University imposes sanctions on The Row


USC has issued new sanctions on The Row after a string of hospital transports during what Student Affairs characterized as the “worst weekend of the semester.”

According to a memo sent from Assistant Dean for Student Affairs Beth Saul and Associate Director for Fraternity and Sorority Leadership Development Ray Carlos and obtained by the Daily Trojan, fraternities and sororities can only host registered events between Friday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. Students will also be required to show USC identification in order to attend events.

Registered events must also be approved by the Los Angeles Fire Department.

Sigma Alpha Epsilon has also been placed on social probation, according to a statement from Vice Provost for Student Affairs Ainsley Carry.

Between Thursday and Sunday, ambulances transported seven people due to alcohol consumption as well as a female Loyola Marymount University student who was in serious condition after falling off a table at a party at Sigma Alpha Epsilon.

Greek row · USC Student Affairs implemented changes to the Greek community that went into effect immediately. Sororities and fraternities can only host registered events between Friday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. - Austin Vogel | Daily Trojan

Greek row · USC Student Affairs implemented changes to the Greek community that went into effect immediately. Sororities and fraternities can only host registered events between Friday at 3 p.m. and Sunday at 5 p.m. – Austin Vogel | Daily Trojan

“With regard to the case of a student from Loyola Marymount University injured at an unregistered party, the university has placed the chapter where the injury occurred on immediate social probation,” the statement said. “Social events at the chapter will be prohibited until this matter is resolved.  Student Affairs is in communication with the chapter’s national office to coordinate the response and possible disciplinary action.”

Carry also said that the case will be investigated by the Office of Student Judicial and Community Standards.

Four of the eight transports occurred on The Row, with another two occurring within two blocks, according to Dept. of Public Safety incident logs. An average of four people have been transported from The Row to a hospital each week.

An email from Interfraternity Council Executive Vice President Carlos Portela to fraternity presidents also said that the university’s “patience was running low” because of a high number of alcohol-related incidents.

Neither LAPD nor DPS Captain David Carlisle could disclose the name of the woman who fell. DPS also could not disclose the status of her health.

LAPD is currently investigating the incident.

“It is unfortunate to say this,” Portela wrote in the email, “but any sense of self-governance we were trying to keep up is no longer viable since this stance has come directly from the Student Affairs office.”

Portela wrote the sanctions will continue “indefinitely” and that he did not expect the restrictions to be lifted by Oct. 31.

President of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Oliver Mittelstaedt declined to comment other than to say “our thoughts and prayers are with [the woman], her family and her friends as she recovers.”

The sanctions come after a recent increase in LAPD monitoring on The Row this semester.

Students in Greek life were told they were not allowed to comment on Row activities.

Annalise Mantz, Daniel Rothberg and Isabella Sayyah contributed to this report.

Updated at 8:55 p.m.: This post has been updated to include a statement from Vice Provost for Student Affairs Dr. Ainsley Carry.

USC Risk Management 10.14.13

18 replies
  1. Mc
    Mc says:

    The Row is now dead. But the poor community members on Menlo will now be violated. We shall be ready for you. Bring it!

  2. USCTROJAN
    USCTROJAN says:

    To the above comments….Obviously the poem above was meant to be amusing and is no way an honest reflection of what fraternities think is acceptable behavior

  3. clarify
    clarify says:

    Please clarify this ambiguous line, “Students in Greek life were told they were not allowed to comment on Row activities.” Told by whom? Comment to whom? Under threat of what consequences?

  4. Uhhh
    Uhhh says:

    Why punish the entire row for other houses mistakes? What about the houses who take an active stance on risk management? Is this fair to them? What’s stopping them from just not caring now that they know there is no PERSONAL accountability by the university and that they will be reprimanded whether or not they actually did anything wrong? Really disappointed in the University. You’re only ENCOURAGING this type of behavior with these blind, generalized punishments.

