It was December 1776, and it was a revolutionary year for more than one reason. Back in July, the Continental Congress had ratified the Declaration of Independence, and in the intervening months a series of battles had affirmed the strength and conviction of a group of colonies finding their footing as a new nation. Against this revolutionary backdrop, on December 5, five students at the College of William and Mary held a meeting at the Raleigh Tavern. Their task was a noble one: They wanted to form a kind of brotherhood devoted to the pursuit of knowledge. Out of this high-minded meeting, the nation’s first fraternity, Phi Beta Kappa, was born.
“There are ways to throw a party, and ways not to. This is a story about the latter.”
Around 240 years later, at a Ski Resort in Northern Michigan, some college students at the University of Michigan urinated on the carpet. They also smashed in ceiling tiles, demolished furniture and broke walls. What do these individuals have in common with the men in the tavern two and a half centuries ago? They’re also members of a Greek-lettered brotherhood – theirs being Sigma Alpha Mu. But where Phi Beta Kappa’s founding brothers had knowledge in mind, the members of Sigma Alpha Mu had a decidedly different agenda on that January weekend – namely, to TURN!!! IT!!! UP!!!
And turn it up they did – to the tune of more than $400,000 in damages over the course of two days, as The Detroit Free Press reported. To look at pictures of the weekend’s aftermath is to witness the impact of a colossal storm. All told, 45 rooms in the resort were damaged over the weekend getaway. The interior of the resort looks like it was hit by a hurricane or a tornado – which, basically, it was.
Some frat bros (not the ones pictures) caused major damage at a ski resort.
The Aftermath: The Bank Of Mom And Dad
“Destroyed property? No worries if you’re a member of The Bank Of Mom And Dad.”
What does a frat bro do when he’s engaged in malicious destruction of property? When he has torn to shreds a nicely appointed place that accommodated him for the weekend? Uh, visit the Bank of Mom and Dad, duh! According to a student at the university familiar with the incident, several members of the frat, upon being confronted by resort authorities, immediately withdrew credit cards attached to their parents’ bank accounts.
But as The Michigan Daily reported, the initial damage to the resort was only placed at around $50,000. It was only after a more thorough investigation by resort personnel that the grand damage total was raised to well over $400,000. Now, if you’re inclined to think that the students connected to this incident are just a few bad seeds, think again: Among those on the trip was none other than a nominee for vice president of the University’s student body named Matt Fidel.
“We’re doing our best to right our wrongs and rectify the situation,” Fidel said in an interview. “After the incident, I led my fraternity in community service projects, coordinated with Habitat for Humanity to send 50 volunteers to volunteer.”
Word dude. But how about, uh, dropping out of the race?
Nowhere in Fidel’s interview is he quoted as saying “sorry.” In that way, he’s consistent with his fraternity, which, in its public statement about the incident, states that it is “embarrassed and ashamed,” but for whatever reason does not simply apologize.
What’s so hard about accepting and acknowledging personal responsibility? Maybe because then they’d be admitting criminality. After all, in Michigan, malicious destruction of property exceeding $20,000 is a felony punishable by up to 10 years in prison.
As if you needed it spelled out, that’s not the kind of punishment these bros will be facing. Treetops Resort has decided not to pursue criminal charges against the fraternity members, though it expects full restitution to be paid. The University of Michigan administration is not being as forgiving, however. According to The Michigan Daily, the University won’t recognize Sigma Alpha Mu as a campus group anymore. Also, the national chapter of Sigma Alpha Mu may revoke the University of Michigan’s chapter, which could likely mean that the January party at the ski resort was actually the fraternity’s last hurrah. I think we can all agree that’s a good thing.
The Impact Of The Modern Tech World On Sigma Alpha Mu
We live in an age where media – and more specifically social media – preserves all of our missteps. Everybody can see them for all of time. Just ask Justine Saccos, for whom one very tasteless Twitter post meant the end of her PR career. Simply put, we can’t outrun our Internet presence. In a time when everyone has a place on various technological platforms, it’s very hard to hide when we transgress.
This is a lesson the frat bros of Sigma Alpha Mu are learning the hard way. In the immediate wake of the resort destruction, the story was mostly localized. The Detroit Free Press ran a story about it, and so did The Michigan Daily. But the story has the kind of built-in viral potential that other media outlets couldn’t ignore. And so People Magazine picked it up. So did Gawker. And soon the user comments started rolling in – 447 (and counting) on the Gawker piece alone.
“Pretty sad that these are the people who will take over the U.S,” stated one commenter on the People article. “All they are is a bunch of little boys who can’t control their impulses.”
But for the members of Sigma Alpha Mu, taking over the world might be harder now that they have this story following them around everywhere. The Internet age ensures that this kind of thing will be hard to live down.
Back in 1776, the five William and Mary students who met in the Raleigh Tavern excitedly launched a brotherhood that would make its mark on the world. Here’s an excerpt from the minutes of that meeting: “A happy spirit and resolution of attaining the important ends of society entering the minds of John Heath, Thomas Smith, Richard Booker, Armistead Smith, and John Jones, and afterwards seconded by others, prevailed and was accordingly ratified.”
What would John, Thomas, Richard, Armistead and John think now?
