Voyeur | Sunday, September 24, 2000 - 10:10 pm  Jamie went to college at Washington State University, and there is a chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha at WSU. Wazzu (as it is affectionately known) has a reputation as an alcohol soaked party school. In 1998 a riot in which 23 police officers were injured (one took a manhole cover to the face) was set off by the university's decision to ban keggers in an effort to curb underage drinking and drinking related violence. It doesn't seem to have helped, since an article in today's Times notes that drinking related violence so far this school year has more than doubled since last year. So when people wonder how Jamie ended up a valedictorian, realize that she did it in a school that is more known for its beer and cheese than its brainy alumni. She surely could have gone to the University of Washington, but there she would have just been one 3.6 among hundreds. Anyhow, the article in the Times talks about one fight in which a black pledge of Alpha Kappa Lambda who had also rushed Pi Kappa Alpha (Pike) was jumped on and assaulted by ten white men, one has been arrested and is a Pike member. AKL and Pike apparently have a long standing feud. The police have attributed the fight to this feud and the fact that the parties involved had all been drinking liberally. Campus minority groups feel there were racial motivations involved too, and are accusing the school and police of a coverup. Just a weird story, with so many threads touching on the HG, and the "is there still racism or not?" great discussion they had. |