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The Michigan Daily - michigandaily.com

Unives;

GREEK LIFE
Stabbing at SAE prompts
debate over party security

7C - Fall 2014

Doubts raised over
impact of sober
monitor training
By YARDAIN AMRON
Daily StaffReporter
Despite the stabbing of two
members of the University's
chapter of the Sigma Alpha Epsi-
lon fraternity early November
by an angry party-crasher, the
Interfraternity Council is con-
flicted as to whether existing
security measures are sufficient
to handle future incidents.
The assault at SAE occurred
after four individuals were
kicked out of the fraternity
house, leading to a heated verbal
altercation in which the suspect
drew a knife and stabbed two
sober monitors.
Because SAE was expelled
from IFC in 2011 for hazing
allegations, the chapter's sober
monitors were not required to
complete University Health Ser-
vice's Sober Monitor training,
and the chapter was not under
jurisdiction of IFC's Social Envi-
ronment Management Policy. .
SEMP provides a mandatory,
19-page protocol for hosting an
IFC social event. Strict SEMP
guidelines are enforced by the
Social Responsibility Commit-
tee, which is composed of 13
Greek-affiliated students. On
party nights, members make
rounds as "checkers" to patrol
for policy violations. During
that time, sober monitors must
submit to breathalyzer tests by
request of SEMP checkers, who
also have the right to shut down
a party if deemed necessary.
Whether SAE was following
the SEMP policy the night of
the attack is unclear. Brandon
Weghorst, a national spokesman
for SAE, could not be reached
for comment after repeated
requests.
SRC, however, does not moni-
tor events that are unaffiliated
with IFC; like parties at SAE.
LSA junior Tommy Wydra,
the SRC chairman, said there

are serious safety concerns for
students at unregulated off-cam-
pus fraternities, but praised the
sober monitor training required
of IFC fraternities.
"I'm very confident that an
incident like this would not
occur at any of our fraternity
houses because of the training
that we go through," Wydra said.
Training for sober monitors -
the orange-shirt-clad fraternity
members who man the doors and
serve alcohol at many fraternity
parties - includes preparation
for dealing with sick party-goers,
violent confrontations and crowd
control.
However, Andrew Koffsky,
former president of AEPi, said in
a previous interview that he was
less convinced the sober monitor
training could prevent such an
assault.
"No 19 or 20 year old knows
how to deal with somebody who
has a knife and is trying to get
into a party," Koffsky said. "None
of us are trained to have mortal
combat abilities."
Stephen Siddall, risk manager
for the University's chapter of
the Chi Phi fraternity, echoed
Koffsky's concerns about the
stabbing.
"I think it's really scary; it
really could have happened at
any fraternity," Siddall said.
As risk manager, Siddall
approves plans for Chi Phi's par-
ties, works the front door and
coordinates up to 10 sober moni-
tors around the fraternity's prop-
erty.
Siddall said he had little for-
mal training aside from shadow-
ing the previous risk manager.
While Siddall admitted none of
his sober monitors are trained to
deal with a weapon, he said hir-
ing additional security - as some
fraternities have - would be
overkill, and he put the onus on
guests for keeping parties safe.
"People just need to under-
stand that fraternities are not
throwing open parties every
night," Siddall said. "Ninety-nine
percent of our parties are closed
events."
But when fraternities plan

