Based on the definition of News and the 16 News Values discussed in this News Writing class, the "E-mail tells sorority party guests to bring fake IDs" story is a legitimate news story. (The email was leaked to the independent student newspaper.)
It was published online and in print in The (ASU) Herald on March 17, 2011.
What should be the repercussions, if any, to those involved and the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority? What should be included in a follow-up story? What questions do you think still need to be answered?
Leaky Emails
ReplyDeleteThe email encourages underage drinking; explicitly telling students to bring face IDs, but fails to actually prove it. There was no recollection of actual underage drinking and no mention of those found with fake IDs. However, Kimberly Winchester sent the email encouraging this behavior, therefore she should be punished solely. The entire Alpha Gamma Delta chapter should not suffer consequences of one member’s actions. Taking away Kimberly’s sorority membership and adding academic probation would suffice. There were no fatal injuries due to the party and no minor upsets dealing with underage drinking. I’m curious to know how many fake ID’s were at the party and whether the bar tender carded anyone with suspicion and found their ID was in fact fake. Also, who leaked the email? Rumors of other students removing newspapers from their stands to prevent this story from being read are circling campus. Further investigation is needed. This story needs the seven basic questions answered, who, what, where, when, why, how? Were they caught, who knows and how severe should their punishment, if any be?
There is definitely legitimacy to the story, there is hard copy of an e-mail that clearly shows instruction to bring fake identification as well as if you don’t have a fake identification card, to have someone older buy it for you. Sending the e-mail is not a crime but definitely has news value in the way it was written. The story never claimed a crime was committed but did state there was an ongoing investigation into the matter. Anytime there’s an investigation into something, whether there is crime or not, that is worthy of a news story.
ReplyDeleteAlpha Gamma Delta cannot really be punished until the investigation is complete and depending on what is found, the sorority should be punished accordingly. As far as the follow up story, it should include the results of the investigation along with opinions from sorority members on the issue.
The entire issue of underage drinking with a fake ID really seems to be a common sense thing. It is common knowledge that if you drink underage then there are serious consequences to being caught. It is also common knowledge that if you use fake identification and are caught there will be major repercussions. So why would someone encourage poor decisions to be made?
ReplyDeleteThe ladies who encouraged illegal activity should be suspended from participating in school events and maybe attend an alcohol awareness class. The Greek system in its entirety should have to revise their current policies on parties, one revision should include that a trained third party person should card all of the party-goers to ensure that those who choose to drink are legal. If they can’t do that then they probably aren’t responsible enough to have alcohol to begin with.
There are questions that should be followed up on in another story. Who is ultimately being held responsible? What is the Greek system planning to do in order to combat this from happening? What will the administration do to take action against users of fake ID’s?
I work at the print shop on the first floor of the communications building and every week I deliver 5,000 copies of the herald to all the different newsstands around campus. Prior to the delivery of the St. Patrick’s Day edition on the 17th the papers were stolen from their stands at the five high traffic areas on campus. Papers went missing from the Student Union, Eugene Smith, and Wilson hall; Friday morning my bosses called me in to reprint and redistribute the paper. I don’t think the girl should get in any trouble for her unfortunate ignorance but it’s against the law to steal the papers out of the bins, which cost the herald more money. I’m not sure that Winchester actually stole them but she would be taking yet another risk by making another stupid decision like that. I would also like to know why I didn’t get an invitation to the A-Ball, because it sounds like a pretty awesome party.
ReplyDeleteUPD should make some sort of improvement when it comes to catching students when they’re doing something that’s against school policy or illegal, because it’s obvious that it is happening. Even though the sorority was punished as a whole by being suspended from doing any activities, I think it would be more beneficial if the ones that were actually doing the crimes were punished individually. It doesn’t help that the way the sorority handled the situation was less than professional. Fraternities and sororities are meant to be role models to the rest of the school. How are they going to accomplish that when they can’t even take responsibility for their own actions? If there is a follow-up story, I hope it includes a professional response from Alpha Gamma and what the individual who sent the email plans to do about her pervious actions and what UPD plans to do in the future about students that break school policy.
