Sorority may face probation for alcohol violations

Jessica Sasseen

Alpha Omicron Pi sorority’s eight consecutive years with a clean slate at Western came to an end just before fall break.

On Sept. 28, two males – a student and non-student – and a member of the sorority were arrested for alcohol intoxication by Bowling Green police at State Street Pub, Student Activities Director Charley Pride said.

Pride said the arrests occurred during a new member dance sponsored by AOPi. The AOPi member and one of the males were underage. The third was a non-student with an unavailable birth date, he said.

“They followed a lot of the rules. Even when you do follow the rules, sometimes things go wrong,” Pride said.

He said AOPi has not been cited by police or the university for an alcohol violation since 1994 during a dance.

AOPi president Brittney Long said wrist bands were provided at the dance for people of drinking age and security guards were present the entire time.

“They were at a point where the security guards had noticed that they needed to leave, and so the police were called,” Long said.

Western is still investigating the incident, Pride said. He said AOPi could face four to five months of probation for the violation. If the sorority is placed on probation by the university, the organization will not be able to host social events during that time.

Long said members had planned a theme dance for November and two mixers, but AOPi has changed its schedule in light of the pending penalties. She said members will now take part in fund raising events and volunteer work on the days the dance and mixers were scheduled to take place.

The incident must be used as a learning experience, Long said.

“It was definitely a disappointment to all the members, but definitely a breath of experience that we will all learn from,” she said. “It would be embarrassing if we didn’t do something about it, but we are, so it’s O.K.”

Pride said a Western sorority has not been cited for an alcohol violation since last year during homecoming. Pride said a woman was cited for alcohol intoxication at a joint function between Kappa Delta sorority and Kappa Alpha Order at the KD sorority house. KD was placed on three months social probation for the incident.

Reach Jessica Sasseen at [email protected].