Sophomore busted dealing crack
Christopher Clemente struggled during his sophomore year at Wharton, in the fall of 1989. His grades were three F's and a C.
But low grades in classes are nothing compared to what happened to him on winter break.
When New York City police burst into a Harlem apartment on Jan. 9, 1990, they found Clemente, then 19. They also found 214 crack vials, a loaded 9 mm. pistol and a drug ledger with the name "Christopher Clemente" written on it. More crack vials and bags of crack were found outside the apartment, recently tossed outside the window.
The New York Post ran a front page story with the headline IVY LEAGUE CRACK DEALER. Philadelphia police seized a photo from Clemente's Van Pelt dorm room showing him surrounded with an array of weapons. University Vice Provost for University Life Kim Morrisson suspended Clemente for four weeks, saying he threatened campus order.
Famed defense attorney William Kunstler and civil rights activist Kwame Toure -- formerly Stokely Carmichael -- rose to his defense in protests on campus. Eventually, Clemente returned to school and waited until his Jan. 1991 trial.
Clemente was convicted of nine drug and weapons charges and sentenced to 15 years to life in prison. He is still incarcerated. He's not eligible for parole until 2006.
Clemente's defense, run by Kunstler, accused the police of violating his fourth amendment rights. Police originally came to the apartment complex to respond to a 911 call next door.
The defense argued that Clemente was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. At the trial, the defense said he was at the apartment "for a tryst" with a woman named Leah Bundy. Bundy was also convicted on the same charges and sentenced to life in prison.
The cocaine, they said, belonged to Clemente's brother. Although his brother was arrested on drug charges, he never want to prison and was fatally shot in 1992.
-- Dan McQuade
Founding of The Owl Society
Currently, the most scandalous thing about The Owl Society is that they live in a house owned by Campus Apartments. After all, what could be more 'Euro' than a huge C.A. "Pine" sign plastered on the front of your posh pad? But before the gentlemen of 4000 Pine could throw all night bashes at Monte Carlo, their founders had to get kicked out of the Castle first.
When College junior Billy O'Flanagan opened his front door on January 20, 1990, he was expecting a delivery from a florist. Instead he found 10 angry brothers of Psi Upsilon wearing stocking-caps standing on his front stoop at 231 S. 41st St. The boys of Psi U proceeded to blindfold, bind and bag O'Flanagan, a member of Delta Psi, otherwise known as St. Anthony's Hall. O'Flanagan's kidnappers then drove him to a nearby playground while blasting a Malcolm X speech into his ears. The brothers handcuffed him to a pole and then harassed him with racial slurs. Four hours after O'Flanagan opened his door expecting flowers, he was dropped off at 34th and Chesnut streets around 2 a.m.
The Philadelphia Police Department and the University began their investigation into the affair. College junior Carlton Jackson and College sophomore Aaron Castellano were arrested on kidnapping and other charges. The two faced a maximum of 64 years in prison. Additionally, eight other brothers faced more minor charges, which were eventually dropped in exchange for participation in a probationary program. The University held Psi U responsible for the kidnapping and kicked the fraternity out of the Castle. Shortly thereafter, several former Psi U brothers formed the Owl Society.
The aftermath: Psi U was eventually allowed to re-colonize in October 1995. The Owl Society currently resides in an off-campus house at 40th and Pine. Billy O'Flanagan sued the national Psi U organization in April 1990 and won $145,000 in an out-of-court settlement.
-- Ross Clark
Young Studs wrestler porn
Before 1995, most people assumed the gayest thing to happen in the college wrestling world happened on the mats. And then, everything changed... sorta. It was voyeuristic, blatantly homosexual and it was illegal; it just happened to involve Pennsylvania's wrestlers. OK, that probably still doesn't help you. The hint is, gay men shelling out cash to check out Penn's hunky athletes sans singlets. That's right, just headgear and a smile. No clue? Fine, I'll just tell you. Sometime between 1995 and 1999, 46 students were filmed while they were changing and showering during practice. At least two videos and 40 "hidden camera" pornographic pictures appeared online. $506 million later and the Young Studs pornographers began to think twice about producing titles like
Straight Off The Mat. The court charged Young Studs with invasion of privacy and ordered them to pay legal fees and compensatory damages. The Daily Pennsylvanian reported that cameras were placed in gym bags and showers at the University of Pennsylvania and Northwestern University. Here's my question: if they wanted to see Penn wrestlers naked why didn't they just go to an ATO party?