massive parties - usually with
attendance of 500 people or
more - some risk managers see
a third-party security team as a
necessary investment.
K-9 Patrol, a risk manage-
ment consulting firm based out
of Dearborn Heights, Mich., has
been employed this year by the
University's chapters of Sigma
Alpha Mu, Alpha Sigma Phi and
Alpha Epsilon Pi. The company
provides pre-event guidance,
onsite armed and unarmed
guards and post-party consulta-
tions.
Timothy Schar, CEO of K-9
Patrol, said his guards are pro-
fessional and act as a strongvisu-
al deterrent to help reduce the
chance of an assault.
"We're not a company that
goes and puts a bunch of 300-
pound gorillas out there with
black t-shirts that say 'security'
on the back, because that's not
security," Schar said.
The company even deals with
angry neighbors through a hot-
line designated for complaints.
Guards generally cost $280,
and most parties need between
three and five guards, depending
on the number of guests, Schar
said. Most fraternities spend
between $1,000 and $1,500
upfront on his company's ser-
vices, and there are no refunds if
a party gets shut down, he said.
Without private security,
Schar said most fraternity par-
ties on campus have serious safe-
ty and liability issues.
"I would say probably 20 per-
cent at best have security that
is active and functional," Schar
said.
Still, the exorbitant costs
required to hire a company
like K-9 Patrol remain a strong
enough deterrent for some risk
managers, like Siddall.
"We haven't been asked to
(hire security), and that's an
added cost that we don't neces-
sarily need, and I really don't
think its necessary from a risk
management perspective," Sid-
dall said.

Mary Jo Desprez, Director of Wolverine Wellness "Alcohol Harm," speaks about the alcohol climate on campus inthe
Fleming Administration Building on Monday.
SACUA addresses alcohol
consumption trends at 'U'

Concerns include
drinking during
Welcome Week,
orientation
By ANDREW ALMANI
Daily StaffReporter
The Senate Advisory Com-
mittee on University Affairs met
Monday with several adminis-
trators who are working towards
reducing the public health risks of
alcohol consumption on campus.
E. Royster Harper, vice presi-
dent for student life, Chief Health
Officer Robert Winfield, director
of the University Health Service,
Wolverine Wellness director
Mary Jo Desprez and J. Ann
Hower, director of the office of
new student programs, joined
SACUA for the meeting.
During her presentation,
Desprez presented materials on
alcohol consumption trends and

strategies for combatting high-
risk drinking. She said 64 percent
of students drink socially, and 61
percent drink to celebrate.
At one point, Desprez asked the
faculty seated around the table if
they were familiar with the "I'm
Shmacked" video filmed at the
University. No one in the room
had seen it, so Desprez proceeded
to play the video and explain the
role that social media plays on the
environment that induces drink-
ing for students.
"I'm Shmacked"' is a video
series that glamorizes partying
and alcohol consumption at cam-
puses across the nation. There
are at least three "I'm Shmacked"
productions featuring the Uni-
versity.
"This (video) has 807,749
views, while the University Cam-
pus Tour video only has 63,202
views," she said. "This is recruit-
ing students before we get to. I
might not play the whole thing,
because it sucks your soul."
"The social network and the

viral nature of the Internet is
in some ways is great on college
campuses, and it also has aharder
time for us to manage in terms
of the perception of alcohol use,"
Desprez said.
Hower spoke about the chang-
es the University is considering
making to the orientation process
due to concerns that new students
have easy access to parties and
alcohol, posing a high risk of irre-
sponsible drinking.
Another concern expressed
is the time students have before
classes start, while many are
moving to Ann Arbor. Several
speakers expressed concerns that
Welcome Week fosters an unsafe
drinking environment-especial-
ly for new students.
Several SACUA members
said they were concerned about
the issue,, and requested addi-
tional meetings to discuss ways
in which the administration is
working to make progress.
The last SACUA meeting of the
term will take place April 28.

IFC votes to ban hard liquor
at Tier 3 fraternity parties

COLD
From Page 1C
sory Committee for University
Affairs meeting Jan. 13 to discuss
the University's decision to not
cancel classes.
"By the time it became clear
that we were facing an extraordi-
nary weather event, we realized
that we didn't have appropriate
mechanisms to close the Univer-
sity even if we wanted to," Pollack
said.
During that meeting, Pollack
said the University planned to
establish a committee to address
emergency situations, including
weather, that merit the cancella-
tion of classes.
Though that committee was
formed and held one meeting last
week, Fitzgerald said the deci-
sion to cancel classes Tuesday was
made independently of that com-
mittee, in consultation with the
the office of the Provost, Winfield