  5. How Nikias Stole Thursday
    How Nikias Stole Thursday says:

    How Nikias Stole Thursday
    by Dr. Grey Goose

    Every Bro Down on 28th St Liked Raging a lot…
    But Nikias, Who lived just south of The Row, Did NOT!
    Nikias hated Raging! The whole Raging season!
    Now, please don’t ask why. No one quite knows the reason.
    It could be his head wasn’t screwed on just right.
    It could be, perhaps, that his drinking shoes were too tight.
    But I think that the most likely reason of all,
    May have been that his liver was two sizes too small.
    Whatever the reason, His liver or his shoes,
    He stood there on Thursday Night Eve, hating those who drink brews,
    Staring down from his office with a sour, sober frown,
    At the black lighted windows below in their town.
    For he knew every Bro down on The Row beneath,
    Was busy now, preparing for the end of the week.
    “And they’re stocking up on Prestige!” he snarled with a sneer,
    “Tomorrow is Thursday! It’s practically here!”
    Then he growled, with his President fingers nervously drumming,
    “I MUST find some way to stop Thursday night from coming!”
    For Tomorrow, he knew, all the USC girls and boys,
    Would begin drinking bright and early. Their Thursday night they’d enjoy!
    And then! Oh, the noise! Oh, the Noise!
    Noise! Noise! Noise!
    That’s one thing he hated! The NOISE!
    NOISE! NOISE! NOISE!
    Then the Bros, young and old, would sit down to drink.
    And they’d drink! And they’d drink! And they’d DRINK!
    DRINK! DRINK! DRINK!
    They would DRINK Prestige, and throw up in a New North sink.
    Which was something Nikias couldn’t stand in the least!
    And THEN They’d do something He liked least of all!
    Every Bro down on The Row, the tall and the small,
    Would stand close together, with house music sets playing.
    They’d drink hand-in-hand. And the Bros would start raging!
    They’d rage! And they’d rage! And they’d RAGE!
    RAGE! RAGE! RAGE!
    And the more Nikias thought of this Row ThursdayNightThing,
    The more Nikias thought, “I must stop this whole thing!”
    “Why, for three years I’ve put up with it now!”
    “I MUST stop this Thursday from coming! But HOW?”
    Then he got an idea! An awful idea!
    NIKIAS GOT A WONDERFUL, AWFUL IDEA!
    “I know just what to do!” NIKIAS laughed in his throat.
    And he made a quick white visor and a coat.
    And he chuckled, and clucked, “What a great Nikias trick!”
    “With this white coat and this visor, I look just like Lane Kiff!”
    “All I need is a Row sexual assault…” Nikias looked around.
    But, since Row sexual assaults are rare, there were none to be found.
    Did that stop the old Nikias? No! Nikias simply said,
    “I can’t find a sexual assault, but a drunk girl at SAE fell and hit her head!”
    So he called his police squad, DPS. Then he took some DPS bikes,
    On his map he drew X’s of all the frats they would strike.
    THEN He loaded some bags And some old empty sacks,
    On a ramshackle Chariot And on he hopped, old C.L. Max.
    Then Nikias said, “Giddap!” And the Chariot started down,
    Toward the homes where the Bros Lay asnooze in their town.
    All their windows were dark. 8balls of snow filled the air.
    All the Bros were all dreaming sweet frat dreams without care.
    When he came to the first little house on the square.
    “This is stop number one,” the old C.L. Max hissed,
    And he climbed to the roof, empty bags in his fist.
    Then he slid down the chimney. A rather tight pinch.
    But, if pledges could do it, then so could Nikias.
    He got stuck only once, for a moment or two.
    Then he stuck his head out of the fireplace flue.
    Where the 30 racks of Natty Light all sat in a row.
    “These 30 racks,” he grinned, “are the first things to go!”
    Then he slithered and slunk, with a smile most unpleasant,
    Around the whole room, and he took every beverage!
    Slap bags! And handles! Andre! Keystone Light!
    Vodka! Whiskey! Tequila! Oh my, what a sight!
    And he stuffed them in bags. Then Nikias, very nimbly,
    Stuffed all the bags, one by one, up the chimney!
    Then he slunk to the icebox. He took the jello shots!
    He took the jello syringes! He took the whole lot!
    He cleaned out that icebox as quick as a flash.
    Why, that C.L. Max even took their last dab of hash!
    Then he stuffed all the alcohol up the chimney, what a sleuth.
    “And NOW!” grinned Nikias, “I will stuff up the DJ booth!”
    And the Grinch grabbed the DJ booth, and he started to shove,
    When he heard a small sound like the coo of a dove.
    He turned around fast, and he saw a freshman bro!
    Little Johnny “Turn Down for What” Smith, fresh off his first line of blow.
    The Grinch had been caught by this fraternity pledge,
    Who’d come downstairs looking for more snow.
    He stared at Nikias and said, “President, why,”
    “Why are you taking our fun away? WHY?”
    But, you know, that old C.L. Max was so smart and so slick,
    He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
    “Why, my young scholar,” USC’s President said,
    “If you keep partying like this you will surely end up dead!”
    “So I’m taking it all back to Ralph’s, let me be clear.”
    “I’m acting in your best interest. USC is no place to drink beer.”
    And his fib fooled the child. Then he patted his head,
    And he got him some textbooks and he sent him to bed.
    And when Johnny went to bed with his books,
    C.L. Max went to the chimney with all the alcohol he took!
    Then the last thing he grabbed was the freedom to rage!
    Even for those who are of legal age.
    And the one speck of alcohol That he left in the house,
    Wouldn’t provide a solid buzz for even a mouse.
    Then He did the same thing To the other frat houses
    Leaving alcohol Much too small For even the other frat mouses!
    It was quarter past dawn… All the Bros, still a-bed,
    dreaming of Row Sluts giving good head,
    He packed it up, all their illegal goods! The yayo! The alcohol!
    The brownies! And the dabs! The Xanax! The Adderall!
    Seven floors up! Up the side of Parking Structure A,
    He rode with his load to the tiptop to dump it!
    “PoohPooh to the Bros!” he was Nikias-ishly humming.
    “They’re finding out now that no Thursday night parties are coming!”
    “They’re just waking up! I know just what they’ll do!”
    “Their mouths will hang open a minute or two,
    Then the Bros down on 28th St will all cry BooHoo!”
    “That’s a noise,” grinned Nikias, “That I simply MUST hear!”
    So he paused. And Nikias put his hand to his ear.
    And he did hear a sound rising over The Row.
    It started in low. Then it started to grow.
    But the sound wasn’t sad! Why, this sound sounded merry!
    It couldn’t be so! But it WAS merry! VERY!
    He stared down at 28th Street! Nikias popped his eyes!
    Then he shook! What he saw was a shocking surprise!
    Every Bro down on The Row, the tall and the small,
    Was partying! Without any regard for the rules at all!
    He HADN’T stopped Thursday night from coming! IT CAME!
    Somehow or other, it came just the same!
    And Nikias, with his Nikias-feet ice-cold on The Row,
    Stood puzzling and puzzling: “How could it be so?”
    “It came without vodka! It came without Sailor Jerry!”
    “It came without Absolut, Bacardi, and Smirnoff Berry!”
    And he puzzled three hours, till his puzzler was sore.
    Then Nikias thought of something he hadn’t before!
    “Maybe Thursday night,” he thought, “doesn’t have to be such a bore.”
    “Maybe Thursday night…perhaps…means a little bit more!”
    And what happened then? Well…on The Row they say,
    That Nikias’s liver went into overdrive that day!
    And the minute his liver didn’t feel quite so tight,
    He whizzed with his load through the bright morning light,
    And he brought back the alcohol! The Row let out a cheer!
    And he, HE HIMSELF! C.L Max shotgunned the first beer!

