Dear Students of McDaniel College,

More than at any other time during my 37-year career here on the Hill, I can most relate to what the seniors are going through right now. I, too, will be “graduating” soon, stepping into the next phase of my life. A big, somewhat mysterious adventure awaits and it is at once exciting and a bit scary to contemplate. I know I am prepared to seize the opportunities that come with my retirement, thanks to all that I have learned as a member ofthis College community, and, especially, from what you students have taught me.

Your boundless curiosity, courage and compassion – even in the midst of the sometimes confusing and challenging changes that come with profound personal growth – has always inspired me. Every day, you demonstrate what it means to put the liberal arts in action: you’ve founded clubs for lovers of cheese, alternative films and skydiving; immersed yourselves in the cultures of Budapest, Cameroon, China and Italy; created haute couture out of trash; crashed records on the athletic fields, and volunteered your time and energy for an array of good causes, including a Nicaraguan clinic and the local Boys and Girls Club. You’ve proven that everything is possible when you work smart – even becoming the College’s first quadruple major, as Eric Lemmon did, with studies in Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Biochemistry.

In each of my roles here, first as professor, then Graduate Dean, then Provost and, for the past decade, President, I’ve relished the chance to get to know many of you and to watch with an insider’s perspective as you set about making this campus, and the world, a better place.

I remember, during the early days of my “freshman year” as President, the moment I first realized what a wonderful neighborhood I had moved into. It was the morning I accidentally locked myself out of the President’s House. Clad only in my nightgown and bathrobe, and without a cell phone, I had no choice but to traipse across the lawn to the nearest student residence. I knocked on the door and was greeted with a smile by a wonderful student; she invited me in while she called Campus Safety, and then we shared a good laugh over the mishap.

This campus is indeed my cherished community. And membership in it is something that I – we all – will take with us. At Commencement, I will receive McDaniel’s highest form of recognition: an honorary degree that will make me a member of the Class of 20 1 0, and forever Green and Gold.

I look forward to continuing my education as I read about you, and all of your accomplishments, in the pages of The Hill magazine. Remember that there is no place like McDaniel- and that it’s all of you who make those words ring so true.

Updates on Senior Pictures and other Campus Events can be found on our Pictures Speak Louder page. Check ‘em out!

McDaniel Dance Troop, Photo by Evan Ticknor:

Lee Anderson wins Mr. McDaniel, Photo by Evan Ticknor:

Students Gear up to Play Frisbee, Photo by Omar Brown:

Thanks to our Free Press Seniors for their years of service! Photo by Sam Segal:

Kate Delenick

Editor in Chief

The spring semester for the Alpha Nu Omega Sorority was supposed to be filled with community service, fundraisers, weekly meetings, and social events but that all changed after an investigation was launched by the McDaniel Administration after a student reported an incident directly to the Associate Dean of Student Affairs, Elizabeth Towle.

The investigative process was started a week before Spring Break and started with a phone call to the sorority’s president. Throughout the weeks to come the “Omegas” were unsure of the process or why the investigation was taking as long as it did. With promises made to hold different community service events and the administration telling the group during the investigation they could not meet as an organization many of their promises to the community were broken.

An anonymous Alpha Nu Omega sorority member said, “It’s frustrating, stressful, and embarrassing.”

As a result of the long investigation not only were the girls unable to congregate as a sorority but they were forced to join the housing lottery which essentially meant they would lose their floor in Blanche Ward Hall. Our source noted that they did not technically get housing “taken away” by the administration but because it took place over the time period that housing was being chosen for the following year the girls had to enter the lottery system.

When the investigation was finally over the administration left the girls with three options: Rebuild as a group, which according to the sorority will give them the opportunity to change and make additions to their current constitution. However it is an eight step process which will mean meeting with faculty and following benchmark points. “It’s good but it just takes a lot of time,” the source said. The second option laid out would be “to go National.” It is an option that the local sorority is looking into but having mixed feelings about. They just recently celebrated their 30th anniversary and there is a certain pride that they take in still being a local McDaniel Chapter. The last option given by the administration is one that the sorority is not even considering and that is completely dismantling or in Greek terminology, “dying out.”

