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Vol. 124 No. 14 Friday, March 8, 2013 ‘All the Lehigh News First’ THE BROWN AND WHITE Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894 SPORTS Men’s squad heads to semi-final Page 12 ONLINE Take our online poll Is Career Services helpful? Lehigh student starts clothing line Page 5 LIFESTYLE B&W photo by CHRIS BARRY Executive Offices unanimously voted to suspend DG’s charter on Feb. 21. Former Central Asian ambassador visits campus By NICOLE MONTALBANO Lehigh’s department of international relations sponsored the former U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and Armenia, John Ordway, to discuss current and important affairs in Central Asia. Ordway’s lecture, titled “The Great Game in Central Asia-Revisited,” was held in STEPS 101 Monday. Ordway opened his lecture with a brief history overview of the “Great Game,” a term he used to describe imperial expansion by Western powers in the region. “It really all began with India as a colony under the U.K.,” Ordway said. He elaborated saying that the other player in the Great Game was Russia when its colonial interests expanded south toward India. London questioned the Russian expansion and sought an alliance with Afghanistan, which later proved unsuccessful. “What about now?” Ordway asked. He concentrated on the question of whether or not the Great Game has been revisited, focusing on five major countries in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. His question addressed the three major powers, Russia, China and the United States, and each of their national interests in Central Asia. “I would say Russia’s biggest interest is psychological, something called post-empire stress syndrome,” Ordway said. According to Ordway, Russia is determined to maintain interests and access in Central Asia, by controlling major pipelines that allow resources to enter and exit the region. In addition to economic, labor and stability interests, he also noted the significance of Russian interests in the large Russian populations in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. “China also has economic interests in Central Asia—trade, investments,” Ordway said. He went on to list interests in accessing resources such as oil and gas, and preventing any anti-China activity in its vicinity. The third major player in Central Asia is the U.S. Among U.S. priorities, Ordway listed energy and oil transportation as a major interest that could potentially lead to economic stability, considering significant U.S. investments in three major oil companies in Central Asia. He also emphasized U.S. interests in promoting democracy and economic reform, and preventing terrorism in the non-democratic states of Central Asia. Ordway then commented on Turkey’s previous interests in post-Cold War Central Asia. Referring back to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ordway said, “When the Soviet Union fell apart, Turkey thought it would be a big brother and a good Islamic model to the new-born states. Turkey got the treatment that big By ABBY SMITH On Feb. 21, Lehigh’s chapter of the Delta Gamma sorority became the first DG chapter nationally to have its charter suspended for reasons other than low membership and financial trouble. “DG’s been on some sort of probation, or status as it’s called by their national headquarters, for many, many years now,” said Tim Wilkinson, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. “Unfortunately, they’ve constantly been a work in progress.” Two years ago, the sorority was placed on Disciplinary Deferred Dissolution status by the university regarding a hazing incident where a woman was hospitalized, Wilkinson continued. He described this status as a warning, meaning that DG could not make another mistake. DG’s Executive Offices, maintaining concern about the direction of the sorority, began its own investigation following an incident in the chapter house in the fall semester. “In September, a woman from DG’s Executive Offices came to stay with us for a few days, as it is standard protocol for these women to come and visit periodically,” a junior DG member said. “Unfortunately, there were inappropriate run-ins with two sisters and this woman, from which concern was raised with our chapter.” Wilkinson elaborated on the instance, commenting that the girls in question had been intoxicated and alcohol was present, which is forbidden in the chapter house because DG is a dry house through its national office. These intoxicated women said some less than flattering things to the Executive Offices representative, he said. “At that point, looking over the cumulative challenges of the chapter, the national office decided they were going to run a ‘member review,’” Wilkinson said. The “member review” process entails personal National office suspends DG charter interviews with each member of the chapter, in which the Executive Offices representative attempts to gauge a member’s commitment to the chapter and the organization, as well as her understanding of what it means to be in DG and the values of the organization as a whole. Lauren Jensen, ’15, DG’s recently elected president at the time of the investigation, described the process and explained that the sorority’s advisors had directed the girls to treat the “member review” just like an interview, being