    • Daily Trojaner
      Daily Trojaner says:

      While a mostly entertaining take on the university’s response to row activities, “How Nikias Stole Thursday” also reflects the self-indulgent, destructive and de-humanizing attitude of frat brat mentality. Do you really believe your parents are spending tens of thousands of dollars on your privileged education so you can elevate partying to an art form?

      • Trojan Parent
        Trojan Parent says:

        No, this is NOT what parents are paying for. After you graduate and are “living on your own dime…”

      • Guy123
        Guy123 says:

        First off, I am in a fraternity and my parents do not pay for my education unlike yourself. I work every single day and look to thursday night events and weekends as a source to “blow off steam” you say self-indulgent, yet do not realize that every human being is self indulgent. You say frat brat yet i work 12 hour days to sustain my habits and retain a 3.85, so please think before you decide to speak generally about something which you are clearly not knowledgeable in. Doing so is unfair and is similar to what people have done throughout history as a means to persecute groups of people unfairly.

    • Jen
      Jen says:

      This largely amusing, but sexual assaults are NOT rare on the row. They in fact happen quite often. Not reported =/= that they didn’t happen.

    • Female Row-Goer
      Female Row-Goer says:

      Dude…several lines of your “poetry” actually SUPPORT these harsh sanctions (which is upsetting to me personally as a fellow RAGER!!)

