Vol. 82, No. 118
Eugene, Oregon 97403
Wednesday, March 11, 1981
Kappa Sigma faces fine, probation
By BILL MANNY
Of the Emerald
Kappa Sigma fraternity has been
placed on probation for the 1981-82
school year and the “chapter or
designated members" will be fined
$1,000 to $2,000 by the national Kappa
Sigma Supreme Executive Committee.
A Feb. 22 “ride” in which two Kappa
Sigma pledges — uninitiated members —
were seriously injured when hit by an
automobile was a violation of Kappa
Sigma and University regulations
prohibiting fraternity hazing, two inve
stigations have determined.
A regional Alumni Board of Control,
composed of five Kappa Sigma alumni,
made eight recommendations following
a two-week investigation.
Dean of Students Bob Bowlin also
conducted an investigation. He con
curred with the board’s findings.
Monday night, the recommendations
were approved by the Interfraternity
Council (IFC) tribunal, the organization
charged with handling Greek violations
of the student conduct code. In addition,
the tribunal levied a fine of 50 hours of
community service on the house.
Tragic hazing violation
examined in two reports
Who will be fined and what the exact
fines will be is not known. That decision
will wait until the fraternity committee
meets.
While under probation, another hazing
violation for Kappa Sigma will mean
revocation of the chapter’s charter. In
addition to probation, the board limited
the house s social functions for the
remainder of this year to one spring
house dance.
Other penalties were recommended by
the board and Bowlin and approved by
the IFC tribunal. They require Kappa
Sigma to provide a resident graduate
counselor, alumni board supervision of
chapter activities for the 1981-82 school
year, drafting — subject to national
Kappa Sigma and Dean of Students
approval — a pledge education program,
and board monitoring of pledging and
pre-initiation activities.
Nine of the 14 Kappa Sigma pledges
went on the chapter-supported “road
trip,’’ the report said. With paper sacks
over their heads, the pledges were
transported to Shotgun Creek Park near
Marcola.
The pledges drank beer through
straws on the trip, and one pledge
became sick, the reports said.
None were intoxicated, the reports
said.
The nine were left to find their way
home as part of "an un-malicious team
building experience,” the reports said.
Blindfolding the pledges, the alumni
report said, “was senseless,” but not a
violation.
When the pledges stopped a fire truck
to ask for a ride, Mark Rosier and Ron
Pierce, both 18, were struck by a passing
car.
Pierce has been released from the
hospital and will return to school spring
term. Rosier, who suffered head injuries
and underwent surgery Feb. 26, remains
in McKenzie-Willamette Hospital. He has
regained consciousness, but remains in
stable but serious condition.
The alumni report said ‘‘mitigating
factors" were considered.
"First, the activity was not inherently
dangerous. Many if not most freshmen
drink beer. None of the pledges was
intoxicated at the time of the accident.
Having pledges walk home at night is not
designed to injure them and is not
particularly fraught with danger."
Bowlin said the "rides" are prohibited
to prevent precisely what happened. He
said the University administration was
pleased with the alumni's actions.
Kappa Sigma president Bob Hansen
declined to comment on the sanctions.
Bowlin said intitiation at all University
fraternities has been halted until each
can show that an alumni adviser will be in
attendance at all initiation and pre-inita
tion activities, and the advisers certify
that anti-hazing guidelines are being
met.
Bowlin said the measures should fos
ter better fraternity-alumni relations.
A ImhAlicm Student drinking increases;
AlCOnOlISm as finals intensify pressures
By DAWN GARCIA
Of the Emerald
The pressures of finals and the
celebrations afterward are notorious
for emotional highs and lows.
These ups and downs can be enough
to throw a student with a drinking
problem over the emotional edge, say
many Eugene counselors who advise
students with alcohol-related
problems. .
The number of students with drinking
problems is growing rapidly, says Steve
Gilbert, prevention/education specia
list of the Lane County Council on
Alcoholism.
The drop this year in the national
average age for people seeking alcohol
counseling — from 35 to 25 — is evi
dence of this trend, Gilber says.
The consequences of drinking
problems are anything but minor.
Alcoholism and alcohol abuse are the
third leading cause of death in America.
For people under 25, drunk driving
accidents are the number one cause of
death, Gilbert says.
Counselors attribute increased
alcohol misuse among the college-age
population to boredom, peer pressure,
habit and emotional stress.
For some students it's just because'
drinking is “the thing to do,” says Peter
rown of the University Counseling
enter.
Brown says the widespread use of
alcohol at the University “makes the
dividing line between social use and
alcohol misuse very fuzzy at times."
The increase in alcoholism among
younger people can be attributed in
part to the “party style of drinking,”
Gilbert adds.
Another reason for the increase is
that people are seeking help for alcohol
problems at a younger age as public
awareness grows, Gilbert says.
But the stigma of the word
“alcoholic” still scares some people
away from counseling for fear they will
be berated for their drinking habits or
because they don’t think they are
alcoholics, says Mary Kay, a counselor
at Drinking Decisions, Inc.
Drinking Decisions holds 10-week
classes that include information about
ways to evaluate drinking, phy
Emerald Graphic
siological and legal facts about alcohol,
and a program that helps clients set
goals concerning their drinking.
Fees for the classes are charged on a
sliding scale with a $10 maximum per
class. Orientation meetings are free
and are held each month.
The Lane County Council on
Alcoholism has both a residential
treatment and an out-patient program,
working with the alcoholics and their
families.
Gilbert says many people aren't
aware of the risks involved in drinking.
"Younger people and women are
affected by alcohol more than other
groups,” Gilbert says.
The nervous system and brain cells
of younger people grow until age 20 or
25 and are more susceptible to damage
than fully developed systems,
especially with combined alcohol and
drug use, Gilbert says.
For women, body chemistry is a fac
tor in the susceptibility to alcoholism.
‘‘Women metabolize alcohol
differently than men,” Gilbert says.
"With a higher percentage of body fat
and lower percentage of water, women
experience a greater effect on their
system."
Drinking doesn’t mean you're an
alcoholic, but how can you tell if you
are an alcoholic or a ‘ problem
drinker?"
"A loss of control, interference with
the way you’re performing at school
and work and complaints from your
family and friends are all symptoms of
alcoholism,” Gilbert says.
"Do you schedule your classes so
you can spend your Wednesday nights
at happy hour at Duffy's instead of
studying? Is drinking number one with
everything else taking a backseat?”
Gilbert asks.
If these descriptions fit, Gilbert
suggests calling the 24-hour crisis hot
line at the Lane County Council on
Alcoholism
Agencies offering help for alcohol
problems include: University
Counseling at 686-3227, Lane County
Council on Alcoholism at 484-1712,
Drinking Decisions at 484-9274 and
Alcoholics Anonymous at 342-4113.