To the Editor:
Monday's article ("Chi Gam party shut down early," Jan. 24) regarding the events of Friday night's party was ill-researched, poorly-presented and fundamentally inaccurate. Although Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity recognizes the need to provide timely news coverage, any attempt to contact more of the persons involved in the tri-fold "Good Samaritan" incident would have made the writing more newsworthy and less reminiscent of National Enquirer muckraking.
A statement from Ayres rather than Ding, who was completely uninvolved, would reveal that an '06 brother, upon seeing the sick girl's condition, took her, Ayres and a third female into a brother's room bathroom to assess the situation. One brother went to get water for the girl while another stayed with the three and advised a Good Samaritan call.
The two sober girls informed us that the sick girl had been drinking hard liquor before coming to the party. The only delay in procedure was a two-minute period where an '05 tried to inform the risk managers in the basement of the girl's condition -- in this interim, the girls and the '06 brother called in the Good Samaritan.
As this was happening, another girl was sick in the second-floor bathroom. The girl had tried to walk down our stairs, vomited over the side railing and was brought back to the bathroom by her friends and a risk manager. Her friends objected to calling Safety and Security, stating that they would be willing to walk her home. The risk manager immediately called in a Good Samaritan despite the adamant complaints of the friends.
He then brought her down to the foyer until the Safety and Security car arrived. It is our understanding that Safety and Security responded to the two separate calls simultaneously. After our risk manager helped the girl out from the bathroom, the girl in the brother's room was carried out by an '05 brother. Once the brothers realized that two girls had been separately called in, we immediately shut down the party at the request of Safety and Security officer Rebel Roberts. In the process, a third inebriated girl was put under the care of the officers.
None of the people picked up were drinking in our house. In effect, these girls showed up with their more sober friends just in time for us to assume responsibility, babysit them and ultimately call Safety and Security to come care for them.
By binging before coming out, students make it extremely difficult for doormen to assess their sobriety, as the alcohol in their system has not yet taken effect. Too many students on this campus don't realize the dangers in "pre-gaming" with copious amounts of liquor before going out.
Chi Gamma Epsilon does not in any way advocate underage drinking, but we do advocate safe drinking. The Good Samaritan policy exists to ensure the safety of the student body, which is a particular concern during the frigid and dangerous winter months. The entire campus should encourage its indiscriminate use, especially considering the grave alternatives of remaining complacent when fellow students are in need.
For years the Greek system (particularly, the fraternity system) has taken it upon itself to provide the only social options on this campus. However, while we can control what we give out, we cannot control what individuals take in throughout the course of their nights. If anything, this incident should motivate the entire campus to reassess their drinking habits and how the choices of select irresponsible individuals can jeopardize both the safety of their peers and the entire campus social scene.
