Another fraternity party death

<p>Pizza, the city of Cambridge MA banned the sale of kegs with the full cooperation/coercion by the administrations of MIT, Harvard, and probably some of the colleges in walking distance of the other side of the River (i.e. BU). Yes- a kid with a car can drive to Watertown and buy a keg and bring it back to an off-campus apartment. Yes- a bunch of kids can buy a keg in Allston and shlep it back on the bus. But going to the source (liquor stores) and working with law enforcement to uphold the laws already on the books (like not selling handles of vodka to 18 year olds) seems to be a sensible start.</p>

<p>I get angry at police departments in college towns who know about which liquor stores routinely accept fake ID’s and yet do nothing about it.</p>

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<p>Such are quite common since most colleges don’t have the space. Heck, at my undergrad, the dorms were technically off the campus proper; down the street, several blocks. </p>

<p>But to answer your question, the campus security has an agreement with the local police in which the campus security/police (sometimes they are registered cops) patrols the streets where dorms/greek houses are. They can patrol much more frequently than the cops, and if “off campus” parties are registered, campus safety/security can purposely cruise by.</p>

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<p>Both have declined, and isn’t that the point. (While it might be a shock to those on cc, most students do not attend a residential college in the woods. Most attend their local instate college, which may require commuting.)</p>

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<p>Don’t forget, that there were ~20 states including California, that still had a 21 minimum before the feds put out the highway funds as a carrot/stick.</p>

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<p>For fraternities trying to evade the rules about fraternity parties, the school can define a fraternity party as one hosted by any fraternity member, even if it is not in a fraternity house or on campus, in order to close any loopholes in the fraternity party rules.</p>

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<p>Fraternity parties can be much larger and better publicized.</p>

<p>Fraternity parties attract LOTS of girls, the 4 wild and crazy guys, not so much. </p>

<p>I know young women who would never enter a strangers apartment (hosted by 4 or 8 or 1 wild and crazy guy) who frequently attend frat parties where they may only know one or two of the brothers- and sometimes very peripherally (“he sits next to me in Econ and invited me”). I’m sure there is a psychological term for when otherwise rational people suspend their normal fear/reticence/caution because they believe there is some familiarity? relationship? which doesn’t actually exist.</p>

<p>@blossom, it’s similar to affinity fraud in the financial area. “He belongs to my church, this can’t be a scam.”</p>

<p><a href=“While%20it%20might%20be%20a%20shock%20to%20those%20on%20cc,%20most%20students%20do%20not%20attend%20a%20residential%20college%20in%20the%20woods.%20Most%20attend%20their%20local%20instate%20college,%20which%20may%20require%20commuting.”>quote</a>

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<p>Comments regarding the relative safety of residential colleges and universities as a place of experimentation with alcohol do not in any way imply that I am ignorant of the fact that most kids don’t attend one. Whether located in the woods or not.</p>

<p>“The thing I wonder is, how bad is the problem compared to the past? Is it worse? Is the death by drinking in the college population different than the death by drinking in the 17 - 22 year old non-college student cohort?”</p>

<p>College students drink at a higher incidence than non-college students of the same age, but not by a big difference. College students do drink more heavily (more drinks, more often, more binge) than non-college students. It is an untenable situation for colleges – 80% of the their students drink but 75% of their students are underage. </p>

<p>The 21 age is almost entirely about drunk driving. If the driving age was 21, the drinking age could be 18 no problem. </p>

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<p>Reports were that he was nominated to the World Bank post by the president in order to clear the way for Geithner to potentially become President at Dartmouth. Supposedly Geitthner changed his mind somewhere along the way. Perhaps he knew he wouldn’t be a favorite of the frat guys. </p>

<p>That is one of the crazier theories I’ve ever heard, @dadx. Where did you see such “reports”? I’d love a citation.</p>

<p>In related news, the band members who relied on hazing at FAMU have not been as lucky as the frat brothers who caused death. </p>

<p>See <a href=“http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/31/us/florida-famu-hazing/”>Former FAMU band member convicted in 2011 hazing death - CNN;

<p>As far as Geithner goes … <a href=“Timothy Geithner: Treasury Secretary 'leaving to become president of Dartmouth College' | Daily Mail Online”>Timothy Geithner: Treasury Secretary 'leaving to become president of Dartmouth College' | Daily Mail Online;

<p>The Daily Mail isn’t quite the National Enquirer, but it’s not always a reputable source. </p>

<p>Oh I agree. Between two sources to “source” dadx’ gossipy news, I had to pick the most reasonable. The other was the one with creative editors and an affinity for inventing stories. But here it is … <a href=“Will Geithner or Paulson Occupy Dartmouth? - The New York Times”>Will Geithner or Paulson Occupy Dartmouth? - The New York Times;

<p>And there is this peach <a href=“Geithner to Dartmouth? A Family Secret Gets Leaked”>http://www.cnbc.com/id/47157308&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

<p>xiggi, I heard something about the FAMU story the other day. I have my suspicions on why that one was treated differently from all the fraternity cases. It doesn’t make sense to me to treat these incidents differently.</p>

<p>Sally, I am afraid that speculation about this might not be PC. Yet, it is remarkable that most offenders are white and high SES and can rely on powerful rings of supporters. There are fewer such supporters in the world of marching bands. I am not sure it is about race as much as it is about power and the power of the dollar. </p>

<p>I am basing this on my recollection of the story from when it first broke, but I thought that the band incident involved actually beating a student on the band bus so that he had internal injuries as opposed to a party type death that could be painted as undifferentiated negligence or the fault of a pledge for drinking too much. There was more direct agency involved.</p>

<p>I am not defending or minimizing the other situations, just saying that they would be harder to take to court.</p>

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<p>The hazing perpetrated by the FAMU band was indeed brutal, but there have been plenty of brutal hazing during the initiations parties. Brutality and violence take different forms. </p>

<p>However, the absence of physical violence is hardly a yardstick to meet. Serving liquor to minors has been prosecuted in many courts. Think how parents who served liquor at parties might be held responsible for tragedies that occured at or after the parties. Now think what the forced ingestion of heavy doses of liquor amount to? </p>

<p>In the end it is not hard to be cynical when such incidents remain unpoliced and hardly prosecuted when loving mothers are arrested and charged with felonies for leaving a child unattended in a car for a few minutes! </p>

<p>This said, I do understand that the sentence of the FAMU member was proportional to the degree of violence. This, however, does not excuse the blatant lack of heavy punishment imposed in most egregious examples of abuses at fraternities. </p>