When the administration was reached for comment Towle said, “I’m not going to comment on any investigation that has or hasn’t happened. If the community needs to know they will know whether that is the sorority telling them or me telling them.”

The sorority was told to make a decision by April 30 and according to our source have recently decided to rebuild. This means their current pledge class is given the option to rebuild with the sorority if they choose to.

While for some it may seem the hard part is over, the sisters are now facing a tough road ahead that will change the future of their sorority as well as patching old wounds that this investigation has left. The girls can now only think of what the semester could have been like and although they’re looking forward to a bright future the lingering feelings from the long investigation are still fresh.

“It might be nice if there was [an investigative] process in writing, not just for us but for other organizations,” our source said, “I want Greek life at McDaniel to thrive and in the future have organizations work with the administration to make it better. Greek life does have a place on campus just like clubs and sports. It just needs to be correctly monitored so it can live on.”

Towle had similar to say about the future of Greek Life, “I hope it continues to grow as a community because I think for students who are interested it a good way to get involved. I want to see Greek Life continue to grow.”

It has also been recently confirmed that the Phi Kappa Sigma Fraternity is also currently under investigation. When asked to comment a member of the fraternity told the Free Press they were “not able to comment at this time,” but “would be free to talk once the investigation is over.”

Juliann Guiffre

Editor-in-Chief

The main difference that sets Local and National Greek organizations apart is one simple fact: for local sororities and fraternities, they are the only of their kind. For National, they have other chapters in colleges all across the country.

According to McDaniel College students, this can be both a benefit and a drawback. Jessie Largent, senior and vice president of Alpha Nu Omega (Local), loves that “if you talk to another Omega, you know she went here and you can talk to her about the campus. We just had our 30 year reunion, and when I talked to some of the alumni, I felt like they are us, just 20 years older.”

Abby Walker, member of Phi Alpha Mu, likes the fact that they are unique, and think it provides a great connection with alumni. “We have over 1,000 wonderful alumni, who are all really supportive,” she said.

On the other hand, the benefit of being National is the increased amount of alumni, which provides for better networking opportunities. “I have sisters all around this country,” said Elyse Sparks, junior and vice president of Phi Mu. “I can search ‘Phi Mu’ on Facebook and find any of my sisters. I actually did that once and found a girl I went to middle school with that had moved to Tennessee and joined Phi Mu at TSU!”

Jordon Doss, junior and president of Alpha Sigma Phi, loves being able to wear his letters and run into brothers of all different ages. “They will recognize you as a brother and then ask about your chapter, tell you about theirs and exchange stories. It is an instant connection,” he said.

Other differences between the two are the price of dues and the governing body concerning the constitution and budget, philanthropy, and membership quota. National organizations have a quota of 50 members; locals can stay smaller.

According to Doss, new members pay a pledge fee of $99, an initiation fee $250, and then a lifetime membership fee of $250. “The most expensive thing is insurance but we can reduce that cost by keeping our GPA up, living on a substance free floor, attending national events, and just staying out of trouble in general,” said Doss, who added that he believes his fraternity has the lowest dues on campus.

Largent enjoys the fact that her local sorority governs themselves. They can change their constitution when they deem necessary, which helps them stay current, and they decide their own budget. Local organizations also do not have a set philanthropy, or one organization that National chapters raise money for. This way, Largent says, they can do more local service and pick the projects that are important to them.

“One of our members, Lee Oliver, wanted to raise money for the Leukemia Society, in honor of a friend’s sister that had Leukemia,” said Largent. So the sorority became involved with the Lacrosse team’s Terror Trot fundraiser.

Doss finds the national fraternity very helpful, especially in order to provide insurance and assistance to the chapters. “They offer programs that send a national representative to our campus to see how we’re doing and help us to improve. They also just helped us to set up an endowment fund for our chapter…it will grow over the years and gather interest that we can then put towards education needs of the chapter,” he said.

If a local organization runs into trouble, it is the school’s administrative body that deems what punishment is necessary. If a national organization does the same, a national representative comes in to talk to the school.

