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■ BSU dinner theater performs this weekend — 5
The Red & Black
An independent student newspaper serving the University of Georgia Community
INSIDE
David Pace takes a look at
the psychology of Bulldog
animal behavior in “Touch
and Go.”
4
Weather: Today, rain, a lot of it,
high In mid-50s. Probably more
rain tonight, low In upper 40s.
Cloudy tomorrow, 40 percent
chance of rain, upper 50s.
THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1990 • ATHENS, GEORGIA • VOLUME 97, ISSUE 67
Fraternity’s expulsion overturned
Sigma Chi sentenced
to 5-year suspension
Fraternity misconduct
cited in sentencing
By JOEL GROOVER
Staff Writer
In suspending Sigma Chi fraternity for five years, the Judicial
Council considered the chapter’s record and saw an “obvious trend to
ward misconduct" since 1985, according to its statement.
Katie Mitchell, chief justice of the Student Judiciary and acting head
of the council, said the fraternity’s record included seven incidents since
1985.
• In 1985, Sigma Chi was placed on probation for one year afler mem
bers were involved in two fights over a two-week period. One fight oc
curred at Russell Hall. The other took place afler someone hurled a bottle
through a window at the Sigma Chi house.
• In 1987, the fraternity failed to register a party with Student Activ
ities — a violation of University regulations.
• In 1988, Sigma Chi hung fliers advertising a party, which is also a
violation, and received a warning from the judiciary. Also, several fights
occurred at a party the fraternity threw fall quarter of that year.
• In 1989, the fraternity was placed on probated social suspension
through winter quarter 1990 after a disorderly conduct violation. It also
was put on probated expulsion for five years after being found guilty that
quarter of another disorderly conduct violation.
That violation took place afler members got into a fight with another
fraternity. In that fight, property was damaged and a student was sent to
the hospital.
The terms of Sigma Chi’s probated expulsion were that the fraternity
would be expelled the next time it was found guilty of endangering the
health or safety of a University student.
In December of 1989, the Student Judiciary found Sigma Chi guilty of
another disorderly conduct violation and voted to expel the fraternity.
That was the decision overturned by the Judicial Council last week.
By JOEL GROOVER
Staff Writer
The Judicial Council has sus
pended Sigma Chi for five years,
overturning a previous decision to
permanently expel the fraternity.
Afler refusing to release its deci
sion earlier in the week, the council
changed its position Wednesday
and released the following
statement:
“After thoughtful deliberation,
the Judicial Council has found that
the sanctions imposed upon Sigma
Chi were unreasonably harsh
based upon the circumstances of
the case and the defendant organi
zation’s prior records.
‘Therefore the Judicial Council
decided a more appropriate sanc
tion is: five-year suspension from
the University of Georgia effective
immediately, one year probated ex
pulsion for the first calendar year
of reinstatement.
‘This probated expulsion will re
sult in permanent expulsion for
ANY violation of ANY University
conduct regulation by the de
fendant organization during the
calendar year specified above."
In addition to the suspension
and probated expulsion, the
council ruled that a National
Sigma Chi field consultant must
live in the fraternity’s house for a
year after itp reinstatement.
The consultant will supervise
Sigma Chi to prevent further mis
conduct.
Contacted Wednesday, Sigma
Chi President Craig Beard refused
to comment on the council’s deci
sion, which was reached after an
appeals hearing last week.
But Ben Hood, a senior finance-
mfyor who represents the frater
nity in judicial proceedings, said
Sigma Chi will definitely appeal.
The appeal is due Feb. 26.
Once the appeal is filed, Dwight
Douglas, vice president for Student
Affairs, will review the Judicial
Council’s decision.
If Douglas upholds the ruling or
if Sigma Chi appeals his decision,
University President Charles
Knapp will have the final say.
Katie Mitchell, chief justice of
the Student Judiciary and acting
head of the council, said the seven-
member student panel decided a
recent rule change by Judicial Pro
grams applies to student courts.
Judicial Programs revised its
policy three weeks ago to allow the
release of more details in cases in
volving student organizations. The
policy included releasing informa
tion after each step in the appeals
process.
But the council, which hears ap
peals from student courts, origi
nally said it would give out details
only after an organization ex
hausts its appeals.
