Jezebel: ailing brands

96 Arrested In Massive San Diego State Inter-Fraternity Coke Ring

Moe — Tue, 06 May 2008 16:30:00 EDT

A year ago this month this pretty young San Diego State University Alpha Phi sister Jennifer Poliakoff died tragically at age 19 of what appeared to be alcohol poisoning. Well, it turned out to be a cocaine overdose... and the coke turned out to be pretty strong... and then someone else died at a SDSU frat house, and, well, to make a long story short, it turned out the San Diego State Greek system was operating a drug ring so massive and highly-connected it sounds like the stuff of an Akon interview, except it is true. (And we thought college Greek organizations/San Diego State students were good for nothing!) Today the San Diego feds announced they had arrested 96 young people in conjunction with the drug ring , 75 of whom were students, in connection with the drug ring. And if you're like me, you're thinking, "Too bad, those were probably 75 of the smartest kids on campus."

"A sad commentary is that when one of these individuals was arrested, they inquired as to whether or not his arrest and incarceration would have an effect on his becoming a federal law enforcement officer," a DEA spokesman said. No shit. Apparently they had connections to a major cartel.

A student majoring in criminal justice was arrested for possession of 500 grams of cocaine and two guns, officials said.
As part of the investigation, officers infiltrated seven campus fraternities. In some fraternities, most of the members were aware of organized drug dealing occuring from the houses by members, officials said.

In one instance, a member of the Theta Chi fraternity sent out a mass text message to his "faithful customers" stating that he and his associates would be in Las Vegas for the weekend and cocaine sales could not be made.

The message said there was a "sale" on cocaine and listed reduced prices.

Anyway, for once I don't have a strident/outraged/contrarian opinion. I'm thinking the same thing as you: HOLY SHIT TELL ME MORE. (And also: so that is where you could still, until recently, buy good coke.)

Yearlong Probe Results In 96 Arrests [San Diego Union-Tribune]

Inside The Nasty, Brutish World Of Hofstra's Phi Epsilon Sorority

Moe — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 12:30:00 EDT

So guess what? That thing about the sorority that brands its sisters in the groin with a scalding fork turns out to be quite possibly true. I just called Elyse Eisen — the Hofstra alumna who, yesterday, emailed fellow Phi Epsilon alumni in response to a report in the New York Post containing the allegations of a de-pledged sorority sister who claimed the sorority was a violent cult — and I asked her, point blank, whether it was true that her sorority brands its sisters with a three-pronged fork to represent their three "values", as we had been hearing. (Because, you know, it seemed like a bizarre claim to me, and although I knew branding was popular with African American fraternities such a practice would not seem to carry the co-opted symbolism with a bunch of suburban white chicks at school in Long Island.) And then I began receiving emails (including but not limited to this one) from Hofstra alums; emails that lent context and credibility to the emails and that claimed that the sorority had gone so far as to make its symbol a cow — a reference to the branding practice. I mentioned all this — paraphrased of course — to Elyse, dear readers. And she said: "No comment."

"No comment?" Okay then!

Reportorial duties thus totally completed, I guess I can share with you a little of what our sources are telling us about Phi Epsilon. It is, it seems, something of an anomaly at Hofstra: a "local" sorority governed by no national or academic body and with relatively low dues payable on a financial aid recipient budget; a sorority known for being "scrappy" on a campus more often associated with a word that rhymes with "scrappy" and that also conjures luxury goods and blow-outs. To its credit, Phi Epsilon purportedly celebrates diversity among its members, but that diversity yields a certain amount of "brutish" behavior. "It's not like a bunch of Prada bag toting idiots doing this," one said. According to our sources, who requested anonymity for fear of retribution, Phi Ep has a reputation for being particularly cruel throughout the hazing process; at the "Sister Dinner" referenced in yesterday's email, it is apparently common practice to order recruits to prepare an elaborate meal for their new community only to have it thrown in their faces. Girls who drop out of the process are harassed and mocked in public.

But the best part is their unique — and shockingly literal — approach to the the proverbial "Hell Night" celebrated by Greek Organizations across the land. On Hell Night, sisters are rumored to actually dig their own graves. They then spend the night in coffins. In the morning, they are "reborn as Phi Ep."

List of Social Fraternities And Sororities [Wikipedia] (Phi Epsilon is on there.)
Police Report Of Fight At Nacho Mamas [Hofstra Chronicle]
LI Co-Ed: Sorority A Hell House [NY Post]

Earlier: Would You Believe A Sorority Brands Pledges In The Groin With A Hot Fork?

Would You Believe A Sorority Brands Pledges In The Groin With A Hot Fork?

Moe — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 16:30:00 EDT

This young woman, Courtney Holt, tells today's New York Post she was violently attacked by a horde of evil roving Hofstra University sorority sisters after de-pledging their sorority because she didn't want to go through with a hazing procedure "which, she said, includes being branded in the groin area with a hot fork." Um, really? Well anyway, that's what she told the New York Post — and also, "Phi Epsilon isn't a sorority, it's cult" — and so today they went ahead and printed that, because that was all there was, without any sort of document or statement from the cops or anything like that, andnow the sorority is sending around an email saying she's full of shit, that actually Courtney is just sort of someone who would make up shit like that. (Blame her insane crackhead mother!) And...UPDATE: a tipster just weighed in. Apparently the fork thing is a venerable tradition or something! That and some thoughts after the jump.

Dear Alumni,
With the media outburst this morning regarding one of our depledges, we wanted

to inform all of you of what has been going on so you have the full story.

This past spring there was one depledge, Courtney Holt, who depledged after five

days claiming she had family problems and that her mother was on drugs. After

numerous spottings at the bar it became apparent that this girl was not only a

liar but a problem, consistently harassing our sisters. The night the new

girls, the Gamma Thetas, got in there was an altercation with her at the bar.

One of her friends punched our President, Lauren Werkiser in the face causing

our sisters to obviously react and throw her head into the wall. It was at this

point, three weeks after she depledged, when she decided to press hazing charges

against the sorority along with an 8 page report outlining some of the pledge

program including the Sister Dinner, the sitting before FR, and FR itself.

There was a full academic hearing conducted with administration and we were

found NOT GUILTY and the sorority did not suffer any repercussions. This past

Friday at happy hour there was another issue with her at the bar and one of the new girls found her room

vandalized with all of her Phi Ep paraphernalia destroyed and "cunt" written on

her wall. There was a report filed with public safety where Courtney Holt's

mother caused a huge scene and verbally attacked one of the sisters. Her mother

is now banned from Hofstra's campus.

And, here, from another tipster:

Yeah...I went to Hofstra. Phi Ep's got a solid rep for doing shit like that. I'm not only not surprised to hear that story, I've also heard about the fork before. So even if it's just a rumor, it's a pretty well known one. I've heard some other pretty vicious shit that they do to their pledges, but since I can't confirm it first hand, I'll just chalk it up to gossip.

So, the fact the Post believed this woman sort of reminds me of the whole thing with the Duke lacrosse players, and this is a complete bastardization of due process and the Constitution, but, please Greek Organizations of America: remind me once again what purpose you serve? Because obviously the conventional wisdom has come to be: "inflict cruelty upon ourselves and one another under various stages of intoxication." So if you deserve to be held in higher regard than, say, loan shark rings, please remind me why.

Co-Ed: Hell Of A House