      For example:
      “All I need is a Row sexual assault…” Nikias looked around.
      But, since Row sexual assaults are rare, there were none to be found”

      You really think that USC’s president needs to LOOK for sexual assault as an excuse to stop our partying? Sexual assault occurs VERY regularly on the row. If you deny that, you’re either ignorant, or you are among the overly hormonal, impulse-driven little frat boys unable to distinguish “blackout drunk human being” from “viable sex partner.” Problem is a lot of you just DON’T know how to handle your liquor around hot girls. If you could, then maybe Nikias could let you #party #rage #DRINKDRINKDRINK to your heart’s content and liver’s dismay.

      Another segment from your piece:
      “He thought up a lie, and he thought it up quick!
      “Why, my young scholar,” USC’s President said,
      “If you keep partying like this you will surely end up dead!”

      Honestly it happens. A good friend of mine from high school at another college died from alcohol intoxication a few weeks ago. Literally she just took too many shots, no drugs or anything, and she was one of those girls who never puked or seemed too drunk. Obviously most of us aren’t going to die from partying, but with the amount of transports to the HOSPITAL that we’ve had on a WEEKLY basis, it’s not really too off-base for USC to be worrying about kids dying here.

      Then there’s this :
      “It was quarter past dawn… All the Bros, still a-bed
      dreaming of Row Sluts giving good head”

      honestly guys…don’t apologize for partying. Apologize for your abhorrent attitudes toward women and human life. The girl who hit her head? Instead of including that mockingly in a poem, maybe consider the possible brain damage she and her family are dealing with, and acknowledge that it was a f**cking tragedy.

      People like YOU are the reason why USC doesn’t want us to rage anymore. Get it together and GROW UP.

    • Denise
      Denise says:

      when you talk about “row sluts giving good head”, that’s what makes me happy the row is shut down. people like you and people who perpetrate this kind of behavior make me really disappointed in my school. if you’re having fun partying, that’s great. but don’t bring in all this misogynistic, reprehensible, “frat bro” behavior. especially when sexual assaults are so common. rethink yourself.

    • JRR TOKIN'
      JRR TOKIN' says:

      Only one review rings resoundingly through the resplendent valleys of Los Angeles:

      “THE GOOSE IS LOOSE!”

      Dr. Goose has, once again, emerged triumphant in the rap battle of poetry slam that is Row Politics at Southern California’s University.

      While Goose has faced harsh, inevitable criticism from humorless has-beens in the making, his artwork speaks for itself.

      Seriously though:

      The dangers of the row are exactly that, predictable dangers that all members of these institutions agree to brave when they join said institution.

      For women: if you’re afraid that the row’s atmosphere may not be conducive to your lifestyle choices or goals, you could probably find a party in which you’re more interested by browsing through your ‘Contacts’ or LITERALLY on the walk from the row to campus. Avoid it. If it’s such a toxic environment, then why are so many people there every Thursday through Saturday night? Could it be that they haven’t read your posts on this wall? Could it be they haven’t had the world illuminated properly by you? Or could it be that your opinions on the row are not fully formed, that you think sexual assault happens rampantly on the row because you heard from a friend who heard from a friend that that was the truth. I’m sure you’ve never actually been on the row if you’re throwing these blanket statements around so haphazardly.

      And just so you can understand exactly where I’m coming from, I’m a member of a fraternity house, and I find it quite insulting that you immediately eliminate any sense of individuality or accountability by making us all into one creature.

      The problem with this rationale is that you believe sexual assault to be something that happens EXCLUSIVELY on the row. Would it not be just as ignorant if I were to say that, because most of the people who propagate school shootings at Universities spend long days alone in their dorm rooms, silently trying to have their political agendas heard on the internet, that EVERYONE who spends time posting their opinion on the internet is A SCHOOL SHOOTER (INCLUDING YOU!)? No, because that would be ILLOGICAL, much like the argument that a satirical poem in any way indicates an actual, real life level of toxicity on 28th street.

      • Denise
        Denise says:

        i obviously don’t think all sexual assaults happen on the row. the row itself is not the problem. misogynistic attitudes, as shown by that poem (yes i know it’s a joke) is what i find troubling. i just don’t think it’s right to make light of serious things like rape, assault, or this girl who now has possible brain damage.

        rape happens very often. it’s not specifically a USC problem, but a college campus problem and a world problem. i’m sorry if you would prefer to ignore that fact.

        but i think we at USC can do a better job of not contributing to these frat boy stereotypes. starting with not celebrating that poem.

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