Sorority window broken, two injured on fraternity bid night

Delta Gamma sorority saw damage to its chapter house property for the second fraternity bid weekend in a row.

According to junior Lee Deadwyler, president of Delta Gamma, the glass shattered after a fraternity man pounded on a window, causing "minor" injuries to two members of the sorority.

Last year, a sign on the sorority's lawn was vandalized.

"Honestly, we don't think it was done maliciously," Deadwyler said.

She added that the fraternity member responsible had been identified and has agreed to pay for the charges of the window being replaced.

Angela Nally, director of Public Safety, said the incident was reported "instantaneously" and the fraternity in question had already been referred to the Community Standards Committee.

The Saturday bid night and following "Blackout Monday" also saw minor increases from last year in alcohol violations, official noise complaints and alcohol-related hospital visits.

"The interesting aspect of bid night is that there's a whole lot of activity all at once," Nally said. "It feels very chaotic and busy during a short span of time."

Nally attributed the slight increases to changing attitudes of incoming and senior classes, rather than a change in Public Safety's approach to enforcement.

Additional officers were already on patrol Saturday night as usual and Nally even came in to observe the night's events.

"We just want to make sure we're doing proactive things versus reactive things," Nally said. "The biggest thing that can happen to be prepared is to work with the people who are communicating directly with the chapters."

This, Nally hopes, will help to reduce safety concerns and dangerous drinking habits.

"Bid night or the Monday after bid night are very important safety concerns," Nally said. "The potential for high risk use of alcohol goes up. I think that we're constantly trying to educate students of those risks."

In addition to a minor increase in official noise complaints, this year's bid weekend saw three alcohol violations compared to none last year. Alcohol-related hospital visits also went up with one this year on Monday night.

But to Nally, the culture surrounding the weekend's festivities is concerning enough.

"The fact that it's called ‘Blackout Monday' is a concern," Nally said. "People are so vulnerable when they're at a higher level of intoxication. That's really worrisome, that those attitudes are out there and that other people are approving them."

Nally said students that communicate with Public Safety in an unofficial capacity have told horror stories about the manner and volume of alcohol consumption.

Even seemingly less harmful activities, she said, can have nightmarish consequences. Like in past years, some fraternity men shot off flares and lit broomsticks on fire Saturday night in celebration of their new members.

"I would really just hate for the memory of that night to be skewed from something that could be totally avoided," Nally said.

Looking forward, Nally said there are always lessons to be learned to improve campus safety.

She encouraged all members of the campus community to take responsibility for others and stand up before people make destructive decisions.

According to Nally, Public Safety is renewing its effort to interact with students in informal settings and providing faculty and staff with information about the ways officers interact with intoxicated students.

"We always operate from a safety mindset with balancing the authority to enforce rules and also be the person that you're going to call if you need something," Nally said. "That Rubik's Cube of department kind of thing."