“We have to go with the whole
By handing down a five-
year suspension, the
council has effectively
kicked the current
membership out of the
fraternity.
University-wide disclosure policy,"
Mitchell said.
By handing down a five-year
suspension, the council has effecti
vely kicked the current mem
bership out of the fraternity. Most
of its members should graduate be
fore the suspension ends.
The council justified the sen
tence in its statement, saying it
was necessary because “the cur
rent Sigma Chi chapter is and will
continue to be a detriment to the
University community.
"Sigma Chi has been to Judicial
Programs for regulation violations
three times in the past six months,
not to mention the prior incidents
in 1985, 1987 and 1988.
‘The fraternity’s disregard for
the conduct regulations and, more
importantly, the safety of the Uni
versity community leaves the
council with no other option but to
require complete and total member
turnover."
In December, the Organization
Court of the Student Judiciary
voted to expel Sigma Chi for a dis
orderly conduct violation. The vio
lation occurred while the fraternity
was on probation for three other in
fractions.
The disorderly conduct took
place Sept. 23 at a party at the
Sigma Chi house where A Flock of
Seagulls was scheduled to play.
The party was shut down by
University police afler 800 to 1,000
people crowded into the house.
Ron Binder, adviser to fraterni
ties, said he supports the sentence,
as does the Interfraternity Council,
which wrote to the council asking it
to overturn the expulsion
If Douglas and Knapp agree
with the council’s decision, Sigma
Chi will cease to exist for five years
as far as the administration is con
cerned. The fraternity won’t be al
lowed to receive University
services or take part in school-
sponsored events.
In addition, fraternity members
probably will be asked to move out
of their house, according to Stu
dent Affairs Director Bill Porter.
That’s what happened afler Chi
Phi fraternity was suspended in
July of 1987 for hazing violations
The fraternity was allowed back on
campus last year.
While Chi Phi was suspended,
the University used its house for
storage space.
Media plays big role
in copycat crime cases
The Associated Press
ATLANTA — The media can
take steps to prevent copycat
crimes, whether the news con
cerns murders, bombings or sui
cides, says a professor who has
researched the subject.
David Phillips, a sociology pro
fessor at the University of Cali
fornia in San Diego, said such
behavior should not be glorified.
He was speaking in response to
the rash of mail bombings in the
Southeast.
Instead, he said, the media
should describe the pain caused
by criminals, publicize the suf
fering of survivors, discuss more
constructive behavior at the
same time negative behavior is
being reported, and mention al
ternative behaviors such as
seeking counseling when consid
ering suicide.
But he said it would be inap
propriate for the media not to
carry stories about bombings and
other major crimes.
Interviewed by telephone
Tuesday, Phillips said research
indicates the only newspaper re
ports imitated are those on the
front page — the only page many
people read. “So if a story is put
on an inside page," he said, “it
would be less harmful.”
Phillips was commenting on a
rash of bomb hoaxes and copycat
crimes that has plagued authori
ties since two pre-Christmas mail
bombs killed a judge and a
lawyer. The subsequent crimes,
he said, suggest that people too
often imitate antisocial behavior
depicted in the media.
“If the behavior is condoned, it
is more likely to be imitated. But
it is also imitated if it isn’t con
doned," said Phillips.
He said controlled laboratory
experiments repeatedly have
found “that people are more
likely to behave violently if they
see violence modeled for them.”
Some studies, he said, also sug
gest the imitative process oper
ates in real life, outside the
laboratory.
“It’s accepted (by most re
searchers) that this goes on in the
laboratory," Phillips said. "It is
not accepted that you can auto
matically generalize from the
laboratory. (But) there’s certainly
cause for concern."
Phillips said some evidence,
for example, suggests that “hi*
jackings can come in clusters just
as these bombing attempts come
in clusters."
In mid-December, authorities
launched a multistate investiga
tion in the Southeast, after mail
bombs killed Judge Robert S.
Vance of the 11th U.S. Circuit
Court of Appeals and Robert Rob
inson, a Savannah lawyer.
Two other bombs were safely
intercepted, and racial motiva
tion was suspected. No one has
been arrested.
Phillips said a copycat may
share the original criminal’s
anger but not his motive.
