2008 Woodie Awards
Students resist fraternity fundraiser
Whitney Stewart
Issue date: 10/11/07 Section: News
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Sigma Chi fraternity wrapped its annual Derby Days fundraiser Saturday, but Thursday's Jail and Bail upset some students who saw the cat-and-mouse game as forced charity and the fraternity brothers' methods unsavory.
For Jail and Bail, students paid fraternity members $1 to "arrest" friends. Paying an additional $2 "bailed out" the prisoners.
Freshman Kellie Eder, who said she was carried out of Olds Residence on a fraternity member's shoulder, was loaded into a pickup truck with other girls and threatened with a broomstick after kicking a fraternity member's shins. She bloodied her elbow during repeated attempts to escape.
"You'd think if you tried to jump once or twice, they'd be like, 'OK, fine…We'll let you go," said Eder, who finally clambered through a screened window at Sigma Chi and attempted to depart in a fraternity member's truck before they let her leave.
"I don't want to incriminate them entirely," said Eder. "I think they were just on a blood-lust hunt and got carried away. You could tell they were enjoying being primal and carrying off the women."
Sigma Chi President Kyle Murnen, a junior, said the fraternity needs to improve its explanation of Derby Days' philanthropic purpose and handling of "prisoners."
"There were a few situations we could have handled better," Murnen said. "We apologize to anyone we offended and will work to improve on our mistakes next year. We don't want to trivialize a philanthropic effort over something that could be avoided. We just need to make sure it's a stone-cold rule that if someone reacts poorly, you just walk away and let it die."
Although Jail and Bail marred Derby Days in some minds, the weeklong fundraiser included a series of successful events which netted an estimated $1,100 for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and Institute.
Anticipating the event, some students organized a Jail and Bail boycott and Galloway Hall cancelled its weekly "feast night" to avoid confrontation with the fraternity.
For Jail and Bail, students paid fraternity members $1 to "arrest" friends. Paying an additional $2 "bailed out" the prisoners.
Freshman Kellie Eder, who said she was carried out of Olds Residence on a fraternity member's shoulder, was loaded into a pickup truck with other girls and threatened with a broomstick after kicking a fraternity member's shins. She bloodied her elbow during repeated attempts to escape.
"You'd think if you tried to jump once or twice, they'd be like, 'OK, fine…We'll let you go," said Eder, who finally clambered through a screened window at Sigma Chi and attempted to depart in a fraternity member's truck before they let her leave.
"I don't want to incriminate them entirely," said Eder. "I think they were just on a blood-lust hunt and got carried away. You could tell they were enjoying being primal and carrying off the women."
Sigma Chi President Kyle Murnen, a junior, said the fraternity needs to improve its explanation of Derby Days' philanthropic purpose and handling of "prisoners."
"There were a few situations we could have handled better," Murnen said. "We apologize to anyone we offended and will work to improve on our mistakes next year. We don't want to trivialize a philanthropic effort over something that could be avoided. We just need to make sure it's a stone-cold rule that if someone reacts poorly, you just walk away and let it die."
Although Jail and Bail marred Derby Days in some minds, the weeklong fundraiser included a series of successful events which netted an estimated $1,100 for the Huntsman Cancer Foundation and Institute.
Anticipating the event, some students organized a Jail and Bail boycott and Galloway Hall cancelled its weekly "feast night" to avoid confrontation with the fraternity.
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