Editor,
Betsabel Roman's letter in Wednesday's Daily Lobo about Sigma Chi as a whole would better have been reserved for the humor section.
Outside of the 2003 green card party, Roman offered no specific dates, places or incidents other than glib generalities. She offered no specific evidence of her charges of hate crimes, soliciting prostitutes or others.
The charges outlined are serious and merit serious due diligence. Maybe in today's academic environment of political correctness and not wanting to offend anyone, due diligence does not exist. Maybe that is just a wee bit of a foreign concept for Roman.
I thought such unfounded accusations were McCarthyism, and that blindly throwing allegations about without solid documentation was a crime against the essence of being American. I guess some people have selective views on this matter.
As far as the incident in 2000 with the duct tape, action was taken against those individuals who committed the act, though Roman may want to account for the fact that Sigma Chi was private property and the vehicle was parked illegally. Nevertheless, the reaction was plain stupid and action was assessed against the perpetrators.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Further action was taken by the Sigma Chi national organization two years later in addition to being suspended by the University.
Now, I was never a Greek. I did not enter UNM until I was nearly 21 and I graduated at 24.
However, I believe her idea of excluding a fraternity based on allegations of misbehavior is absolutely ludicrous. Most criminal prosecutions do not allow for past bad acts as a gauge of prosecution.
Why should incidents of the past involving individuals long gone from the University be a motivating factor?
Furthermore, why should incidents at other universities be a determining factor for the UNM chapter? The weight should be placed upon the leadership of the resurrected UNM Sigma Chi - if it makes UNM feel better, make the new UNM Sigma Chi chapter sign a contract laden with potential liability actions under which the chapter would be suspended. If they violate any of those provisions, it would be a standard breach of contract and the chapter would lose its place on campus. What is wrong with a common sense solution? The only thing I can find wrong with one is that it is not politically motivated, and therefore no one will do it unless it looks good for cosmetic purposes.
Brandon Curtis
UNM alumnus
