When not beating out Iowa City for the best college town, Ithaca can get a little dull during its down time. That might explain why a bunch of frat bros have created a new drinking game, now unfortunately available on YouTube. Produced by a vague "Society," the video borderline Chef Tony infomercial details "Russian Roulette," which consists of a frisbee, Solo cups, and Cornellians too sober to simply play beer pong or Kings (yes, we're also wondering why everyone isn't just piss drunk 24/7 in Ithaca).
Sigma Pi's boozy rush party last Thanksgiving ended with four freshmen at Cayuga Medical Center and the revocation of the frat's official recognition for what Cornell's associate dean for Greek affairs called an "egregious" incident. Last Tuesday, the InterFraternity Council voted to allow Sigma Pi to return to campus on January 1st for a year-long probationary period as an associate member, on the condition of a dry rush.
In a controversial move, the decision will forgo the usual restrictions on returning frats that would exclude Sigma Pi from voting in the IFC and participating in rush week. 29 brothers remain on campus and have been pushing for their official return, but not everyone is convinced that they deserve it. After their presentation before the IFC, Sigma Alpha Mu President Ross Freilich '09 asked, "Why is the IFC responsible for creating sanctions for their recognition?... They came in expecting to get recognition without a plan to move forward from last November’s event." Read the rest of this entry »
I've long promulgated the "It's not my fault, I was blacked out" argument. Princeton's Thomas Kneeland might want to see if he can legally invoke this.
Kneeland, '10, was arrested last Friday and charged with felony assault after struggling with authorities and generally refusing to go to the hospital to have his drunkenness treated. The drama started at 11:40 pm, when campus police were called to Foulke Hall to help university first aid crews contain the belligerent Kneeland. What happened next is reported by the Star-Ledger:
Authorities were trying to take student Thomas Kneeland, 20, to a hospital, but he refused and allegedly unleashed an obscenity-laden struggle that included flailing and kicking and at one point hiding under his bed, police said.
During the struggle, Kneeland allegedly struck borough Patrol Officer James Dodd, police said.
Hiding under the bed, a classic if overused drunk escape maneuver. Kneeland reportedly continued to wreak havoc at the hospital, trying to bite a nurse and then grabbing her hand and "twist[ing] it very hard." The nurse did not require medical attention.
Kneeland now faces felony assault charges for the attacks against Officer James Dodd and the nurse.
And so concludes another chapter of "Reasons to Not Drink Excessively."
As today's Ragtime notes, last summer in Rhode Island a man named Stanley Kubierowski was pulled over and arrested for drunk driving. What does this have to do with the Ivy League? Well, the man happened to be Brown President Ruth Simmons' "former part-time house chef."
But that's not important in the least. What's important is Kubierowski's BAC at the time of arrest, as confirmed by multiple tests administered by those trained in such things: .49. Let me repeat that number, this time in italics, spelled out for dramatic effect, with ellipses all over the place, and capped by an exclamation point: his BAC was point...four....nine...!
This is simply unbelievable. Forget charging Kubierowski with any sort of crime. Give that man a medal for his Rasputin-like tolerance. According to some chart I found on Wikipedia, the only consequences listed for having a BAC over .4 are "Unconsciousness" and "Death."
Of course, we shouldn't get too caught up in the boozy-boosterism side of the story. There's definitely a potentially tragic aspect here: God only knows what might have happened if Kubierowski had attempted to make Ruth Simmons a Caesar salad in that condition. Salmonella? You bet.