TauGear

Students sweep the streets clean after game
October 29, 2004 - The New Hampshire

Champagne was spilling over the Alpha Tau Omega rock walls, cigars were lit and Main Street was flooded with an estimated 3,000 happy Red Sox fans. ...

In last week's celebration, members of the Greek community helped move students along. During Wednesday's celebration, there were multiple people standing on Alpha Tau Omega's rock wall and property. ...

Artattack looks through a glass lightly
October 28, 2004 - revels

Tennessee Williams describes his 1944 play, "The Glass Menagerie," as "a memory play," and as such it is dimly lighted, sentimental and not realistic. Moreover, "in memory everything seems to happen to music." Some critics consider it Wiliams' finest play, even if it is one of his earlier works.

Tennessee Williams (1911-1983) entered the University of Missouri in 1929, living for a time in the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house, but left after two years, unable to pay his way. After graduating from the University of Iowa, where he studied dramatic writing, he worked as a bell hop in New Orleans, a handyman in a shoe factory (Tom's job in the play), a teletypist with a corps of engineers in Florida, and a waiter and reciter of verse in a Greenwich Village night club. Throughout, he wrote assiduously, mostly for the stage. ...

Fraternity responsible, activist says
October 28, 2004 - The News Journal

A University of Delaware fraternity should be held responsible for the death of an underage student who was struck by a train Sept. 12 after leaving a fraternity party, the director of a group that advocates responsible use of alcohol said Wednesday.

The body of UD freshman Rachel Payne, 18, was discovered on the railroad trestle over Chapel Street near Cleveland Avenue at 6:25 a.m. Payne's blood-alcohol content was 0.236 percent, nearly three times the legal limit, according to toxicology reports.

A medical examiner ruled that Payne died of blunt trauma and acute alcohol intoxication. She was last seen around 1:30 a.m. at a party at the Alpha Tau Omega house on Courtney Street.

The fraternity did not provide the alcohol to Payne and has not been charged, police said. ...

AASB remembers the victims of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house fire
October 28, 2004 - Daily Mississippian

The ASB also passed five resolutions. One of them was to remember the victims of the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house fire that killed Ole Miss students Jordan Williams, William Townsend and Howard Stone.

"It was a hard thing for all of us. I think we owed it to them," Fellows said.

The three documents will serve as a lasting record for the ASB recognizing the three fallen students. The last line of the three similar resolutions addressed the impressions the three men left on the community.

"(Stone's, Townsend's and William's) legacy will be endured in the Lafayette-Oxford-University Community through (their) friendships within the Ole Miss student body," the resolution said. ...

UD student killed by train was drunk
October 27, 2004 - The News Journal

A University of Delaware student killed last month when she was struck by a train after leaving a fraternity party had a blood-alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit, Newark police said Tuesday.

...Officials said Payne was struck by a train about 3:25 a.m., nearly two hours after leaving a party at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house on Courtney Street. Officials believe several trains passed the site before her body was found by workers on a later train.

"We're still investigating, but at this point, it does not seem like the fraternity was involved in supplying her with the alcohol," said Newark Police Chief Gerald Conway. "People with her said she wasn't supplied alcohol at the party. She may have been drinking at the party or after leaving the party." ...

Police say Connecticut student killed by train was drunk
October 26, 2004 - AP

A University of Delaware student from Connecticut who was struck and killed by a train last month had a blood alcohol level nearly three times the legal limit, police said Tuesday. ...

Newark police chief Gerald Conway said Payne and her roommates apparently brought their own alcohol to the party at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house the night of Sept. 11.

"We're still investigating, but at this point it does not seem like the fraternity was involved in supplying her with the alcohol," he said. No charges have been filed against the fraternity. ...

Cruise Control
October 26, 2004 - The Shorthorn

The UTA Police Department's first Motorcycle Show and Rally aims to raise safety awareness

Even non-bike owners came out to the event. Alpha Tau Omega members Hannibal Murray and Rex Bravo walked across the street from their house to catch the rally. They did not own bikes, but each said he wanted to buy one. ...

Grad gives portion of book profits to ATO
October 26, 2004 - Daily Mississipian

I shiver every time I hear a train
October 22, 2004 - The Review Online

... In the late evening hours of Sept. 11, Libby and Christine said Rachel and the girls headed out to a party at the Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house on Courtney Street. Without a purse, Christine asked Rachel to hold her wallet and cell phone. Later on in the evening, she told Rachel to give her belongings to Libby, "Just in case you wander off."

