Update: Sig Ep
May 14th, 2008
Capital Times
Madison, WI
May 13, 2008
Frat fire cause unknown; damage estimated at $750,000
By Samara Kalk Derby
Instead of cramming for finals, 25 members of the Sigma Phi Epsilon
fraternity sat on a Metro Transit bus early this morning at the corner of
Langdon and Frances streets keeping warm as dozens of Madison firefighters
battled a massive fire that enveloped their fraternity house.
The fire department got the first call at 11:41 p.m. Monday after a city of
Madison police officer noticed a glow that she thought was a grill at the
back of the house, said Madison Fire Department spokeswoman Bernadette
Galvez. When the officer investigated she found that the back of the house
was on fire, Galvez said.
“It’s good to know everybody’s out and safe,” she said at the scene as the
firefighters behind her pumped 1,000 gallons of water a minute into the top
level of the three-story wooden house at 237 Langdon St.
The investigation into the fire was just beginning Tuesday morning as
firefighters continued to put out hot spots and were most likely to be on
the scene throughout the morning.
“We’re just being able to get inside the building,” Galvez said. “We still
have a ladder up, putting out spot fires.”
No cause of the fire had been determined yet. The Madison Police Department
is assisting in the investigation.
Fire Chief Debra Amesqua ordered all of the firefighters to leave the house
because she feared structural collapse, Galvez said.
“A lot of fire was coming out of that building,” she said. “Once fire gets
into the attic, that’s free space for it to burn.”
The fire was put out about three hours later at 2:38 a.m. A cause won’t be
determined for a few days, Galvez said.
Damage is estimated at $750,000.
Police officers sealed off Langdon Street at Frances Street, so spectators
wouldn’t get in the way of the firehoses. About 100 onlookers, mainly
students, gathered at the corner. Dozens more congregated in front of the
Campus Inn, where the bus was parked sheltering the fraternity brothers.
Langdon Street was still blocked by fire equipment at 6 a.m. Madison police
said the street will most likely be blocked through the morning commute, so
motorists should use alternate routes.
“It’s still smoldering,” said Division Chief Arthur Price. “There’s still
smoke and steam coming out of it.”
Price said it was hard to say just how long firefighters would remain on
the scene.
“It’s an old, Victorian building,” Price said, “with a lot of nooks and
crannies. We want it out.”
The Madison Fire Department sent 14 vehicles to the fire and a total of 48
personnel, including chiefs, Galvez said. One firefighter suffered a
non-life-threatenin
suffered from dehydration and exertion, she said.
The Sigma Phi Epsilon house, built in the 1890s, is nestled into the bend
on Langdon Street. Emergency workers evacuated the two buildings on either
side of the house, neither of which was damaged by the blaze. Residents of
the neighboring buildings were allowed back in at 3 a.m.
The 13-bedroom house was completely repaired after a fire in the summer of
1999 that caused $500,000 in damage. Because it was summer, there were only
six residents and one guest staying at the house at the time.
“This is the different in that it’s a total loss,” said Ryan Sugden, vice
president for the Sigma Phi Epsilon alumni board, who lived in the house
from 2003 to 2005. This time, there were 25 fraternity members living in a
house that at maximum occupancy can house 30, Sugden said.
“It’s a total loss. Nothing will be recovered from that house,” he said.
Sugden said that after the 1999 fire a new fire alarm system was installed
in the house. “That played a role in getting all the residents out safely,”
he said.
The building did not have a sprinkler system, he said, a fact pointed out
by Galvez, the fire department spokeswoman, who said that all newer
construction student housing has sprinkler systems.
Ald. Eli Judge, who represents the UW campus and lives across the street,
began to smell smoke and hear sirens at 11:50 p.m. He went outside and saw
the back of Sigma Phi Epsilon on fire.
“Almost immediately, fire trucks started pulling up. I think the fire
department’s done a remarkable job tonight, especially with the nature of
these old houses in the Langdon area,” he said.
As a student, Judge sympathized with the fraternity members. “It doesn’t
help that it’s the middle of finals week,” he said.
Sugden noted that more than half of the victims have finals Tuesday.
UW-Madison Dean of Students Lori Berquam was also concerned about the
impact of finals week and pointed out that the victims will not be able to
access the materials they need to study.
“Most of them were only able to get out with the clothes on their back,
maybe their bookbag, so we wanted to certainly support them during this
terrible situation and give them the resources that they need to carry on,”
she said.
Berquam said the fraternity members all indicated that they had friends to
stay with immediately and didn’t need Red Cross support. “Where they will
be staying in the coming days, that we need to work on,” she said.
Argyle Wade, associate dean in the Offices of the Dean of Students, said
his office will issue checks from the “Student Crisis Loan Fund,” a fund
established for emergencies through private donations. The fraternity
members will be able to purchase what they need — clothing, food, housing
and other basic essentials — to get them through finals, Wade said.
