Sorority event irks students

Many high rise residents complained about the noise generated by a Greek celebration in Superblock early yesterday morning. Although less than 10 recently initiated sorority pledges began the event -- which had not been properly registered with University officials -- many other non-members attending brought the noise level to a peak. And unlike past noise incidents, a number of students turned to a local electronic newsgroup to complain about the disturbance rather than calling University Police. At the celebration, about 40 students, including some in cars, assembled on the lot between the high rises at about midnight yesterday, according to Allied Security guard Mark Peters. The seven to 10 students who were "lined up" inside this group of 40 were affiliated with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., he said. But sorority members emphasized last night that most students present at the celebration were not from the sorority. And although University Police and Allied personnel monitored the activity, it was not classified as a disturbance -- "just noise," according to the Allied supervisor on duty Monday morning. "It was a natural campus activity from what the police said," Peters said. College junior Brennan Mulligan, who did not partake in the festivities, described the students' gathering as loud "chanting and making noise." But College senior Robyn Kent, a member of the sorority and the president of the Black Student League, said it was a relatively quick event. "It was a celebration by our newly initiated members -- it only lasted 15 minutes," she said. Kent added that the new pledges did not know the process of informing University Police and campus officials before an event. The noise ended about 1 a.m., according to College junior William Huang, who lives in High Rise South. Huang was the first of over 20 students who posted to the upenn.talk newsgroup regarding the event yesterday. Mulligan, who also complained, posted a message entitled "Water Buffalo All Over Again" to upenn.talk yesterday at 1:26 a.m. "I didn't call anyone and complain," Mulligan said. "I just sort of made a note of it on the newsgroup." Follow-up messages were posted the next day. "I thought it was the appropriate forum -- I pretty much knew there'd be a lot of discussion," he said of the postings. Mulligan said his subject line was in reference to the incident two years ago when then–College freshman Eden Jacobowitz called a group of black sorority women outside his window "water buffalo." But last night, according to Mulligan, the vocal complaints were toned down. "Most were 'shut up,' " he said. Kent said the noise was not enough to wake students, but that those studying probably heard it. Officials from the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs were unavailable for comment last night.

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