The girls were enjoying the party and were even entertained by one of Rachel's famous clumsy moves as she sat on a Styrofoam cooler and fell right through. They danced, chatted, laughed and drank only the drinks they brought with them, Christine said.
Rachel called Kate at 1:45 a.m. from the party and said she missed her, loved her and wanted her to call back later.
  A few minutes prior, Rachel called Drew and asked him to meet the girls at the ATO house. But shortly after that, she disappeared.
  "We called her a lot more than usual," Alyssa said. "She was not picking up, so we thought maybe she just was not answering our calls."
  Libby then borrowed a stranger's cell phone to see if Rachel would pick up the unknown number, and she did, but her voice sounded distant. They knew she left the ATO party and that was all. ...

Survivor: Vanuatu Contestants > Lisa Keiffer
October 22, 2004 - Reality TV World

Lisa Keiffer was born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana. She considers herself a true Cajun, thanks to the French influence of her mother, who grew up on the Louisiana bayou.

Keiffer attended Louisiana State University for three years, where she was an LSU cheerleader for both football and basketball. She was a member of the Homecoming Court for two consecutive years and was elected Alpha Tau Omega's "Mardi Gras Queen." ...

LaRue Cook
October 21, 2004 - The Daily Beacon

A large majority of male students at The University of Tennessee are members of fraternities, and according to many of those students, one of the main goals of Greek life is being unified while also being diverse...

"We have roughly five members that are minorities out of about 100 members," Jared Cox, vice president of Alpha Tau Omega, said. "We really promote diversity within our fraternity, and we hope that our minority enrollment continues to rise." ...

Homecoming teams participate in Barnyard Olympics
October 21, 2004 - Daily Vidette

Dressed in redbird colors and warm clothes, students lined themselves on the home team side of Hancock Stadium Tuesday for Barnyard Olympics.

Second, he said, was the Alpha Delta Pi /Delta Sigma Phi team, taking first in the tug of war, skin the snake and pie-eating contest. Taking third, also according to Gustasson, was the Alpha Tau Omega/Alpha Gamma Delta team, who took first in the dizzy bat race. ...

And in This Corner...
October 20, 2004 - The Shorthorn

Despite a lack of formal training for the event, criminal justice sophomore Brian Hammett said he is ready to compete on behalf of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

"I'm extremely confident, and I think I'm gonna win," Hammett said. "As a matter of fact, I think they need to move me to a bigger weight class." ...

Alpha Tau Omega sweeps PRSSA's Womanless Beauty Review
October 19, 2004 - The Pacer

Sparkles, lace, animal prints, lingerie and wigs were in abundance on the stage of Watkins Auditorium Thursday, October 7 at 7 p.m. during the "2004 Miss Understood Pageant," which was sponsored by the Public Relations Student Society of America, PRSSA. However, the all male contestant were the ones sporting short skirts and high heels.

Awards were given out to the winners of each category. The judges for the pageant were Katie High, Bud Grimes, Mrs. V, and Tom Rakes.

"Mattilda Huge Rear" representing Alpha Tau Omega received the honor of being named Miss Understood for 2004. "Timisha" and "Peaches," also representing the brothers of Alpha Tau Omega, were named the court for the pageant. Door Prizes were also given out to members of the audience.

"This is the first time I've ever received flowers," said Matt Ragan, "Mattilda," who is a senior political science major from Humboldt...

The new Big Man on Campus
October 18, 2004 - IDS News

The 2004 Big Man on Campus competition Saturday evening had three categories for contestants to score points, including a talent portion where several guys dedicated their musical renditions to Zeta Tau Alpha members, possibly to increase their scores...

During the talent competition, each guy expressed his own talent, with several contestants playing instruments and singing, and a couple guys dancing. Alpha Tau Omega member A.J. Rich was one of several contestants who sang their own rendition of a famous song, performing a version of Garth Brooks' "Beer Run." Rich sang about being in a fraternity to Brooks' tune. ...

Cause of ATO fire unknown
October 18, 2004 - Daily Mississippian

Closure is about getting back to normal for Cole McCarty, a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity.

After the Aug. 27 fire engulfed the ATO house and took the lives of three brothers, McCarty still passes the fenced-in, charred hull of his house to get to his Tad Smith Coliseum parking spot.

McCarty, a senior accountancy major from Tupelo, knew the young men who died in the pre-dawn fire. What he does not know is what caused the fire that killed Will Townsend, Jordan Williams and Howard Stone.

He may never know. ...