ReplyDeleteI honestly don’t believe there should be any repercussions to any one specific person. Just because Kim sent out the email, there were many others involved in this act. I feel that the whole sorority should be disciplined. I think the sorority should be suspended for their careless acts. Being honest, there’s a lot of underage drinking going on here on campus, but none to my knowledge has sent anything through email explaining how to successfully get passed the law. There should definitely be a follow-up story covering what happened to the sorority and interviews of the former sorority members to see their actions and how they feel of the situation. The discipline of Kimberly Winchester should also be mentioned. Though there were more people involved in the act, she was the one who sent out the email. Winchester held a high position, and this looked bad on her part as co-captain of ASU Diamond Dolls. I think they need to ask were there anymore emails from the Yahoo! account that were sent in regards to other illegal activities. They should also ask who were the other girls or guys that were involved.
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ReplyDeleteCollege can be over rated! The story on the Alpha Gamma Sorority “Underage drinking parties” wasn't a shock to me. The foolish act the sorority made was not expectable to any extent but its college what do you expect. Repercussions on behalf of the uncivilized action would be suspension. Trial would be interesting but college consists of underage drinking all the time, regardless students will do it anyway. The story was a big deal and a very important mess that needed to be published because people shouldn’t advertise alcohol privileges especially if underage drinking is being pursed. Follow ups should consist of the consequences Alpha Gamma Sorority will have to face. Being a Greek is a big deal on every college campus that allows sororities and fraternities, in fact they are displayed as success groups. When Greeks make stupid and careless discussions they loose rights and loose value to their name; at least I think. Appearance is everything, if an organization appears to be irresponsible towards people around them, how responsible would they be in the real world? What do students think of Alpha Gamma Sorority now? What do Alumni’s think?
ReplyDeleteThe female who sent the email is obviously guilty of violating the conduct of not only ASU but also the law in general. However, the remaining females in the sorority are in no way eligible for disciplinary repercussions outside of being an accessory to the crime because the authorities who were present did not catch them at the time.
ReplyDeleteASU’s Student Conduct just so happens to take the accessory charge very seriously.
First. The female email writer in the original article of the paper has, whether underage drinking occurred or not, been caught providing a means for underage attendees to drink.
When children at the age of 15 or 16 are being provided alcohol, the individual who is caught providing is reprimanded severely. I feel that the same type of action should happen in this situation.
Second. As mentioned previously, others in the sorority are possibly in danger of an accessory charge for not mentioning this to the proper authorities.
ASU is currently conducting interviews with those who were present at the “A-Ball” in order to get the whole story, which in my opinion is the proper and appropriate action.
The Alpha Gamma Delta need to be punished according to the fullest extent of the law. If people organize an event and they give out fake I.d’s, then the people need to be charged. For those who chose to drink underage, they need to be charged naturally with the counts of drinking underage. As for Kimberly and Savannah, they need to be charged with misdemeanors which could lead to some serious fines and some jail time. In the article, in my opinion, the person who submitted the e-mail needs to come forward, and tell how they got a hold of the e-mail and what the organization was responsible for. In the follow-up, the paper needs to discuss what has happened to Kimberly and Savannah, if they have been charged or arrested. The story also needs to tell if anymore arrests have been made, and possibly get a comment from the chief of police, Michael Yates. Also, the person who submitted the e-mail needs to come forward. The sorority needs to be suspended indefinitely until the case closed.
ReplyDeleteThe individuals involved in the Alpha Gamma Delta email incident have a lot to answer to.
ReplyDeleteArkansas state law clearly states that underage drinking is illegal and punishable as a crime. For an organization that is supposed to empower young women to condone such acts, and send a mass email expressing that acceptance, it really gives not only the sorority but also the campus a bad reputation.
Those involved should be punished for their actions by 1.) asking the creator of the email to resign from office, 2.) suspending the sorority’s rights to hold social events until further investigation, and 3.) investigating the off-duty University Police Department officers involved that were hired for the party.
The Herald should report a follow-up story that covers continuing developments in the investigation of the event and look into the officers’ accounts of the party. An interview could prove to unearth new details on a story as controversial as such.
According to the “E-mail tells sorority party guests to bring fake IDs” story, I think the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority should get some punishment but not very hard. First, people should be responsible for their own action and there isn’t enough evident to prove that the Alpha Gamma Delta being accessory. It is probably a jokey E-mail. However, the E-mail is real fool and negative. So, the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority should get little punishment because of sending wrong E-mail, such as they cannot hold any activity in a year.
