A Bad Rap?

This entire scenario about the Greek system at San Diego State University is horribly sad. SDSU is one of my clients, specifically within the Greek system. I can assure you this is NOT the norm within the SDSU Greek system.

What I find troubling with this entire story is how much it focuses on the fraternities involved. Theta Chi is pictured as the worst offender, yet there's not a number given of how many Theta Chi brothers were actually arrested. Phi Kappa Psi lists four, but they're put in there as an afterthought... or so it's written.

As is typical, we don't know if half the students arrested were members of intramural sports teams. Or the Residence Hall Association. Or Christian Campus House, for that matter. Fraternity houses, long known as party central for colleges, are again singled out for their involvement-yet we really don't know to what level. Speaking as a fraternity member who lived in a house where some small time drug peddling took place, you have to keep in mind any time there is a group of students together, chances are, therein will you find some "bad apples." It doesn't matter what the reason the group is drawn together, there will always (almost always, at least) be individuals who participate in criminal activities. It's just sad fraternities may have members doing bad things, but the entire house gets a bad rep for the actions of a few.
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Nearly 100 Arrested in College Drug Bust
By ALLISON HOFFMAN, AP
Posted: 2008-05-06 17:26:01

SAN DIEGO (May 6) - Dozens of San Diego State University students were arrested after a sweeping drug investigation found that some fraternity members openly dealt drugs and one even sent a mass text message advertising cocaine, authorities said Tuesday.
Authorities on Tuesday said they arrested nearly 100 people, most of them students, in a sweeping drug bust at San Diego State University. Here, bags of drugs and handguns that were seized in the investigation are pictured.

Two kilograms of cocaine were seized, along with 350 Ecstasy pills, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, hash oil, methamphetamine, illicit prescription drugs, several guns and at least $60,000 in cash, authorities said.Of the 96 people arrested, 75 were students. Eighteen of the students were arrested Tuesday when nine search warrants were executed at various locations including fraternities, said Jesse Rodriguez, San Diego County assistant district attorney.

The undercover probe, dubbed Operation Sudden Fall, was sparked by the cocaine overdose death of a student in May 2007, authorities said. As the investigation continued, another student, from Mesa College, died Feb. 26 of a cocaine overdose at an SDSU fraternity house, the DEA said.

Those arrested included a student who was about to receive a criminal justice degree and another who was to receive a master's degree in homeland security."A sad commentary is that when one of these individuals was arrested, they inquired as (to) whether or not his arrest and incarceration would have an effect on him becoming a federal law enforcement officer," said Ralph Partridge, special agent in charge of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration in San Diego.Some defendants were scheduled to appear in state court to face charges Tuesday.

During the probe investigators discovered that in some fraternities most members were aware of "organized drug dealing occurring from the fraternity houses by its members," the DEA said in a news release."Undercover agents purchased cocaine from fraternity members and confirmed that a hierarchy existed for the purpose of selling drugs for money," the DEA said.

The district attorney's office said search warrants were served in San Diego and suburban La Mesa, including the Theta Chi fraternity house and several apartments.A member of Theta Chi sent out a mass text message to his "faithful customers" stating that he and his "associates" would be unable to sell cocaine while they were in Las Vegas over one weekend, according to the DEA. The text promoted a cocaine "sale" and listed the reduced prices.Theta Chi's San Diego chapter declined to comment.

"We're talking to our advisers," said John Phillips, a past president of the chapter.

Theta Chi, founded in 1856, has 131 chapters in the U.S. and Canada and more than 161,000 initiates.University police and federal drug agents worked together in the investigation, making more than 130 undercover drug buys were made at locations including fraternity houses, student parking areas and dormitories, authorities said.Shawn Collinsworth, executive director of the national office of Phi Kappa Psi, said he was told by two of the SDSU fraternity chapter's leaders that four of its members were arrested. He said the fraternity is cooperating with the investigation.

"It isn't behavior becoming of Phi Kappa Psi," Collinsworth said.San Diego State is one of the largest schools in California's state university system with about 34,000 students. The campus has an active network of fraternities and sororities.Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Greg Risling in Los Angeles contributed to this report.