Tt may be that the person
might want to feel powerful or ef
fective," he said.
Unofficial poll: Keep quarter system
Hitting the polls: Lawson Sullivan, seated, looks on while freshman Spencer Kiser votes
at the graduate studies building.
By MICHAEL W. McLEOD
Staff Writer
The quarter system edged out
semesters by 211 votes in an unof
ficial poll of Btudent opinion con
ducted by the Demosthenian
Society Tuesday and Wednesday.
Of the 1,421 students who cast
ballots, 816 voted for the Univer
sity to stay on the quarter system.
Votes in favor of the semester
system totaled 605.
Scott Weinberg, Semester Feasi
bility Task Force chairman, said he
expected most students to vote for
the quarter system, as people gen
erally tend to stay with what they
are familiar with. He said the fact
that about 43 percent of the partic
ipants in the poll chose tne se
mester system was “fairly
promising."
“Even though it wasn’t a ma
jority, it was a very high percent
that are willing to change,” Wein
berg said
The results will be sent to Uni
versity President Charles Knapp
and the Semester Feasibility Task
Force, but Todd Ross, Demosthe
nian treasurer and polling com
mittee chairman, said he isn’t sure
how much respect the task force
will give the Demosthenian poll be
cause of the low turnout during the
polling.
Weinberg said the 50-page re
port the task force had prepared
was finished and wouldn’t include
the poll.
He also said he wasn’t sure such
a low voter turnout would have
much weight with the Educational
Affairs Committee of the Univer
sity Council, which will consider
the report and make recommenda
tions on the possible change from
quarters to semesters to the Exec
utive Committee.
The poll results surprised De
mosthenian Vice President Hogai
Nassery.
“I was expecting semesters to
get the majority of the vote," she
said, "with students thinking the
grass is always greener on the
other side."
Ross said even though the poll
may not have had quantity, it had
quality.
‘We got the votes that counted,
of people that went out of their way
to show they cared," he said.
Time and time again he heard
people say they didn’t vote because
the issue wouldn’t affect them,
Ross said.
Nassery said even though a
change to semesters wouldn’t occur
until fall of 1993 at the earliest, the
vote is still important to all stu
dents.
“Students complain that the ad
ministration is always making de
cisions without student consent,”
she said.
The poll was the closest way for
the administration to find out how
the students felt," Nassery said.
Ross said he found most of the
upperclassmen at the polls voted
for the semester system and most
of the lowerclasamen who partici
pated voted for quarters.
Basking in the sun
Lisa Caldwell and Richard Kozel, main library employees, catch some rays next to the fountain on North
Campus beside Lustrat House. Maybe the rays will return soon.
Student who abandoned dog
charged with misdemeanor
By ANNE-MARIE FANGUY
Staff Writer
A 21-year-old drama major will face a misdemeanor
charge in Clarke County State Court March 21 for
abondoning his dog, Samantha.
University student Eugene Howard was arrested
Sunday and charged with abandoning the dog in Jan
uary, Clarke County police officials said.
Samantha was found with the note, “Please don’t
take me to the pound. I don’t want to die," tied around
her neck.
The mixed-breed dog was taken to the Clarke
County Dog Control Unit on Beaverdam Road. There,
Samantha was later identified as Howard’s by Uni
versity student Tammy McGill, who is an acquaint
ance of Howard.
McGill said she read about the dog’s abandonment
in The Athens Banner-Herald and went to the pound
to see if it was Howard’s. Howard told her earlier that
he had given Samantha away and she initially
thought the new owner had abandoned the dog,
McGill said.
Mike Sales, unit manager of the shelter, said the
dog “appeared to be in fair to good condition" when
Samantha was found with the note,
“Please don’t take me to the
pound. I don’t want to die,” tied
around her neck.
they picked Samantha up on Jan. 25. in Kingswood
subdi'vision.
“Because of the note, we knew it had been aban
doned.’ he said. Sales said he got in touch with Wayne
Ford, a staff writer at The Banner-Herald, to raise
public interest and try to have someone identify the
dog.
McGill said the dog is “notoriously destructive’ and
she has heard Howard complain about the animal
chewing up his furniture.
Samantha has been adopted but Sales said the new
owner wishes to remain anonymous.
Howard declined to comment.