-- James Schneider
SDT sends pledges to HUP
There are a lot of jokes we could make about a bunch of sorority pledges being sent to the hospital for serious intoxication issues. There are even more jokes we could make about the possible letter combinations of Sigma Delta Tau's abbreviation. There are an infinite number of jokes we could make about SDT having its charter suspended as a result of this drinking incident, as well as a couple others. But we're far nicer than that.
Suffice it to say, then, that drinking tends to be a part of pledging activities at your local Greek organization. Hell, it might even be the primary part of said pledging activities. But most Greek organizations do not, on a Tuesday night, send a handful of pledges to the hospital with far more drinks than the typical Penn student's typical 0-4.
The facts are hazy - initial Daily Pennsylvanian articles said that three women were sent to HUP, and the Office of Student Conduct's final report on the matter said that it was four. But what is clear is that at least three and possibly four pledges were drunk off their asses. And from what we hear, it may have involved turkey basters filled with tequila.
After two months of investigation, SDT was put on a two-year probationary period, including a one-year social probation period. After that one year, it looked like they were going strong, but just a few months later, they had another alcohol policy violation, and now they've lost their charter. Dumbasses.
-- Alex Koppelman
Chi Omega hijinks
Some men at Penn bemoan the relative staidness of Penn women. Penn women, they say, are not the kind of Girls who Go Wild. Those Penn men must not have been around in the halcyon days of fall 2000, when a few members of the Chi Omega sorority did, in fact, go wild for humor website Collegehumor.com.
The sorority members were approached for a show on the website in which people were, basically, paid to do stupid shit. In this case, the stupid shit involved three different things: three women taking a shower with the host of the show, two women kissing and three others raiding a neighboring house at 3928 Spruce for, um, dirty frat guy underwear. The dares may have involved the aforementioned dirty frat guy underwear, but the money was good: $50 for the shower and the kissing, and either $10 or $20 for the panty raid.
But all was not wine and roses at the Chi Omega sorority house afterwards. Six members of the sorority were forced to vacate the sorority house. Four of them voluntarily deactivated - two were forced to go inactive. Charges were, according to a December 8, 2002 article in the Daily Pennsylvanian, "allowing male guests above the first floor, publicizing the sorority in a questionable way, having alcohol in the house and engaging in conduct 'unbecoming of a Chi O.'" Some of the sisters were charged with publicizing a Chi O song, proving, once and for all, that whoever makes the rules in these places has a telephone pole coming out of their ass.
-- Alex Koppelman
Campus Copy racism
On April 2nd, 2001, Graduate School of Education student Greg Seaton entered the Campus Copy store on 39th and Walnut hoping for assistance in processing a large order. Instead, he was forced to wait for service while the staff helped Professor Erling Boe, who entered the store after Seaton. His complaints were allegedly met with the following nonsensical and Darth-Vader-like response from store owner Ronald Shapiro: "You were here first, and you will be served last."
According to Seaton, an African-American student, a physical fight ensued, leaving the defenseless student bleeding on the floor with broken glasses and bruises to rival the green rings on my thighs from last night at Blarney. Whereas I can only blame eight shots of vodka and a staircase for my wounds, Seaton took his case to court, citing racism on the part of the Campus Copy employees. After a legal battle spanning two years, Seaton was awarded $350,000 - more than enough to pay for his photocopies. (And possibly buy a Beamer, a Boxster, a vacay in Bali and a condo in Boca.)
After the incident, Seaton organized a mass boycott of Campus Copy via email, asking that Penn students and professors take their business elsewhere. Thankfully, there will always be Wharton Reprographics, where the average Penn student can avoid both a racially motivated attack and an unnecessary use of daddy's Visa. Although it's located in the gloomy bowels of Steiny-D, this bulkpack mecca will remain popular until the Bursar Bill becomes obsolete. Wouldn't you rather use your precious trust fund for important things, like nose jobs and overpriced jeans?
-- Clare O'Connor
The Quad Five
Go on, admit it. You thought motor oil was flammable, too.
It was a lot of hubbub over nothing, really. In the end, two Penn students had to pay $1,250 each in fines and enter a 18-month probationary program. And at the end of the program, the criminal records of Thomas Bispham Jr. and David Hochfelder will be expunged, and they can go work at BCG or Makenzie or whereever the hell kids work nowadays.
Five students -- then-College freshman Hochfelder and Philip Balderston, then-College sophomore Bispham, then-Wharton sophomore Tavraj Banga and then College senior Steven Stolk -- were originally accused of assaulting Princeton debate student John Brantl and attempting to light him on fire after dousing him with motor oil in a Quad lounge in November of last year. The
DP reported that the kids had links to Penn 'secret society' The Owls. A lawyer called the incident "akin to frat frolic."