and Thomas.
"This is a decision that was
made based on the unique circum-
stances that are being presented
with the weather forecasts for
tomorrow," Fitzgerald said. "This
is not a reflection of any new pro-
tocol."
Business senior Michael
Proppe, CSG president, said he
believes the dangerous conditions
Tuesday warranted the historic
measure.
"It's really going to be cold
tomorrow, I think the University
made the right call," Proppe said.
"When it's -25 degrees out with
the wind chill and you have stu-
dentswalking10, 15, or 20 minutes
to class, it can be dangerous to
have skin exposed in that kind of
weather."
Proppe said he was surprised
becausesuch adecisionis"unprec-
edented," but added that he knows
the University has students safety
at the forefront.
I "Though CSG did not play an

active role in today's decision,
executive members brought up
the school's lack of a severe weath-
er policy in their last few meetings
with the dean of students, Laura
Blake Jones," Proppe said.
While many students may
spend tomorrow binge-watching
Netflix or enjoying some other
form of leisure, Proppe said his
cold day will likely consist of
catching up on homework and
CSG related projects.
Eastern Michigan University
and Washtenaw Community Col-
lege also have canceled classes for
Tuesday.Accordingto the Twitter
of the State News Twitter, Michi-
gan State University spokesperson
Kent Cassella said that MSU is
expected to "continue operations
as usual."
St. Joseph County in Indiana,
where Notre Dame is located, is
under a state of emergency and
driving after 7 p.m. is subject to a
$2,500 fine.

Decision lauded as
step towards higher
on-campus safety
By YARDAIN AMRON
Daily StaffReporter
Some fraternity parties will
now be a little easier on the liver.
In a nearly unanimous
vote Wednesday night, the
Interfraternity Council
amended its Social Environment
Management Policy to ban
hard liquor at fraternities' open
parties. The new policy will be
effective immediately.
Business senior Michael
Proppe, Central Student
Government president, first
announced the policy change at
the meeting of the University's
Board of Regents Thursday.
"This is a proactive step
that Michigan students are
taking to improve our safety on
campus, and I commend the IFC
leadership," Proppe said.
The new policy comes less
than two months into IFC
President Tommy Wydra's
first term as the organization's
leader. Proppe said Wydra is
getting off to a successful start.
The SEMP amendment
applies to Tier IIIA and Tier
IIIB parties, known as "open
parties," which are limited
to 200 guests, along with the
hosting fraternity members.

"Due to the elimination of
hard liquor at Tier IIIA and
IIIB events, students will
enjoy a safer social scene at the
University of Michigan for years
to come," the IFC stated in a
press release.
The policy will not apply to
National Pan-Hellenic Council
or Multicultural Greek Council
parties because SEMP only
applies to the IFC and Pan-
Hellenic Association.
Wydra said the new policy
extends only to open parties and
not lower-tier parties because
the former tend to be the riskiest,
such as those during Welcome
Week or on Halloween.
"Many of the Greeks get
so much training, whether
it's sober monitor training or
alcohol awareness, so we feel
they can manage those Tier
II parties much more easily,"
Wydra said. "I have absolutely
no plans to expand it to Tier II
or Tier IIICs."
Proppe said the amendment
will help improve safety at the
larger parties.
"The nice thing about a Tier
II party is you know who is
going to be there and so it's a
little bit more of a controlled
environment," Proppe said. "At
a Tier III party that's open to
students who are not necessarily
a part of the Greek organization,
it's harder to control and hold
people accountable."
Kinesiology junior Elive

Likine, a member of the Pi Kappa
Alpha fraternity, better known
as Pike, said the policy might do
the opposite of its intention.
"I think it's going to turn into
people pre-gaming harder and
drinking faster in preparation
because they'll know they won't
be able to have it at the party,"
Likine said. "Some people
just don't like beer. When you
prevent something like this, I
feel like it will end up blowing
up in their own face."
As for enforcement, Wydra
sai d the Social Responsibility
Committee - a group of Greek
members who enforce current
SEMP policy - would be able to
take on the amendment.
"When SRC comes they hit
the bathroom, they hit the
bar, wherever people are SRC
goes and checks," Wydra said.
"They're going to be interacting
with guests at these parties and
randomly checking three to five
guest IDs. As long as there is no
hard alcohol, it will be ok."
Wydra added that he believes
the amendment will be accepted
without much controversy
among members of Greek Life.
"Once every Greek member
completely understands the
policy they will be on board
with it," Wydra said. "It's a lot
different if the Greeks think
we're taking away something
just to take away something
rather than doing it with good
intentions."

