Miami University Greek students participated in some risky business Tuesday, Oct.3, at a "mocktail" party, with the intent of educating members on the dangers of alcohol abuse and irresponsible partying.
A group consisting of two sororities and two fraternities threw a fake party, Risky Business, where members were mock-arrested by police - all to the surprise of partygoers.
"If I watched the president of my chapter being carted off in handcuffs because of something I did, it would certainly impact me," said senior Katie Kolar, president of Gamma Phi Beta. "But again, the most important part of this function is ... (showing our members) how much we care about their safety."
Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Gamma, Phi Kappa Tau and Sigma Phi Epsilon planned this event hoping it would open up their members' eyes to the risks and consequences that they face at college.
"I decided that it would be really beneficial for Gamma Phi to participate in this event because we are really trying to focus on risk management and responsible actions by our members, especially at parties," said junior Katherine Ruhl, the standards chairwoman for Gamma Phi Beta. "I felt this program would be a good way for our chapter to see how their actions affect not only themselves, but our whole chapter."
The event started as a normal party, with non-alcoholic beer being served to add to the atmosphere. Then, a member became "too drunk" and the partygoers were forced to call 911. Once the Oxford Police Department (OPD) and Oxford Fire Department (OFD) arrived, the presidents of the chapters who were responsible for the party were arrested.
After the party was over, the Oxford Police gave a speech on alcohol safety and statistics to the remaining members of the chapters that had been watching the event.
Senior Kristian Spencer, the president of Delta Gamma, was very appreciative of the role the Oxford stations played in the event.
"The OPD and OFD have always been very willing to help out ... Risky Business has been an event that Delta Gamma has done for over seven years," Spencer said.
Kolar hoped the element of surprise would cause the greatest impact.
"We (were) hoping for our youngest members to be the most surprised and the most affected," Kolar explained. "... It will be their job to pass this lesson on to future members."
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Sgt. Jim Squance of the OPD said that the department takes the event seriously, seeing it as an opportunity to further educate members of the Miami community on the dangers of irresponsible partying.
"We go over some of the tragedies, as well as some of the ramifications, not only legal ramifications, but also social ramifications," Squance said. "More recently, we've included information on some of the tragedies that have occurred right here in Oxford."
Squance said that the mentioning of some of the deaths on campus in recent years makes the application of the lessons more personal for students, and hopefully makes the lessons of the event stand out more in students' minds.
Once the event came to a close, the presidents and participating chapters seemed very pleased.
"The members of (Gamma Phi Beta, Delta Gamma, Phi Kappa Tau and Sigma Phi Epilson) responded very well." Spencer said. "Overall it was a great turnout from all four chapters and people were very responsive to the event, since this is something that affects college-aged students."
Squance said that the OPD participates in one event each year, and that he has taken part for the past five or six years.
"(The events are) very well-attended," Squance said. "The Greek organizations put a lot of time and effort into them."
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