ReplyDeleteWhereas, some people who are probably considered to be members of the Alpha Gamma Delta stole many copies of the Herald newspaper that published the IDs story. I think the result of stealing newspaper event can be a follow-up story. Moreover, the final result of the investigation and the punishment those involved get can also be a follow-up story.
Furthermore, the question that what kinds of punishment do they, those involved and the Alpha Gamma Delta Sorority, get still need to be answered. Moreover, why did they do it? In this case the story can be more completely.
Drinking alcohol has become common practice among college kids, the same can be said even more so about fraternities and sororities. Alpha Gamma Delta sorority member Kimberly Winchester sent out an email on the 15th informing attendees that if they were not 21 or had a fake ID their hand would not be stamped.
ReplyDeleteThe email also told party goers that if they were not 21 and wanted to drink at the party someone who was “21” could buy there drink for them to avoid suspicion. Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, Craig Johnson said Friday afternoon the sorority has received an interim suspension.
This is not the first time nor will it be the last time a sorority of fraternity served alcohol at a party. The majority of people drinking at these events are underage there is no doubt about that. However I feel like this is more of a university failure than that of the students. It is normal for college kids to drink even though it is illegal.
The university should have more UPD officers there checking the identification of those attending the party.
The Alpha Gamma Delta sorority should be reprimanded for their nonchalant rules for their A-Ball event and for the possibly connected theft of copies of The Herald. They are already under interim suspension from participating in social events on campus until the Office of Student Conduct closes the case.
ReplyDeleteIt is no secret that Arkansas State is supposed to be an alcohol free campus and that Craighead County is a “dry county”; ASU students still acquire and drink alcohol.
Students who are “greek” will defend their organizations as being charitable and good for the school, but when a sorority holds a part where alcohol is being served and attendees are encouraged to bring fake ID’s, they are committing a crime and not helping their image.
The alleged email makes it clear that the sorority didn’t care who was drinking as long as they received money and they got to drink.
Those who were involved should be punished. Not everyone because not everyone in the sorority was involved. This email was sent out on their personal yahoo accounts that they take care of all the secret Alpha Gam stuff. They still have no hardcore evidence of under aged drinking; all they have is the email that was sent out.
ReplyDeleteThe follow up story should be what happened since the story has broken the news. And who is being punished, and why they are being punished. They should find out all the facts before they start throwing out member’s names and having accusations printed that could be false.
There are many questions still left unanswered that a majority of readers are probably wanting answers to such as: Who sent the email to the Herald office? Did some Alpha Gamma Delta members know that this was going to be sent to the newspaper? Was it one of the members trying to get back at another member? Is Arkansas State University going to revoke the AGD chapter? And how are they going to monitor the rest of the sororities events?
The email sent by Alpha Gamma Delta sorority member Kimberly Winchester wasn’t technically illegal. However, in her email, Winchester encouraged other sorority members to engage in illegal activities – ID fraud and underage drinking. Because it can’t be proven that every member of the sorority supported this plan, and because no one was actually caught, I do not think the entire Alpha Gamma Delta sorority should be punished. The only action I believe should be taken against the sorority as a whole is that police officers and ASU officials must closely monitor all future social events. Winchester, as the sender of the email, as well as the Savanah mentioned in the email, were in the wrong, and should consequently be punished, either by a suspension from the sorority, or by not being allowed to attend any social events organized by the sorority for a certain amount of time.
ReplyDeleteThese questions still remain: Was any individual person punished in any way? Are any members of the sorority willing to share their opinion on the situation? What do other sororities and fraternities on campus have to say about the incident?
I believe that this is a bad situation. Any kind of group that encourages their members to bring a fake I.D. so they can drink underage is not a group that needs to stay around. As of now, no one has been charged with drinking underage, but I do not believe that should be the main focus. It should be on the sorority itself. Having a sorority that will not obey the law and goes against the rules of their house is a shame to the school. I admire the person who sent in the email, though some people may no agree with what they did, it shows that a moral person cares enough about the situation and wanted to put a stop to it. The follow up story should include information about the investigation of the sorority and the decisions of the sorority’s headquarters. Some questions I would liked answered are did anyone get caught with underage drinking, will any members of the sorority comment on the story, and what will the future of the house be?
