Posted on 05/10/2006 1:12:02 PM PDT by andrew2527
Four fraternity members accused of making pledges wear cowboy clothes and suffer homophobic insults in a "Brokeback Mountain"-themed initiation ritual face $1,000 fines under the state's anti-hazing law.
University of Vermont police said the civil penalties stemmed from a March 2 party at the Phi Gamma Delta house based on the movie about gay cowboys.
"What they did, which I felt was homophobic in nature, was inappropriate," UVM Police Chief Gary Margolis said.
Phi Gamma Delta's alumni advisers have denied accounts of anti- homosexual remarks and heavy drinking at the party.
Chittenden County Deputy State's Attorney Ed Sutton said his office did not plan to file criminal charges and believed the case "would be better dealt with in context of a university judicial review."
University police singled out four officers in the fraternity, Margolis said. Scott Curley II, 18, of Bridgewater, Mass.; Eric Freedman, 20, of West Simsbury, Conn.; Bill Holohan IV, 20, of Branford, Conn.; and Geoffrey Robinson, 20, of Middletown Springs were given tickets Friday, police said.
Vermont's anti-hazing law was passed after a 1999 hazing scandal at UVM in which members of the hockey team were accused of forcing freshman players to drink warm beer until they vomited and march in an "elephant walk" while holding each other's genitals. The allegations triggered the cancellation of the last 15 games of the hockey season
I'm shocked, shocked, I tell you, to find that there are anti-homosexual comments at fraternities.
Hate criminals! Burn them!
I shocked the little whimps spilled the beans.
What losers. We tied people to abandoned T-line in our stunts at MIT (train would go on other track).
He should be fired for using the term 'homophobic'.
And in Vermont too!
Speech as hazing. No hitting, etc. Just speech.
How PC.
The 1999 incident seems to have more to do with Brokeback Mountain than the recent one.
Actually, it sounds pretty funny.
Didn't you know? It's illegal to be a homophobe in Vermont.
How dare they be so openly heterosexual!!!
This fraternity has also been accused of "heavy drinking".
OTHEHUGEMANATEE!
"What they did, which I felt was homophobic in nature, was inappropriate," UVM Police Chief Gary Margolis said.
When they say "homophobic" does that mean they expressed an irrational fear, or is this word now just another way to say "they were really really mean and scary!" ???
Sounds rather mild...some fraternities make them go the full brokeback. I've never understood why anyone would want to join such an organization, but to each his own.
What did they do?
This appears to be a "thought crime", without knowing what was done I can't even have an opinion.
Is this how news is handled today?
"What they did, which I felt was homophobic in nature, was inappropriate," UVM Police Chief Gary Margolis said as he adjusted his Gucci Sam Brown belt and wiped maple syrup off of his bejeweled badge.
If the "victims" were joining the frat of their own accord and nobody was assaulted then it shouldn't be police business.
.....if they ever find out about what we did.....
.....we would be sent to "old sparky" for sure.....
....."hell night" itself would've been a capital offense.....
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