But in the end, three of the five had all charges dropped, while Hochfelder and Bispham had all felony charges dropped.
No one got hurt. Of the fines, $1,000 goes to the Philadelphia Domestic Violence Fund, and $250 each to Brantl and a female Princeton debate team member who had her belongings trashed.
Can we just ask the one question everyone's been asking: and what the fuck kind of initiation to The Owls is this, anyway? And can't we just come out and say what The Owls really is: akin to the No Girlz Allowed club you had when you were four, albeit with a nicer house.
-- Daniel McQuade
Brother Stephen boy seduction
Here's what West Chester Police say happened: on June 26th, 2003 Reverend C. Stephen White was driving through West Chester, Pa. As he was making his way down a windy, country road, he spotted a 14 year old boy walking, by himself, and decided to ask him a few questions. The first thing he asked the boy was for directions to any local strip clubs or porno stores. The boy pointed in him toward a plaza on Gay St. Unfortunately for the boy, he drove up next to him a second time, this time offering to pay him for permission to give the boy oral sex. According to the boy's sworn affidavit on file with the West Chester Police department, White asked him if he had "ever received a blow job from a guy before," and described it as "the same as if a female was doing it to you." The very frightened but smart boy memorized White's license plate, ran to his aunt's house and alerted the authorities. He later identified him by his driver's license. According to NBC 10 News, C. Stephen White's defense lawyer, J. Michael Considine Jr., said his client only asked the boy for directions. Anyhow, unable to pay the $100,000 cash bail, White went straight to jail, much to the delight of any students from Penn, Princeton, Drexel, and any other University that the Preachin' Pederast terrorizes. Brother Steve -- we'll see you in hell.
-- Scott Haller
"Show us your tits"
In a "Letter to the Editor" in the April 24, 2003 issue of The Daily Pennsylvanian, uber-sensitive Senior Class President Billy Moore described the typical student actions on Hey Day, the Spring event where Penn Juniors are declared Seniors: "They'll eat and frolic on Hill Field with friends...They'll take a bite out of everyone's hat that they see...They'll come out of their shells -- it's tradition."
Moore, however, was not writing to laud Penn's annual day of debauchery. Instead, he was writing to condemn a scandal that came about during Penn's 2002 Hey Day, when a group of students chanted "Show us your tits!" during University President Judith Rodin's speech. Moore wrote, "Choosing to engage in this behavior would not be indicative of the good character of your peers or your school."
Many others besides Moore were upset with this rebellious display of misogyny. Petitions were signed by many Juniors who agreed not to partake in the sexist chant.
Rodin, however, was not completely aware of the chant during the 2002 proceedings. On April 25, 2003, Rodin told The Daily Pennsylvanian that she has "never heard it...It is loud and raucous, so it is hard to hear anything up there."
Some, however, questioned the scandal's legitimacy. Jason Levy, Undergraduate Assembly Chairman, commented, "Before this was publicized, few, if any, juniors knew about it."
Despite this publicity, however, "Show us your tits!" was not a factor in 2003's Hey Day proceedings. Penn Juniors recognized the chant's immaturity, and instead of demeaning their President, they opted to demean themselves with selfless displays of drunken lunacy.
-- John Carroll
Your American Leatherman
Scott Reikofski is the Director of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs here on campus. By day, he is a steadfast advisor and investigator in all Greek affairs, patrolling the perilous world of beruit and jungle juice. Aside from his Ph.D in Human Sexuality Education, we wonder, is Scott Reikofski really qualified to handle our brother and sisterhood woes, our interfraternal conflicts and, most importantly, the scandalous Greek life at Penn?
Well, indeed, there is more to Scott Reikofski than meets the eye. On April 25, 1999, Scott Reikofski took home the title of "American Leatherman," in a competition for leather-bound buccaneers to shine in speech, barwear, erotic wear, fantasy leather, formal leather and question & answer rounds. Said Reikofski on the American Leatherman website, "I can't imagine what my life would be like now without my open erotic expression, my leather family, or the incredible experiences I have had in the leather community." Drawn in by the "love, encouragement, and support" of the leather community, Reikofski was honored to be the winner, and to represent the only gay and lesbian leather contest in the country. As title-holder, the American Leatherman runs fundraising events, such as the "Kinky Karnival" with hot wax booths, flogging booths, and more, while spreading the word about the "brotherhood" of the leathermen. Can Penn trust this leather-bound champion to regulate? With a scandal like this, how can we not? More power to him.
-- Abby Natelson