ReplyDeleteI don’t think that everyone should be punished for under aged drinking because you don’t know for sure that everyone was. I do think that Winchester should get in trouble and possibly even removed from the sorority for knowingly encouraging under aged drinking and possibly harming the under aged drinkers. Under aged drinking is not uncommon for college, and whether the email was sent out or not, it was going to happen. But people shouldn’t so openly encourage it.
ReplyDeleteA follow up story should include Winchesters say on what happened and why she was encouraging the drinking, if possible to get her opinion. It should also include what the punishment is for her and the sorority, and how this incident affects other Greek parties and get togethers.
Questions that still need to be answered is who is “Savannah”, and why didn’t the bartender card people? Another question is why didn’t the email get leaked until after the party so that something could have been done to prevent the drinking.
I don’t think the sorority should be punished or put on any suspensions until actual proof has come in that members of the Alpha Gamma Delta chapter who were not 21 were able to drink because of getting fake IDs that said they were really 21.
ReplyDeleteThe whole Alpha Gamma Delta chapter should not be punished because a girl sent out an email saying if members had a fake ID and paid $15 then they could drink. There is no proof as of right now that anyone actually brought fake IDs to the party and drank.
When The Herald writes a follow-up story, they should include quotes from the headquarters saying exactly what has happened in the investigation and what information they have discovered involving this issue. The writer also needs to try and get a hold of Kimberly Winchester and get her side of the story.
They need to know if anyone followed Winchester’s advice and actually brought fake IDs with them so they could drink. The reader also needs to know what actions are being taken for those who did bring fake IDs and did drink at A-Ball.
Obviously, fake ids and underage drinking is against the law and a member of Alpha Gamma Delta is subtly hinting that it is ok to partake in these events. if you looked at students in general and other organizations, Greek and non-Greek, on campus you would notice that this sorority is not alone with these kinds of things. I think there should be a punishment towards the sorority , possibly banning them from the upcoming "Greek Week," but I think there should be no huge punishment such as pulling their charter because the Herald obviously ran with something they got from an "anonymous source" and took it to the magnitude, destroying one girl's reputation. The repercussion of this story being published to the whole school alone in its self is enough punishment. Alpha Gamma Delta has the highest GPA on campus, and has done many great things for ASU, as well as their philanthropic events. I think questions to be answered would be for the Herald to find proof and reasoning for this story. A follow up story would be statements from some of the sorority members.
ReplyDeleteThe interim suspension is a good start for the sorority, but as Chief Yates stated in the article there is nothing illegal about being stupid. Depending on what the investigation by the Office of Student Conduct reveals, it is up in the air as far as who is to blame. Winchester is likely to receive punishment for the act of sending out the e-mail but she obviously wasn’t the sole person organizing the event.
ReplyDeleteAs far as what warrants punishment, telling people to bring fake IDs so that they can drink alcohol is essentially the same thing as intent to help consume alcohol. The most incriminating thing about the e-mail is Winchester repeatedly OKs bringing fake IDs and even outlines a scheme to get away with it.
The punishment should fit the crime, however, so first thing to see is what happened at the party and if there were any legal violations. After that ASU needs to take it from a policy standpoint and punish the organization accordingly. If that means suspension of the whole sorority for an extended period, so be it.
Alpha Gamma Delta has girls in their sorority who makes just as many mistakes as any normal human being on the planet. Kimberly Winchester, the member who sent the email to the sorority girls, just happened to be caught. I do not think it was intelligent of her to send out an email like that, but I do not think that the whole Alpha Gamma Delta group should be punished for it. I hate that Kimberly has to suffer, but she should not have made such a “foolish” decision. The follow up should include some sort of information on what Alpha Gamma Delta is having to go through and what punishments Kimberly has been put through. “Who sent the email to the Herald? What has happened to Kimberly? Will the Alpha Gamma Delta loose their charter?” These questions will want to be answered, but not all of them may get one.
