Is Lehigh attempting to "thin out" the Greek population?

Related:
Lehigh Crows Can't Fill House, Must Leave by Jan. 24
Lehigh Crows Taking Traditional Frat Boy Approach to Problem Solving
Kappa Sigs Gone at Lehigh

Thieves Left a "Trail of Ketchup" at PSU

The Frat Boy News daily campus police report for Tuesday:

Bowling Green State University (compiled by the BG News)
Feb. 17 - 10:24 p.m.: Four undergarments, value $80, reported stolen from a washing machine at a North Enterprise Street apartment complex.

Feb. 18 - 12:07 a.m.: Man called to report that another man "laid hands on him" while he was at a South Main Street gas station earlier.

Penn State University (compiled by the Daily Colegian)
Feb. 16 - 5 a.m.: State College police said they are looking for two men who attempted to steal a $50 television from Phi Delta Theta fraternity. The men did not take anything but ketchup, which left a ketchup trail to another residence, police said.

Feb. 16 - 2 a.m.: A woman reported to State College police that an unknown man grabbed her buttocks and breasts at Players Nite Club, police said. Police said they have a suspect.

Feb. 16 - 2 a.m.: State College police said they are investigating parties involved in a "large fight" that occurred outside Beta Sigma Beta fraternity. Police said the fight was against members of Sigma Alpha Mu fraternity. Pepper spray was used to break up the fight, police said.

Albany's Underground Frats Could Face Trouble

UAlbany Clamps Down on Underground Fraternities

Officials at the University of Albany don't like underground fraternities. Several of the campus' frats that have been kicked off campus in recent years, have kept their brotherhood in tact with non-affiliated groups behind closed doors.

In an effort to put an end to the underground frats, the university established a program where those groups could come forward to the school and be permitted to re-establish themselves legitimately on the campus.

In what Albany called "Amnesty Month," not one single group decided to come forward. The university took it upon themselves to contact 2 of the 4 suspected organizations national headquarters to begin new colonies at the school. However, under re-colonization, new members will be organized, and the current "underground" brothers would be considered to be disaffiliated.

"We haven't had a serious incident here with our unrecognized fraternities," said Albany's student activities director Michael Jaromin, "But we don't want to have one."

Numbers in the recognized frats at the college are less than half of what they were a decade ago. Officials said that the underground fraternities offer students benefits that the recognized frats can't - like pledging as a first-semester freshman and pledging with a GPA below 2.25. Plus, without any dues or insurance, the underground frats can simply spend their money on alcohol and parties.

"It's not really the number -- it's the quality of the parties," Ryan Kinney of Tau Kappa Epsilon, a legit Albany fraternity. "They just have excess funds, bigger bank rolls."

The fraternities the university believes to be operating illegal underground lifestyles are Sigma Alpha Mu, Zeta Beta Tau, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Pi Kappa Phi.

New Jewish Frat Open for Business in Santa Barbara

Sigma Alpha Mu Opens at UCSB

Jewish men looking to join a new fraternity this spring at the University of California, Santa Barbara, will now have an alternative to Alpha Epsilon Pi.

As Sigma Alpha Mu officially joins the UCSB IFC this spring, students at the college can now rush the fraternity. With 1,800 Jews at the university, the chapter determined that they would be quite successful after a study by its national board of officials.