Not every party at a fraternity house is a fraternity party. The
practice of renting out chapter houses to third parties has become
commonplace at UCLA and other college campuses ““ where
fraternity houses are privately owned and operated ““ as a
means of raising funds for the chapters’ various activities,
programs and house needs. While each and every fraternity chapter
reserves the right to rent out their private property to make a few
dollars, houses should exercise caution when determining to whom
they are renting their house and how the events will be advertised
and organized.
Granted, precautionary procedures are already in place. When a
chapter rents their house to a third party, a contractual agreement
usually releases the chapter from liability during the event. The
third party must also provide insurance and sometimes even
references. As a common courtesy, fraternities notify university
officials when a third party event will be occurring at their
house. These steps ensure the chapter house will be protected from
damages and will not be held liable in the rare case of foul
play.
When Sigma Nu rented their house to 3 Tha Hard Way, a third
party entertainment group run by UCLA students, it appears the
house took the appropriate precautionary measures. They formed a
contractual agreement legally releasing them from liability and
notified university officials that a non-fraternity event would be
occurring at their house.
Beyond these measures, there is not much more a house can do.
Unfortunately, however, Sigma Nu has suffered a lot of bad press
because of the actions of people they could not control. The
problem is not with the fraternities ““ the concern lies with
these third party groups like 3 Tha Hard Way.
The problem is the way these groups advertise. They are
essentially free to advertise and promote their parties in any way
they see fit. Apparently, the party at Sigma Nu had been heavily
advertised throughout Los Angeles ““ as evidenced by the
massive number of people who could not even get inside the
building. And although the party was reported to be alcohol and
drug free and security had been instructed not to admit anyone
under the influence, clearly the heavy promotion resulted in a
crowd that exceeded the group’s ability to maintain control,
resulting in a huge throng in the street. The situation may not
have been a problem had the group chosen to rent out a club or
other location accustomed to housing and managing large parties,
but this is not the case in residential Westwood.
This is not the last time a non-fraternity party will likely
crowd the streets of Westwood. The party at Sigma Nu was advertised
as the “UCLA Blue and Gold Bash,” and 3 Tha Hard Way
have been advertising a future event called “The Official USC
versus UCLA After Party,” throughout the Los Angeles area.
They sell tickets to these events under the UCLA name, implying
that it is a campus event sponsored by the university. These
practices can potentially cause a wild “Black Sunday
phenomenon,” attracting non-UCLA students to campus and
causing disturbances in the North Village ““ a situation
fraternities have been trying to avoid by placing a two-year
moratorium on Black Sunday.
The 3 Tha Hard Way party at the Sigma Nu house became a public
concern when it spilled into the streets during the early morning
of Saturday, Oct. 18, and ended in a shooting that occurred after
the police had begun to break up the party. Had this huge party
taken place at the Whiskey or the Troubadour, West Hollywood police
would probably have been involved with crowd control from the
beginning. Particularly, since this was not a university-sponsored
party, the UCPD ““ and perhaps even LAPD ““ should have
been ready to take proper measures that could have strengthened
their response.
Granted there was no way to predict the violent events that
occurred Oct. 18, but third-party groups need to be much more
cautious in their advertising and security practices. And although
it is primarily party sponsor’s responsibility to make sure
appropriate security is provided, as a campus community, we need to
be more active in protecting ourselves. For example, more people
““ even neighbors ““ should have called the UCPD before
the shooting took place around 1:30 a.m.
Fraternities need to exercise extreme caution when renting out
their houses. They need to know how heavily the event will be
advertised, toward whom that advertising will be directed, and they
need to verify that local police are notified. They may even want
to appoint a fraternity member to monitor the party. We must
protect UCLA’s image as well as ourselves.
Paganini is a third-year geology and political science
student. E-mail her at cpaganini@media.ucla.edu.