ReplyDeleteBecause there is no proof that anyone actually used a fake ID to get into the party there really isn’t anything that can be done legally to punish individuals in attendance. Since an individual who suggested that attendees use fake ID’s sent this email the individual should be held responsible for the email she sent. Also because she is a representative of the sorority the sorority should take the appropriate action to punish the member. I’m sure that since she has seen so much attention in the news already she has learned a valuable lesson.
ReplyDeleteIn a follow up story it would be nice to know what position Kimberly Winchester held and how much authority she has within the sorority. If she had been part of the planning committee for the party and had the authority to write the email then it would be necessary to punish the entire sorority and not just the individual who wrote a dumb misguided email.
Seeing that there is no absolute proof of there being underage drinking at the Alpha Gamma Delta formal, I do not believe that they should be severely punished as far as loosing their chapter at Arkansas State University. The idea for all of the members who were attending “A-ball” to have fake id’s was only a plan sent out through an e-mail, and there is not hard evidence to believe that all of the members acted on this. The $15 charge was to everyone whether they were drinking or not, and it was said that the money would be used for the guests who were 21 years or older.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the person who sent the e-mail, Kimberly Winchester, should be punished for encouraging underage students to obtain fake id’s and promote underage drinking. Not everyone should be punished for one person’s foolishness. There is still more investigation to be done, as all the evidence that they have in an e-mail. They need actual proof of fake id use and underage drinking for it to be a situation where they can have their charter pulled from ASU.
Stuff like this happens on campus. The story proves that, there are people on campus that shouldn't be in college. After everything is said and done the only punishment this sorority will have is a slap on the wrist. This issue should be taken seriously; chapter members involved should have scholarships or their chapter membership removed. There should be a follow-up story to tell what how the sorority acted and the punishment the members received. What stops other sororities from doing the same thing? Even if Kimberly Winchester was removed from the chapter and was put on academic probation, Winchester probably wasn't the only one involved. As Michael Yates said, "I can't prove at this point that they actually did it...It's not against the law to be stupid" As precious the geek community is to ASU, most likely nothing will be done.
ReplyDeleteAs college students we know that people drink underage all the time, it is not an uncommon issue on campus. I, personally, do not condone underage drinking by any means, but I also am not stupid I know it happens. Unfortunately there is no proof of anyone actually drinking underage. However something needs to be done about this. The whole sorority should not be penalized for these few mistakes. The email clearly states a few girls who openly allowed this to happen. They openly said they would allow it. Under no means should they be allowed to get away with this. I believe they should be removed from the sorority, as to make an example for the other girls, as to say this is not allowed. The one question that still needs to be answered though, is why did they think they could get away with this? You think you can start a fire and not eventually get burned? You're sadly mistaken.
ReplyDeleteI think only those involved should be punished since not everyone was participating in the want to participate in underage drinking. I think the two girls should face severe consequences that possibly includes their membership being terminated.
ReplyDeleteThe follow-up story should include actions that international headquarters took to rectify the situation and consequences the two girls as well as the sorority are facing. I believe responses from Winchester and “Savanah” would really be beneficial to readers, as well.
Good follow-up questions would be as to why the e-mail was sent. Why would they promote the use of fake IDs when there would be severe consequences if caught with them? And why educate them on bringing fake IDs when there were a few other ways to get alcohol without them? I don’t think the situation was thoroughly thought through before an action was taken.
As far as repercussions go, I agree with the interim suspension of the Alpha Gamma Delta chapter. Police Chief Michael Yates said that he can’t not prove that there was anyone underage drinking. Without proof of underage drinking there is no need for further punishment.
ReplyDeleteIn a follow up story I want to know what the Office of Student Conduct finds in its investigation and what punishments could follow. I also think that it would be beneficial to know what the Alpha Gamma Delta International Sorority does to look into the situation.
There are still several questions to be answered. Why was the email leaked? Was it Kimberly Winchesters idea to allow this, or was she just the messenger? If a police officer was there, how could several underage people expect to still get drinks?
