Fraternity Danger at UMD

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I told you stories about my time on Rugby Road in the early 90s, I can absolutely promise you would never send your kid to UVA.

You do know that your experience is not everyone's? My DD lives on Rugby Rd and is greek. Yes there are things she doesn't love about the greek system, but she has been 100% safe and has friends in every fraternity and sorority. I'm sure people can tell stories about every school.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a public, state-funded university. Make the incident reports public and dole out consequences. The Greek system is a legal liability.

So is this crack down. The first amendment guarantees freedom of association. They cracked down on every fratenticty and sorority except the traditionally black ones. Hopefully the lawsuits start coming soon

How about thinking the UMD cares that your kid is safe instead?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a public, state-funded university. Make the incident reports public and dole out consequences. The Greek system is a legal liability.

So is this crack down. The first amendment guarantees freedom of association. They cracked down on every fratenticty and sorority except the traditionally black ones. Hopefully the lawsuits start coming soon

How about thinking the UMD cares that your kid is safe instead?

So it follows that they do not care about the black kids.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP again. I don’t think my reason for wanting to join was uncommon but I felt the social pressure to drink once I joined.

I felt like I was in the cool kid club.

+1. I think the whole greek system is purposely set up to make people think that they are elite, when they are not. My colleagues and I just don't have a high opinion of those involved with greek life, no matter how recent or not.

Spoken like a true geed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP again. I don’t think my reason for wanting to join was uncommon but I felt the social pressure to drink once I joined.

I felt like I was in the cool kid club.

+1. I think the whole greek system is purposely set up to make people think that they are elite, when they are not. My colleagues and I just don't have a high opinion of those involved with greek life, no matter how recent or not.

Spoken like a true geed.

DP. Your "geed" garbage is funny, especially considering how many of us deliberately chose schools with no Greek system to begin with. But do go on!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a public, state-funded university. Make the incident reports public and dole out consequences. The Greek system is a legal liability.

So is this crack down. The first amendment guarantees freedom of association. They cracked down on every fratenticty and sorority except the traditionally black ones. Hopefully the lawsuits start coming soon

How about thinking the UMD cares that your kid is safe instead?

So it follows that they do not care about the black kids.

Entirely different organizing structure and different norms. (It didn't apply to the marching band, either.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If I told you stories about my time on Rugby Road in the early 90s, I can absolutely promise you would never send your kid to UVA.

I believe you. It might have been worse in the 70s and 80s, not sure. I read somewhere that DEA raided one UVa fraternity for dealing -- back in the 86-87 school year.

[Anonymous]

Any updates? Must be related to hazing right?

[Anonymous]

There’s a sorority at UmD that seems to do mostly charitable stuff — they plan a lot of activities for Girl Scouts to expose them to college opportunities and encourage leadership. Does anyone know which one I am talking about and whether it was included? I’ve never been to one of their events but they look very positive.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:There’s a sorority at UmD that seems to do mostly charitable stuff — they plan a lot of activities for Girl Scouts to expose them to college opportunities and encourage leadership. Does anyone know which one I am talking about and whether it was included? I’ve never been to one of their events but they look very positive.

Yes, Kappa Delta. This used to hold events for dances for girls pre-pandemic. I wish they would do them again.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Any updates? Must be related to hazing right?

Yes, related to hazing. Rumor from my dd (so take with a grain of salt--after all, how would students know?) is that they are considering criminal charges in the frat at the center of things. Though this rumor is consistent with an additional report that the police issued search warrants of the frat house.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:This is a tradition that has outlived its usefulness

I agree with this. I was in a sorority, and I really loved it, but I think the negatives outweigh the benefits at this point, especially for young men. Until hazing that involves forced drinking, drugging, humiliation and physical abuse is dealt with using zero tolerance policies, I will not encourage my two sons. For me, it was a lovely experience and some of closest friends now (in my 50s) are my sorority sisters, but the "hazing" I experienced was based on good natured ribbing, not masochism.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a tradition that has outlived its usefulness

I agree with this. I was in a sorority, and I really loved it, but I think the negatives outweigh the benefits at this point, especially for young men. Until hazing that involves forced drinking, drugging, humiliation and physical abuse is dealt with using zero tolerance policies, I will not encourage my two sons. For me, it was a lovely experience and some of closest friends now (in my 50s) are my sorority sisters, but the "hazing" I experienced was based on good natured ribbing, not masochism.

I agree with most of this. I was in a sorority too in college. However, I think zero tolerance policies make things worse. The higher you make the stakes for those that report whose activities aren’t exactly Boy Scouts the less likely they are to report. There needs to be more openness and more communication.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a public, state-funded university. Make the incident reports public and dole out consequences. The Greek system is a legal liability.

So is this crack down. The first amendment guarantees freedom of association. They cracked down on every fratenticty and sorority except the traditionally black ones. Hopefully the lawsuits start coming soon

How about thinking the UMD cares that your kid is safe instead?

So it follows that they do not care about the black kids.

Entirely different organizing structure and different norms. (It didn't apply to the marching band, either.)

Are you say the seven sisters don’t haze?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This is a public, state-funded university. Make the incident reports public and dole out consequences. The Greek system is a legal liability.

So is this crack down. The first amendment guarantees freedom of association. They cracked down on every fratenticty and sorority except the traditionally black ones. Hopefully the lawsuits start coming soon

How about thinking the UMD cares that your kid is safe instead?

I would agree, but I am concerned about the lawsuit against the school about the male student who had to leave after being harassed by a random female student and her friend off campus.