His office will also be contacting the students’ professors to ask for
further assistance in helping the victims complete their class work for the
rest of the semester. Health services and counseling services on campus
will also continue to make resources available, he said.
“Beyond that, it’s working one-on-one. Each student will have unique
needs,” Wade said.
The fraternity made news last week as UW-Madison officials investigated a
possible reverse hazing incident at the frat in which human excrement and
vomit were dumped on fraternity members.
Sugden said he was grateful for all the help and concern at the scene. “The
support from the community — from the dean of students, students, the Red
Cross, Madison police and fire — has been overwhelming and very much
appreciated,” he said.
He said that for the hundreds, if not more than 1,000, “Sig Eps” who have
lived in the house and used it as a fraternity home for the past 10 or so
years, the house holds a lot of history and memories.
“It’s a tough loss for us, but thankfully everybody is out safely. That’s
the most critical aspect of this.”
The Capital Times’ Bill Novak contributed to this report.
© 2008 The Capital Times
George Washington University warns — no pledging
May 12th, 2008
Link to unsanctioned group
Buffalo News commentary with comments by Brian Crow
May 11th, 2008
Donn Esmonde: Abuse is not team ‘tradition’
Buffalo News
It is your kid in the back of the bus. Think of it that way. Imagine that your son is riding on the Wilson High School baseball team bus. View the situation through that lens. That, to me, is when this picture comes into focus.
Three varsity baseball players are charged with felony sexual abuse of two junior varsity players last month on the bus. Police say the older players forced an object into a private body opening of a JV player. Two coaches on the bus, who also teach in Wilson schools, were charged with endangering the welfare of a child due to lax supervision.
Ratchet up the level of outrage. Law enforcement sources last week said there was a similar incident of sexual harassment — unreported by the coach to the principal, for unfathomable reasons — last year on the Wilson baseball team bus. After that, a coach rode in the back with the players. This year, the coaches — who as teachers are required by law to report suspicions of sexual abuse — again rode in front.
If I had a son, I would not want him riding in that bus.
The usual rite of passage of, say, JV kids carrying the varsity’s bat bags devolved, investigators say, to a JV player being sexually violated. It apparently happened in Wilson. But do not be smug. It could happen anywhere.
It could happen at any school where hazing is a habit, where coaches condone humiliation, where abuse is a twisted tradition. It can happen any place where adults dismiss abuse with a wink and a nod.
Any delusions that what reportedly happened is “normal” evaporated with the arrest of two coaches and three players.
Then again, you never know. Most folks at a recent town meeting reportedly seemed most concerned about the stain on the town’s image and the coaches’ reputations. The fate of the alleged victims was an afterthought. I give those kids a lot of credit for coming forward, given the fallout that they knew would follow.
“Sadly, there is a tendency in a community to ostracize the victims,” said Brian Crow, an associate professor at Pennsylvania’s Slippery Rock University. “They get blamed if the season gets canceled. People say it was an isolated incident. Folks talk about what great guys the coaches are. All of which further victimizes the victims.”
Crow has studied sports hazing for the past decade. He said that sexual abuse on sports teams is growing.
It is not right. It is not healthy. It is not excusable.
Disagree? Then imagine it is your kid in the back of that bus.
Young people, sadly, sometimes do stupid things to be part of a fraternity, a club or a team. Much of the time, experts say, the victims think of it not as abuse but as “tradition.”
It is not “tradition” when the culture crosses the line. At worst, said Crow, victims become perpetrators — carrying on the team “tradition” when they get older by victimizing younger players.
I do not want my kid riding on that bus. I want a team culture that is built on respect, on sportsmanship, on caring. I want a culture built on heathy values.
Sexual abuse is not a “tradition.” Humiliation is not a team value. Bullying is not bonding.
This is what happens when coaches are blind or look the other way. This is what happens when parents shrug off abuse as “boys will be boys.” This is what happens when a community blames the victims.
It is Wilson today. It could be somewhere else tomorrow.
Florida case ends: Indian River
May 9th, 2008
Denver Post: Prof. calls for end to Greek system
May 9th, 2008
Another view: Greek system defended.
“All of the pledge class members were subjected to a variety of torture,” said Paul Hesse, the attorney for a 20-year-old student who sustained second-degree burns over 20 percent of his body. “There was pressure to withstand as much pain as possible.”
Wilson Baseball: Oh for two
May 8th, 2008
Wisconsin Sig Ep under scrutiny in bizarre incident
May 8th, 2008
Moderator's note: As moderator, I'll publish all relevant news stories, letters from activists, pro-hazing letters, and opinion pieces. Although hazing in fraternities, high schools, bands, camp, the military and overseas groups is a hot-button issue, civility is expected. If a letter needs editing for grammar or clarity, I'll edit and return for the letter writer's approval if an email address is attached. BIO: Hank Nuwer is the editor of The Hazing Reader (Indiana University Press) and High School Hazing (Grolier/Scholastic). My website is http://hazing.hanknuwer.com.