CAMPAIGN
From Page 1C
country are carrying out similar
fundraising drives - but the Uni-
versity's goal is closer to many
private schools than public peers.
Harvard Universityis currentlyin
the midst of the largest fundrais-
ing drive in the history of higher
education - with an ambitious
$6.5 billion goal. The campaign
launched earlier this year and will
conclude in 2018.
LSA Interim Dean Susan Gel-
man wrote in an e-mail that her
priorities for the campaignfocus on
financialaid,includingscholarships
dedicated to assisting students pay
for study abroad and internship
experiences, as well as undergradu-
ate research opportunities.
"We are committed to the lib-
eral arts, and we have evidence
from the stories of our alumni that
scholarship support makes a tre-
mendous difference, not only for
an individual student - maybe the
first in his or her family to attend

college - but also for siblings,
relatives, and entire communities
who are inspired and encouraged
by seeing dreams become reality,"
Gelman wrote.
The University has received
$1.7 billion in gifts in the twoyears
leadingup to the officialkickoffon
Friday.
In the last few months, dona-
tions from philanthropists includ-
ingStephenRoss, Charles Munger,
Penny Stamps, Helen Zell and the
Rogel and Frankel families have
donated gifts earmarked for an
array of new facilities, scholar-
ships and programs.
Coleman said these leadership
gifts highlight diverse areas of the
University - ranging from arts
and humanities to the Business
School, student support and ath-
letics. She added that the flagship
donations serve as examples for
smaller benefactors.
Ross, who donated $200 mil-
lion in September to his namesake
business school and the Athletic
Department, serves as chair of the
campaign.

On Wednesday, the University
announced a $50 million donation
from Richard and Susan Rogel -
which will benefit the Medical
School and the Center for Chinese
Studies. Richard Rogel served as
chair of The Michigan Difference
campaign and will serve as vice
chair of the Victors for Michigan
campaign - spearheading the
overall push for studentsupport.
Three students attended the
press conference to answer ques-
tions about how the campaignwill
support them. LSA senior Kather-
ine Man, a non-resident student
and a member of the Global Schol-
ars program, said without her
financial aid, she would not have
been able to attend the University.
"This opens the opportunities
for students who are good stu-
dents but don't have the financial
means," Man said.
The Victors for Michigan cam-
paignkick-off will begin Friday at
5 p.m. with a community festival
in Ingalls Mall, the main event in
Hill Auditorium and an after-par-
ty, ending at 10 p.m.

AST
From Page 2C
Sierra echoed Anderson's
points about financialization at
the University - one of SUM's
main issues. As the University's
Black Student Union recently
made national news by bringing
the experiences of Black students

- who constitute 4.65 percent
of enrolled students - on cam-
pus to light, Sierra said college
affordability for students from
diverse backgrounds should be
the University's top priority.
While the University's enroll-
ment does not directly relate to
the fight against AST, Sierra said
it reflects a larger issue of who
has the decision-making power

on campus.
"I think this initiative is part
of a larger effort to really address
those diversity questions in a
way that is not an empty buzz-
word (like) the University wants
to paint in their pamphlets, but
that if you're actually interested,
you actually need to have people
be a part of the process."

PESCOVITZ
From Page 6C
said the Health System under
Pescovitz has recorded "the high-
est-ever scores in patient satisfac-
tion." The University Hospital

was rated as the number one hos-
pital in the state, according to the
U.S. News and World Report 2013
to 2014 rankings.
"I have relished my time
here and will forever be grate-
ful for the growth, experiences
and relationships made possible

by this opportunity," Pescovitz
wrote. "UMHS is a community
of extraordinary people who do
extraordinary work. I have been
honored to lead this organization,
which is what made this decision
very difficult for me."

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