Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, March 29, 1994 TAG: 9403290049
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: Kathy Loan
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
We took a long look at the Radford chapter of Sigma Phi Epsilon, a fraternity that continues to flourish despite being stripped of campus and national recognition. Several of its members have found themselves facing felony charges.
There wasn't a lot of room in the story for warm fuzzies about what good things other fraternities do.
Greg Taylor, public relations officer for the university's Inter-Fraternity Council, told reporter Ken Davis that the actions the Sig Eps are accused of - break-ins and malicious woundings, for example - detract from the positive image the Greeks try to promote.
"It hurts to think that we can do positive things all year long and one Sig Ep incident can ruin our reputation." Taylor said. " . . .I could give you a list a mile long of the positive things Greeks do, but these guys ruin that."
I was reminded of some of that positive community service March 19 as I hurried between two assignments - a swearing-in ceremony for a new judge in Christiansburg and a Republican mass meeting in Blacksburg. I found myself in a major traffic jam on U.S. 460.
Several minutes later, I discovered the reason. Members of Radford's Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity were doing their annual March of Dimes Walk, which involved a caravan of cars, an escort from WPSK-FM in Pulaski and several fraternity members approaching cars stopped at traffic lights asking for spare change.
These guys could be out enjoying themselves in their back yards or sleeping in, I thought.
Instead, I learned later, they had walked 32 miles from New River Valley Mall, to Christiansburg, Blacksburg and then back to Radford. Members of an ASP colony at Virginia Tech - that's a fledgling group not recognized as a chapter yet - were also involved.
Matthew Duvall, president of the Radford fraternity chapter, said the walk raised about $3,000 in donations. That's not counting in-kind donations such as air time from the radio station and the refreshments from other businesses.
Other positive Greek activities are planned for April 9-17 when Radford University celebrates Greek Week.
Fraternities and sororities will participate in the city's annual spring cleanup - Cleanin' and Greenin.' There will also be a field day, sidewalk art, an air band contest and a trivia bowl.
The week ends April 16 with an awards ceremony recognizing both individual and group special achievements.
Duvall was pleased when I called last week telling him I was looking for positive Greek news to show another side to the Radford fraternity system. Maybe Greg Taylor will be, too.
Or maybe I'm just a noodle-brained flunky, as `the Sig Ep X-men" suggested in a recent letter.
Does the never-say-die chapter of Sig Eps, like John Belushi and friends in "Animal House," contribute to Radford's enduring reputation as a "party school?"
That's the question Allison Blake, another reporter on the Sig Ep package, sought to answer.
Just recently, the student paper, "The Tartan," ran a commentary bemoaning - but confirming - the image.
Student writer Justin Brown argued that the image is outdated. When the college went co-ed, Brown wrote, "Spuds McKenzie was in charge of admission." Why? Because, he said, men had to be enticed to attend Radford. "It seems anything with facial hair, a subscription to Playboy and testosterone was admitted."
Since then, opportunities for cutting-edge education at Radford have sprouted, wrote Brown. But nobody out there seems to notice.
Even the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported last fall that students across Virginia identify Radford as the party school of the state. Students said Radford had a carefree attitude about academics.
"At Radford, they're hell-raisers," one student told the Richmond paper.
"It may sound like passing the buck, but the students have a great deal to do with the image of the university," said Paul Harris, vice president for student affairs.
"It's no better or worse than they want it to be. As long as students go back home and tell all their friends, and all they talk about are the great parties they've been to, that's going to perpetuate the image. What they don't realize [is] they devalue their own diplomas. Employers hear the same thing about Radford," said Harris.
Got that, noodle-brains?
by CNB