|
news
Injunction sought
against Sigma Pi
By Christian H. Gehrke
Special to the On-line Forty-Niner
The city of Long
Beach has filed for a nuisance abatement injunction against
Sigma Pi, one of the eight fraternities at Cal State Long
Beach.
The number and nature of complaints against the Sigma Pi fraternity
had reached a level that left little choice but to seek resolve
through the judicial system, deputy city attorney Randall
Fudge said.
Members of the fraternity argue that they have been treated
unfairly by receiving a lot of bad publicity.
"It's frustrating because we don't look at ourselves
as nuisances," said Nick Scarabosio, 19, an executive
council member of the Belmont Heights chapter. "They
are trying to use us as a target."
How far the case will actually go will be decided during a
Feb. 28 hearing in a Long Beach courtroom. The city seeks
a preliminary injunction and if granted by a judge, would
later ask for a permanent injunction against Sigma Pi, Fudge
said.
An injunction is a judicial process in which a person is asked
to do or refrain from doing a certain action.
Injunctions are primarily civil in nature and have been around
for a very long time, the deputy city attorney added. Only
in the last 10 years have they been used to fight the gang
problem, but he was not aware of a city ever using it to control
a fraternity.
"This [injunction] is without precedence," said
Doug Robinson, vice president of student services. "This
will set precedence, but I'm sorry it has gotten to this point."
Neighbors of the fraternity had complained numerous times
to the city about the loud music, public drunkenness and trash
left after parties. J. C. Fremont Middle School is located
right across the street from the fraternity, at 4121 E. Fourth
St, and community members and parents have had to clean up
the campus after parties, school officials said.
"It has been going on for years," Fudge said. "The
police often had to respond multiple times a night."
Since 1997, the Long Beach Police Department had to respond
to more than 168 calls to the fraternity house and made a
total of 19 arrests, according to a Dec. 26 Long Beach Press-Telegram
article.
"Whenever you get 160 calls over five years it's pretty
significant," said LBPD spokeswoman Nancy Tabing. "Especially,
if it's nuisance related."
The chapter argues that the number of calls does not accurately
reflect the number of neighbors complaining because one particular
individual had complained more than 100 times in past years.
But the problem was solved, according to Scarabosio, after
she met the active members and discussed the problems with
them.
"She loves us now," he said.
The fraternity was aware of some of the problems and assigned
members to patrol the neighborhood and collect trash during
parties, Scarabosio said.
Several efforts by CSULB and the city to solve the problems
by talking to members of the fraternity failed, Fudge said.
A meeting last fall between all parties involved at 3rd district
city Councilman Frank Colonna's office led to little, if any
success.
"All parties tried to work out the situation, but there
was never a permanent resolution to the problem," Fudge
said. "The last thing the city wanted to do was file
a lawsuit."
Sigma Pi active members that the city is overreacting and
fails to mention all the positive things the fraternity has
done in the past.
"[The injunction] is definitely an extreme in my view,"
Scarabosio said.
The house has made sincere efforts to please its neighbors
by offering to help with yard work, move furniture and do
small repairs, he said.
"We do a lot of community services. Just over the summer
we held two events and sent out 75 fliers to neighbors [to
inform them,]" Scarabosio said. "We had five neighbors
call back."
Encouraged by the feedback, the fraternity decided to print
another 100 fliers, but only two neighbors responded. Many
of the fraternity brothers participate in a sponsored program
by going to local Home Depots to show kids how to use tools
safely. The house also participates in beach clean-up efforts
after adopting a stretch of local sand, Scarabosio said.
CSULB will not take any direct action against Sigma Pi until
the university learns more about the case, said Dean of Students
Mike Hostetler. Neighbors have contacted the institution in
the past, but never initiated a formal complaint.
"If a person wants official action taken based on something
done to them, they are asked to file a complaint and sign
it," Hostetler said. "People don't do it."
|
|
Christine
Shin/On-line Forty-Niner
The front view of the Sigma Pi house on 4th
Street.
ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT
Search our site
DEPARTMENT
OF
JOURNALISM
ONLINE 49ER
DEPARTMENTS
ADVERTISING
ADMINISTRATION
DAILY
49ER ALUMNI
SUBSCRIPTION
SERVICE
GIVE
FEEDBACK
|
