SDSU frat house takes on new MADD philanthropy

The Phi Kappa Psi fraternity will hold a tournament called "Champions of the Blacktop" to raise money for its new philanthropy, Mother's Against Drunk Driving, from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday at Hardy Elementary School.

Phi Kappa Psi chose MADD to honor the death of Whitney Young, who was killed in a drunk driving accident near the San Diego State campus last fall.

"She was actually a really close house friend of ours," said Phi Kappa Psi President Riki Meier, an international business junior, "so we felt it would be good if the beneficiary was Mothers Against Drunk Driving."

MADD is a non-profit organization that was founded by Candy Lightner, a mother who lost her daughter to a drunk driver. MADD works to educate the public on the dangers of drunk driving and sponsors DUI legislation to implement tougher laws. It has existed for 27 years.

"Since MADD started, there has been a 40 percent decrease in the number of traffic fatalities," said Paula Birdsong, the state executive director of MADD. "But in the last couple of years, we've seen a leveling off. And, so we've kind of stepped up our information as well because people have become too complacent, thinking the problem is over when it's not."

The Boys and Girls Club of America has been the Phi Kappa Psi philanthropy in the past. The members have been doing community service work for them since Tuesday, and their last day is tomorrow.

The Greek community will hold its second new member series at 6 p.m. on Monday in Montezuma Hall.

Brett Sokolow, a higher education attorney who specializes in sexual misconduct and campus security, is scheduled to speak at the series.

His first program, titled "What You Don't Know About Hazing Can Kill You," begins at 6 p.m. and is a speech aimed at identifying what constitutes hazing and talking about hazing practices within college organizations throughout history.

"Hazing is caused by students wanting to forge bonds of trust and respect," said Sokolow, the president of National Center for Higher Education Risk Management.

"There are ways to form bonds of trust and respect through positive building rituals rather than negative, abusive rituals."

The second program, "Drunk Sex or Date Rape: Can You Tell The Difference?" begins at 8 p.m.

Sokolow said he plans to draw on his legal experience to facilitate an interactive jury exercise where the audience "hears" a trial based on a real sexual assault case.

"All of these things are about getting Greek organizations to be about something other than drinking and partying," Sokolow said, "about finding some other connection to the community that's given value and meaning."

Sokolow said he will be offering healthy alternatives to hazing that would still build lasting bonds and friendships.

"Brett has presented this program at over 1,000 colleges and high schools with resounding success," said Doug Case, coordinator for the Center for Fraternity and Sorority Life in an e-mail addressed to chapter presidents.



Film seller's dream inspires Phi Kappa Theta members

Motivational speaker Richard Novey reached out to Phi Kappa Theta fraternity during a student-leadership program on Feb. 28 at Scripps Cottage.

Novey finances for films and has been involved in the sale of worldwide films for the past 17 years.

Novey said his dream began in a London library while reading a book about what people did for a living, and he wondered if he could start a business of his own producing films. When he returned to Los Angeles, he started trying to make his dream happen.

"You just have to put your name out there," Novey said. "You have to keep making the phone calls and keep saying to people, 'Look, I want to be involved, what can I do?'"

Phi Kappa Theta member Neema Saedian said he was moved by Novey's talk.

"It was actually pretty inspiring because he really makes you want to think about your future," said Saedian, a business freshman.

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