ATF releases report on deadly University of Mississippi fraternity house fire
October 16, 2004 - Associated Press

... "We wish that the investigation had revealed a conclusive cause for the fire," Chancellor Robert C. Khayat said Friday in a prepared statement. "Nevertheless, we are grateful for the hard work of the ATF, the state fire marshal, and the other agencies who investigated. The ATF report brings an official close to a tragic event in the history of our university, but the memories of the three young men who perished in the fire will live on."

Twenty-three students and a house mother escaped the fire at the two-story, brick-and-wood frame building.

Witnesses said Townsend, one of the students killed when the fire broke out about 4:30 a.m., returned to the burning structure to save two fraternity brothers and the house mother. ...

No cause found in UM fire inquiry
October 16, 2004 - Clarion-Ledger

Evidence consumed by fire, damage main obstacles in probe, fire official says

The cause of a fire that killed three Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brothers at the University of Mississippi will remain classified as undetermined, officials said Friday.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Laboratory detected no evidence of failure in electrical appliances recovered at the point of origin in a basement bedroom, Chief Deputy Fire Marshal Millard D. Mackey said in a statement. No specific source of ignition could be identified at the point of origin, the statement said ...

ATF releases report on deadly University of Mississippi fire
October 16, 2004 - Associated Press

... ATF Senior Special Agent Austin Banks told The Associated Press that investigators closely examined potential causes of the fire but found no definitive proof of what started the early morning blaze.

"We can't say that 95 percent of the proof leads this way. Ninety-five percent is not good enough," Banks said. ...

ATF releases report on deadly University of Mississippi fire
October 15, 2004 - The Sun Herald

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives has concluded its investigation into the fraternity house fire that killed three students at the University of Mississippi, one of them from Atlanta, and issued a report Friday saying the cause of the blaze remains "undetermined."

The report said the fire that killed Howard Stone, 19, of Martinsville, Va., William Townsend, 19, of Clarksdale, and Jordan Williams, 20, of Atlanta, started Aug. 27 in a basement bedroom of the Alpha Tau Omega house. ...

Federal officials unable to determine cause of ATO fire
October 15, 2004 - Daily Mississippian

Officially, there are no answers about what caused the fatal Alpha Tau Omega fraternity house fire, according to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.

After almost two months of testing in national laboratories and hundreds of interviews on campus, ATF officials announced Friday that the Aug. 27 fire's point of origin remains undetermined. ...

Ole Miss Fire Investigation Completed
October 15, 2004 - PR Newswire

Special Agent in Charge Mark R. Chait, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) New Orleans Field Division, and Millard D. Mackey, Mississippi State Chief Deputy Fire Marshal, announced today the completion of the investigation into the Aug. 27 fire at the Alpha Tau Omega Fraternity House (ATO) on the University of Mississippi campus.

Student named firefighter of the year
October 14, 2004 - Daily Mississippian

Russell McCullar II has always wanted to fight fires. McCullar, 22, of Olive Branch, has been selected as this year's Firefighter of the Year by the Lafayette County Fire Department, but he seems less concerned about the honor and more about fire fighting.

One of McCullar's most "unbelievable" experiences of fighting fires was the Alpha Tau Omega fire on Aug. 27, which claimed the lives of three Ole Miss students, and the Whirlpool fire the next morning.

McCullar said he was at the ATO house 10 minutes into the call, which was in the early morning hours and stayed on the scene until approximately 3 p.m. He said he worked the Whirlpool fire from 3 a.m. the following morning until approximately 6 p.m. that night. ...

Sprinklers mandated in Greek houses by September
October 13, 2004 - Vanderbilt Hustler

The Office of Housing and Residential Education (OHARE) will prohibit students from living in any Greek house without a sprinkler system beginning September 2005.

"We wanted to make sure the places where people are living are as safe and as protected as possible," Vice Chancellor for Public Affairs Michael Schoenfeld said.

Although the houses already have smoke detectors and alarm systems, the University decided to expedite the installation of the sprinkler systems after a deadly fire at the Alpha Tau Omega house at the University of Mississippi, according to a press release. ...

Oxford man named firefighter of the year
October 13, 2004 - Daily Mississippian

Larry Lindsey must have felt a sense of deja-vu when he saw he had won Oxford Fire Department Firefighter of the Year for 2004. That's because he received the same award in 1990.

Lindsey found out he received the award on Oct. 1. He said he walked into the department and a secretary told him to check out the bulletin board. When he did, he noticed his name was displayed as Firefighter of the Year. ...

OFD Chief Jerry Johnson said all OFD firefighters had the opportunity to vote for the person who they thought should be firefighter of the year. "There are 53 people up there, and to be chosen out of all of the men up there, it was really exciting," Lindsey said.