Alex Richardson
ReplyDeleteemail: kforcegforce@yahoo.com
March 29, 2011
Sandra Combs
Underage Drinking Parties
From what was read from the news story and the actual email it is sad to say that there’s not much that can be done about the situation. Officer Yates stated that nobody got arrested or pulled over for a DUI meaning that all we can do is assume that there were people underage drinking at the A-ball. I believe however that the sorority will be punish due to the fact that they are condoning serving minors which is a bad look for the school as well as that sorority. What should be in the follow up story is whether Alpha Gamma Delta interim suspension will turn into a more lengthy suspension. A question that I would like to know is will the sorority get suspended for a long period of time. It has been fraternities that have been penalized for hazing but there was no physical or verbal evidence of such a thing.
Any person that blatantly tells a minor to produce fake IDs should be subject to serious repercussions, especially when alcohol is involved. The whole sorority should not be punished because the whole sorority was not behind this scheme. Kimberly Winchester and "Savanah" should be punished and definitely pulled from any leadership positions that they may hold. They do not have the characteristics of good leadership and are subject to put others in harms way. They should also lose their letters.A follow up story should include how the sorority headquarters along with the chapter officers and advisers deal with the girls. It should express the rulings of the Student Conduct Board and what happened to Winchester and "Savanah". Other concerns would be how the underage parties received fake IDs and if they were provided by Winchester and Savanah. Using people who attended the party and Alpha Gamma Delta sorority members a
ReplyDeleteI believe that people who consistently break the law or misuse alcohol should be convicted with a stronger penalty than those who had one sip one time at one event. To charge the entire sorority with interim suspension brings is a bit unfair to those girls who do not drink and did not drink at the A-ball and are in the sorority for its positive values. However, on the flip side, one of the purposes of a Greek organization is to bring unity to the group of members. This would mean if one goes down, they all go down. I don’t necessarily think what is even is fair. I believe authorities should investigate this issue thoroughly and make fair consequences for those involved in the action. The follow up story should include the national organizations of Alpha Gamma Delta’s opinion on the case and what they are going to do about it. They should answer how many people where at this event and who were they, such as x amount of members, x amount of dates, and x amount of officials. By Natalie Marcus
ReplyDeleteIt is common for now that underage students drink alcohol, especially college students. But the problem here was that the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority is one of the ASU registered organization. Moreover the event was the registered event. If ASU ignored the fact and the e-mail, even sent by an anonymous, it means that ASU allowed students to drink alcohol.
ReplyDeleteThere were many opinions about the news after it was published. There are pros and con. Big news which gathers people’s attention is always controversial. It was a good decision to publish the story. Because actually it get reader’s attentions.
For the follow-up story, readers want to know the circumstance of the organization now. What did the members of the sorority think about the e-mail, when they receive it? States from the sorority members are needed. What happened during the party? Readers want to know what actions were taken for those who brought their fake ID.
The Herald published the article about the Alpha Gamma Deltas on March 17, When an email was leaked saying there would be alcohol at A-Ball.
ReplyDeleteIn the story, Craig Johnson, Assistant Vice Chancellor of Student Affairs, said that Alpha Gamma Delta has received an interim suspension and is under investigation. This means that the members are barred from social activities until the case is resolved.
Since there is no proof, the group cannot be fully punished. But, since the group intended on doing illegal acts, they should be treated accordingly.
In a follow up story, I believe The Herald should cover what final punishment was given to the sorority members involved. Also, I believe that the sorority should be questioned about the missing papers. While there is no proof that the sorority had anything to do with the missing papers, I believe that their opinion on the matter would be good for the story.
Some readers who commented on the story didn’t believe the email was legitimate. While the source was anonymous, I do believe that there should have been something done to prove existence.
First off the level of stupidity that someone would have to have to send out a email telling students that “hey if your underage and want to have a drink just bring a fake ID and you’ll get one” is beyond my comprehension. Also to go and send it out when you’ve also hired off duty cops as security for the event is also very un-intelligent. After reading about the story in “The Herald” I thought that the report had done an excellent job and after reading the not so positive comment that were posted under the story I came to the conclusion that those with the negative opinions about the story were most likely involved somehow and that that was their pathetic way of getting revenge. The party is not the problem and nor is the drinking it was the fact that they openly planned on providing alcohol to underage students, and that later someone was embarrassed enough to try and stop the story from being seen by stealing as many copies of “The Herald” as they possible could and if the identity of the individual or individuals are discovered they could face some serious criminal charges.
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