prepared to talk about why they loved DG and why they thought they were an active, committed sorority member. “The actual interviews were quite different than expected,” Jensen said. “We aren’t really allowed to talk about what went on, but I can tell you that a lot of girls left in tears. I personally did not have a bad experience, but the majority of our house reported that they felt disrespected and bullied.” Diana Vesselinovitch, ’13, indicated a similar sentiment. “At the review, in addition to being asked to report on my sisters, which I anticipated, I was scolded about the negative past of DG, and most troubling of all, had my character continually brought into question,” she said. “I felt hurt and offended that these Executive Offices representatives were attacking me and making assumptions about my character upon only having just met me. I was not given the opportunity to explain myself, my hopes and plans for the chapter moving forward or describe to them my personal contribution to DG.” Following the member review, DG Executive Offices decided to pursue an investigation. “There’s no doubt there was a small group of women who were committed to moving the chapter forward, but they felt like there was no way to separate the much larger group of women who weren’t necessarily committed to where DG needed to go from that smaller group,” Wilkinson said. On Dec. 19, DG received a letter from Executive Offices informing the sorority that the national office was “providing a 60-day notice of intent to consider the matter of suspending the Epsilon Lambda charter.” A final decision had not yet been made, and DG members were encouraged to submit letters petitioning the proposed charter suspension. All letters would be read and considered by the Executive Offices council, who would make the decision following the 60-day period. While Wilkinson said that he believed only 30 of the 80 or so sorority members to have written letters, but Jensen attested to many more. “There are indeed roughly 80-90 girls, and while I know not every single girl wrote a letter, there were definitely more than 30,” she said. “Additionally, current active members had been in contact with over 100 alumni, asking for supportive letters, so they had those to consider as well.” Jensen continued detailing other steps See DG Page 4 See AMBASSADOR Page 2
Object Description
Title | Brown and White Vol. 124 no. 14 |
Date | 2013-03-08 |
Month | 03 |
Day | 08 |
Year | 2013 |
Volume | 124 |
Issue | 14 |
Type | Newspaper |
Source Repository | Lehigh University |
Coverage | United States, Pennsylvania, Lehigh, South Bethlehem |
LCCN | 7019854 |
Source Repository Code | LYU |
Digital Responsible Institution | Lehigh University |
Digital Responsible Institution Code | LYU |
Issue/Edition Pattern | Semiweekly |
Title Essay | Published twice a week during the college year by the students of Lehigh University |
Description
Title | Page 1 |
Date | 2013-03-08 |
Type | Page |
FullText | Vol. 124 No. 14 Friday, March 8, 2013 ‘All the Lehigh News First’ THE BROWN AND WHITE Lehigh University’s Student Newspaper Founded in 1894 SPORTS Men’s squad heads to semi-final Page 12 ONLINE Take our online poll Is Career Services helpful? Lehigh student starts clothing line Page 5 LIFESTYLE B&W photo by CHRIS BARRY Executive Offices unanimously voted to suspend DG’s charter on Feb. 21. Former Central Asian ambassador visits campus By NICOLE MONTALBANO Lehigh’s department of international relations sponsored the former U.S. ambassador to Kazakhstan and Armenia, John Ordway, to discuss current and important affairs in Central Asia. Ordway’s lecture, titled “The Great Game in Central Asia-Revisited,” was held in STEPS 101 Monday. Ordway opened his lecture with a brief history overview of the “Great Game,” a term he used to describe imperial expansion by Western powers in the region. “It really all began with India as a colony under the U.K.,” Ordway said. He elaborated saying that the other player in the Great Game was Russia when its colonial interests expanded south toward India. London questioned the Russian expansion and sought an alliance with Afghanistan, which later proved unsuccessful. “What about now?” Ordway asked. He concentrated on the question of whether or not the Great Game has been revisited, focusing on five major countries in Central Asia: Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan. His question addressed the three major powers, Russia, China and the United States, and each of their national interests in Central Asia. “I would say Russia’s biggest interest is psychological, something called post-empire stress syndrome,” Ordway said. According to Ordway, Russia is determined to maintain interests and access in Central Asia, by controlling major pipelines that allow resources to enter and exit the region. In addition to economic, labor and stability interests, he also noted the significance of Russian interests in the large Russian populations in Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan. “China also has economic interests in Central Asia—trade, investments,” Ordway said. He went on to list interests in accessing resources such as oil and gas, and preventing any anti-China activity in its vicinity. The third major player in Central Asia is the U.S. Among U.S. priorities, Ordway listed energy and oil