“The college is in control of the local group,” said Amanda Rose, who was the Assistant Director of College Activities at McDaniel for 5 ½ years. “When a national group is investigated the Headquarters for that group is notified of the situation. Consequences depend on the violations,” she said.

These could include suspension of certain privileges like wearing letters, community service, alcohol or hazing education, re-vamping the groups new member education program, among others (More thoroughly explained in article on investigation of organizations).

Organizations may switch from Local to National, and this requires researching all possible sororities/fraternities and finding the one that fits the group best. Then the group would apply to have a colony established, and if everything goes smoothly during a trial period, then the colony is made into a chapter.

McDaniel College has six National Greek organizations – Alpha Sigma Phi, Kappa Delta Rho, Phi Delta Theta, Phi Kappa Sigma, Phi Mu, and Phi Sigma Sigma. Local organizations on the Hill include Alpha Nu Omega, Alpha Gamma Tau, and Phi Alpha Mu.

Kim Williams

Features Editor

For an individual student who has violated college policy, the guidelines for what to expect are clearly outlined in the student handbook. However, when investigations into Greek organizations occur, this is not the case.

The investigation process can begin in a number of different ways. Associate Dean of Student Affairs Elizabeth Towle says, “The Hazing Hotline tends to be the most common way an investigation begins because they don’t need to say who they are when they leave a message. At the same time, when I hear anything that might be potentially happening in a group we follow up on that to determine.”

Towle responds that what happens to a group while under investigation “depends based on the circumstances and from the information I receive. We want to act to prevent any potential risk to personal safety.”

“When a group is being investigated, all chapter activities are suspended until the outcome of the investigation. This means there is to be no chapter meetings, activities, socials, community service projects or new member activities. The group’s involvement in campus activities is also on-hold until the outcome is known. This is done to allow time for information to be gathered to determine the validity of the reported information. This way if there are valid concerns the situation can be solved without any further incident,” says Amanda Rose, the current Coordinator of Student Life at San Jacinto College in Houston, Texas, the Assistant Director of College Activities at McDaniel from December of 2003 to August 2009, and a member of Phi Mu.

Towle says that for a group that is found responsible, “There’s a whole continuum from some very basic educational sanctions to help the group recognize and understand where they might have gone wrong to prevent it in the future up to ‘for these set of reason we can no longer recognize you.’”

Towle says that the time period involved in an investigation “depends. It truly varies based on the situation.”

Rose says that it generally takes two to three days to schedule individual meetings with members of the group and continues, “I tried to get those meetings completed in 2 days. It all depended on the students’ schedules… Once we came to a decision I would meet with the chapter president and give them a letter with the decision and any sanctions given. How long should a group expect to wait to hear a decision? From start to finish I would say 7- 10 business days… but there could always be things that could change that.”

Rose says, “When I worked at McDaniel, there was not a written investigation policy” and adds that “I left in August 2009, so I am not sure if any policies changed since then.”

When asked if the guidelines for the process of investigation are written down, Towle responds, “No. There is for individuals and that’s in the agenda book.”

The process for individual students is easily accessible for anyone interested in looking it up. The 2009-2010 student handbook says that “the following summary of the most common processes used to address matters of student misconduct are offered so that the College community may become familiar with the process in general,” (67).

In response to being asked how a group should know what to expect if under investigation, Dean Towle says “typically what happens in the case of an individual or a group once I get information, the first person I call in is the president or the individual student and say based on that information this is how the college is proceeding.”

Towle was asked: “Do you think there should be written guidelines to the investigation process written down and available to students involved in Greek life? How things proceed with individuals is in the agenda book, but is there anything available for sororities or fraternities to refer to while under investigation?”

She responds, «While there are no procedures currently included in the Handbook, once a complaint is received regarding an organization, the first person contacted typically is the president or head of the group to inform him/her of the concerns and explain how the College will gather the necessary information about the complaint.”

In regards to the investigation process, as Towle says “Our administrative process is in place to maintain the health and safety of the community.”