A fight took place during the Greek Olympics on the Tenley field Saturday, marring an otherwise well-received Greek Week event.
Over 500 people attended the event, with every greek organization present, according to Inter-fraternity Council Vice President Carter Gibson. All of the events went smoothly, until two individuals — one from fraternity Phi Sigma Kappa and the other Pi Kappa Alpha — got into an argument, eventually escalating into a physical fight, he said.
“We had all the frat brothers from every organization risk their own safety to pull these students apart,” Gibson said.
However, Gibson said before the incident occurred, the respect and enthusiasm exhibited from the rest of the greek community impressed him.
“We showed unity, and it’s unfortunate that two organizations conducted themselves the way they did [on Saturday],” he said.
The remainder of the event was canceled around 1:50 p.m., according to Gibson.
Coordinator of Greek Life Curtis Burrill said overall the events were well-planned and better organized than in previous years. Additionally, he said calling the greek Olympics incident a fight “is over-emphasizing it.”
“[Greek liaison] Alana [Rudkin] and [Gibson] have done an amazing job,” he said.
Greek Week concluded last night. The winning team “China,” was comprised of sorority Sigma Delta Tau and fraternities Sigma Phi Epsilon and Delta Tau Delta, according to Gibson. They will receive over $1,000 each to donate to their preferred charities, The Eagle previously reported.
PSK and Pike were expelled from Greek Week, and their points were nullified, according to Gibson. The IFC has not taken any immediate action against the fraternities, but e-mails were sent out to their presidents, according to IFC Public Relations Chair Adam Tager. Judicial charges will be discussed, but no decisions have been made, he said.
PSK President Mike Kaufman and Vice President Brendan Asta were home for the weekend and not present at the event, according to Kaufman. He released the following statement to The Eagle:
“The events of this weekend were unfortunate. It is regrettable that the actions of a few individuals resulted in the cancellation of the Greek Games; an event that takes countless hours of planning every year,” the statement said. “It would be a mistake to look at the actions of a few individuals as a larger reflection of the greek community as a whole. While we cannot comment on how the organizations of the other involved individuals will react, we are already working to rectify this matter internally.”
Pike President John Sonsalla was personally involved in the fight.
“I can confirm that I was directly involved,” he said. “I was just trying to resolve the situation, and I feel bad.”
Pike was doing well with points throughout the previous Greek Week events, Gibson said.
Sonsalla said he knew this and regrets not being able to finish
competing.
“I would just like to issue — on behalf of myself and on behalf of our fraternity — an apology to Carter Gibson and Alana Rudkin as well as the greek community for how [Saturday’s] events concluded,” Sonsalla said. “That was certainly not the intention of our fraternity ... Myself and my fraternity are doing everything in our power to resolve the situation.”
Mike Rourke, the IFC Treasurer and a Pike brother, said he had hoped the greek olympics would improve the AU community’s perception of greek life, and it is a small setback.
“I understand why [the IFC] could be angry because of the situation,” Rourke said. “But I feel that the IFC will do what’s best for greek life and what’s fair all around.”
You can reach this staff writer at srudnick@theeagleonline.com.