transportation as a major interest that could potentially lead to economic stability, considering significant U.S. investments in three major oil companies in Central Asia. He also emphasized U.S. interests in promoting democracy and economic reform, and preventing terrorism in the non-democratic states of Central Asia. Ordway then commented on Turkey’s previous interests in post-Cold War Central Asia. Referring back to the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, Ordway said, “When the Soviet Union fell apart, Turkey thought it would be a big brother and a good Islamic model to the new-born states. Turkey got the treatment that big By ABBY SMITH On Feb. 21, Lehigh’s chapter of the Delta Gamma sorority became the first DG chapter nationally to have its charter suspended for reasons other than low membership and financial trouble. “DG’s been on some sort of probation, or status as it’s called by their national headquarters, for many, many years now,” said Tim Wilkinson, director of the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs. “Unfortunately, they’ve constantly been a work in progress.” Two years ago, the sorority was placed on Disciplinary Deferred Dissolution status by the university regarding a hazing incident where a woman was hospitalized, Wilkinson continued. He described this status as a warning, meaning that DG could not make another mistake. DG’s Executive Offices, maintaining concern about the direction of the sorority, began its own investigation following an incident in the chapter house in the fall semester. “In September, a woman from DG’s Executive Offices came to stay with us for a few days, as it is standard protocol for these women to come and visit periodically,” a junior DG member said. “Unfortunately, there were inappropriate run-ins with two sisters and this woman, from which concern was raised with our chapter.” Wilkinson elaborated on the instance, commenting that the girls in question had been intoxicated and alcohol was present, which is forbidden in the chapter house because DG is a dry house through its national office. These intoxicated women said some less than flattering things to the Executive Offices representative, he said. “At that point, looking over the cumulative challenges of the chapter, the national office decided they were going to run a ‘member review,’” Wilkinson said. The “member review” process entails personal National office suspends DG charter interviews with each member of the chapter, in which the Executive Offices representative attempts to gauge a member’s commitment to the chapter and the organization, as well as her understanding of what it means to be in DG and the values of the organization as a whole. Lauren Jensen, ’15, DG’s recently elected president at the time of the investigation, described the process and explained that the sorority’s advisors had directed the girls to treat the “member review” just like an interview, being prepared to talk about why they loved DG and why they thought they were an active, committed sorority member. “The actual interviews were quite different than expected,” Jensen said. “We aren’t really allowed to talk about what went on, but I can tell you that a lot of girls left in tears. I personally did not have a bad experience, but the majority of our house reported that they felt disrespected and bullied.” Diana Vesselinovitch, ’13, indicated a similar sentiment. “At the review, in addition to being asked to report on my sisters, which I anticipated, I was scolded about the negative past of DG, and most troubling of all, had my character continually brought into question,” she said. “I felt hurt and offended that these Executive Offices representatives were attacking me and making assumptions about my character upon only having just met me. I was not given the opportunity to explain myself, my hopes and plans for the chapter moving forward or describe to them my personal contribution to DG.” Following the member review, DG Executive Offices decided to pursue an investigation. “There’s no doubt there was a small group of women who were committed to moving the chapter forward, but they felt like there was no way to separate the much larger group of women who weren’t necessarily committed to where DG needed to go from that smaller group,” Wilkinson said. On Dec. 19, DG received a letter from Executive Offices informing the sorority that the national office was “providing a 60-day notice of intent to consider the matter of suspending the Epsilon Lambda charter.” A final decision had not yet been made, and DG members were encouraged to submit letters petitioning the proposed charter suspension. All letters would be read and considered by the Executive Offices council, who would make the decision following the 60-day period. While Wilkinson said that he believed only 30 of the 80 or so sorority members to have written letters, but Jensen attested to many more. “There are indeed roughly 80-90 girls, and while I know not every single girl wrote a letter, there were definitely more than 30,” she said. “Additionally, current active members had been in contact with over 100 alumni, asking for supportive letters, so they had those to consider as well.” Jensen continued detailing other steps See DG Page 4 See AMBASSADOR Page 2 |
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