Johnson speculated that Lindsey received the award for the work he did at the fatal Alpha Tau Omega fire Aug. 27 and the Whirlpool fire the next day. ...

Vandy Orders Frats, Sororities To Install Sprinklers
October 11, 2004 - WTVF TV

Fire ripped through the Alpha Tau Omega house at the University of Mississippi in August. About two dozen students were inside at the time and three students died.

Because of the fire, Vanderbilt ordered all of Vandy's fraternities and sororities on campus to install fire sprinklers by next fall. ...

The BIG issue (what election??)
October 8, 2004 - The Pleiad

Every Saturday during the fall when Albion has a home football game, student football fans are faced with a choice: go cheer on their Britons or watch the big Division I game on TV. With no highlights on SportsCenter-not even BBG-Albion games are the only opportunity students have to see their Britons in action...

Matt Cook, Grand Ledge senior, and Jon Gordon, Plymouth junior, sat watching ESPN News in their Alpha Tau Omega suite. Both are athletes at Albion, with Gordon playing golf and Cook playing baseball. Both also show great support for their fellow Albion athletes.

"When it comes to football, I prefer to watch Albion because all my friends are on the team," said Cook, a lifelong Michigan State University fan...

Support grows for Dreamland Lake project
October 7, 2004 - Herald & Review

When the fish and ducks return to Dreamland Lake at Fairview Park, they'll find a spruced up home...

Alpha Tau Omega fraternity at Millikin University is planning a trivia game night Saturday, Nov. 13, at the Decatur Indoor Sports Center to raise money for the Dreamland Lake project. Churches, organizations and companies are encouraged to come out and sponsor a table. ...

Down with the sickness: Reused beer cups overflow with germs
October 7, 2004 - Pulp

Get out the 30-packs: Syracuse University's beer pong tables are open for business...

"It's more of a freshman game," said Justin Gould, a junior marketing and supply chain major and brother of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity. "They love to play it." ...

Citizens Lake service project is deemed a success
October 4, 2004 - Daily Review Atlas

The service project organized by The Field of Dreams and The Peace Corps Fellows from WIU was a great success. Approximately 60 volunteers turned out and by noon had made a huge impact on the appearance of the lake and the baseball fields.

At the baseball fields the ATO fraternity from Monmouth College cleared the warning track and removed weeds from the baseline. The guys also helped clean up the outfield and remove weeds and grass from the fence line. Also at the baseball fields, volunteers from Field of Dreams tore apart badly damaged dugouts... ...

Verdict is in on UNH fraternities
Octomber 3, 2004 - Portsmouth Herald

University of New Hampshire students agreed that fraternities on campus have a general reputation of fostering inappropriate sexual behavior. On whether that reputation is deserved, their reactions were mixed.

The issue of sexual assault and harassment at UNH fraternities received attention recently after a student received a death threat after condemning fraternity members for committing sexual assault in an opinion piece she wrote in UNH's student newspaper...

Some fraternities are sexist, she said, "but you could go to a different one and be in a completely different environment where you do feel safe."

"At the majority of the frats, I would feel safe," Lang said. She said her fraternity brother friends look out for their women friends.

When three fraternities were contacted on whether the houses foster inappropriate sexual behavior, members from Alpha Tau Omega and Sigma Beta gave no comment, and Sigma Nu's representative was unavailable for comment. ...

Fraternity joins campus
October 1, 2004 - The Tiger

The opportunity to help found a chapter of a nationally recognized and esteemed fraternity currently awaits interested Clemson men. Alpha Tau Omega, a charter member of the North American Inter-fraternity Conference and the first incorporated fraternity, has begun recruiting for a new Clemson chapter this Fall.

ATO formerly had a chapter at Clemson from 1971 until the mid- '90s. ...

Greeks look to revamp charity
October 1, 2004 - Daily Trojan

The competition is heating up. Young women are trying to win the bull-riding competition at whatever cost. Some are stripped down to their bathing suits while others douse them with water and alcohol. Men cheer them on, while other women leave, shocked and disgusted.

This was the scene recounted by several sorority members present at last year's Alpha Tau Omega "Rodeo" - a fundraiser benefiting the Salvation Army...

This may take time because of the current state of affairs, Bernsen said. But the future looks bright, as many freshmen entering the Greek community have community service backgrounds...

Fraternity house fire prompts precautions
September 1, 2004 - Clarion-Ledger

Some University of Mississippi students are taking extra precautions in the wake of a fire that killed three Alpha Tau Omega fraternity brothers. ...