Auburn vs. Arkansas Game day section inside
The Auburn Plainsman A SPIRIT THAT IS NOT AFRAID
Thursday, October 20, 2016 Vol. 124, Issue 7, 12 Pages
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CAMPUS
Squires found in violation of Hazing Policy
The sophomore honor society is no longer affiliated with ODK after a hazing investigation Chip Brownlee
cently, ODK voting Squires out of ODK and us starting the process of becoming [an independent] student organization.” The letter sent to Callahan said Squires violated two sections of the University’s Anti-Hazing Policy. Two other allegations were submitted but were not found to be true or punishable. Section 3.11, one of the sections violated, prohibits student organizations from forcing members to participate in actions that aren’t consistent with the law, organizational ritual or policy. Section 2.8 prohibits forcing students to “carry any items that serve no constructive purpose or that are designated to punish or embarrass the carrier.” During the organization’s 10-day new member initiation, Squires initiates were allegedly forced to carry a marble with them at all times and present it to older Squires when asked, according to several sources close to the matter. They were also required to travel in male and female pairs. The spring 2015 class of new Squires were the last group subject to the hazing. Freshman chosen in spring 2016 have not been initiated into the organization pending the resolution of the complaint. New Squires are initiated by the class that comes before them.
COMMUNITY EDITOR
For the first time in more than 77 years, the Squires sophomore honor society will no longer be recognized as an on-campus subdivision of Omicron Delta Kappa, following hazing allegations and an investigation by the Division of Student Affairs’ Office of Student Conduct. In February, a student submitted a complaint to the Office of Student Conduct alleging members of Squires “participated in activities involving hazing of new members,” according to a letter from Student Conduct to ODK President Jacob Callahan obtained by The Auburn Plainsman. The letter suggests the hazing was an established tradition within the Squires’ new member initiation. After an investigation conducted by third-party investigators, Student Affairs determined active members of Squires, a 10-member sophomore leadership honorary, violated the Student Organizations Code of Conduct and the University’s Anti-Hazing policy. “It’s been a long process, and it stinks that it’s not over yet,” said the president of Squires, a junior who wished not to be named. “What started as something most outside people wouldn’t consider hazing, the Office of Student Conduct has turned into, most re-
Members of the Auburn Circle of ODK, a national leadership honor society, declined a resolution Oct. 9 presented by Student Conduct that would have punished the entire ODK membership for the hazing conducted by Squires. Squires have been selected by ODK since 1939, according to a history written by former ODK adviser Dale Coleman. Though they weren’t officially incorporated into the ODK Constitution or Bylaws, Squires have been a part of ODK since their founding and the Squires Constitution and Bylaws reflect that. The denial of the resolution essentially separated Squires and ODK. Now, Squires will have to go through the formal process of becoming an official student organization independent from ODK, which requires approval of the University’s Organizations Board and one year of previsionary status. “It’s our duty to keep it alive because it’s something we really care about,” the Squires president said. The declined resolution would have also allowed Squires to remain a part of ODK, but members rejected the resolution by a single-digit margin. The resolution would have required ODK executives to disclose the hazing allegations to members and develop standardized orientation materials for new Squires. Ninety-five percent of ODK members, including
SPORTS
new Squires selected in the spring, would have also been required to attend an anti-hazing workshop had the resolution passed ODK’s membership. Many ODK members did not want to be held responsible for the Squire’s hazing, so they voted no on the resolution, according to several ODK members who also wished not to be named. Others members wanted Squires to remain as a subdivision of ODK. Callahan, current faculty adviser Jane Teel and faculty secretary Gary Waters all declined to comment on the allegations. At the same time complaints against Squires were brought to the attention of Student Affairs officials, a student also brought complaints against Spades Honorary and Cater Society, two senior honor societies, according to an official within Student Affairs. Those complaints, which weren’t about hazing, were investigated, and Student Affairs determined the organizations had not violated the Student Organizations Code of Conduct, according to several interviews conducted by The Plainsman.
» See SQUIRES, 2
CAMPUS
Quentin Groves 1984-2016
MADISON OGLETREE / PHOTO EDITOR
Natasha Tretheway, former United States Poet Laureate and current Poet Laureate for the state of Mississippi, at Jules Collins Smith Museum of Fine Art in Auburn.
‘Poetry matters’ U.S. Poet Laureate speaks to students about her writing career Lily Jackson
LIFESTYLE EDITOR
Contributed by Auburn Athletics
Former Auburn defensive end dies at 32
Sam Butler
ASSISTANT SPORTS EDITOR
Former Auburn defensive end Quentin Groves has passed away, according to multiple reports. Groves was 32 years old. After undergoing tests at the NFL Draft Combine, Groves was discovered to have Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome, a condition that causes the heart to beat irregularly due to an abnormal pathway between the atria and ventri-
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cles. He underwent surgery to correct it in 2008, and went on to play for seven teams in the NFL, and was most recently the linebackers coach at Coahoma Community College in Clarkdale, Mississippi. Groves was a first-team All-SEC pick at Auburn in 2006. He holds the record for sacks in a game with four, and is tied for the program's career sacks record with 26. Groves is a member of Auburn's win-
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ningest senior class of all time, with 50 wins in his four years on The Plains. Head football coach Gus Malzahn spoke about Groves’ death at a press conference on Tuesday. “Obviously very sad news regarding Quentin Groves over the weekend,” Malzahn said. “Our thoughts and prayers go out to him and his family. One of the better pass rushers to ever come through Auburn. I know Kodi [Burns] and Travis [Williams] were close to him.”
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Natasha Trethewey, former United States Poet Laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, grew up knowing she “needed to be a writer,” because her father always told her she “was going to have something important to say.” “I think he knew this because I was born in Mississippi in 1976 — interracial marriage was still illegal all around the country and just that experience of growing up illegitimately in the eyes of state meant to my father that I would have things to write about,” Trethewey said. Despite Trethewey's residence in other states throughout the U.S., she says Mississippi is still home. Trethewey attributes this to her summer visits with her grandmother. "Mississippi is a troubled state," Trethewey said. "I like to say, 'Mississippi is the state that keeps on giving,' because if something bad is going to happen, a lot of it's going to happen in Mississippi. But so much good happens in Mississippi." Trethewey is proud of Mississippi's cultural advancements and the changes that have taken place there in recent past. She said she is proud to have come from a state of which she can have a ‘love and hate relationship with.’ The three months spent with her grandmother were vital to Trethewey's growth, she said. "Those months were dreamy," Trethewey said. "My grandmother doated on me. It was just me, a little princess to her, and my lovely grandmother."
» See POET, 2 Page 11
INDEX Campus
3
Opinion
5
Community 6
Samford bats cross campus
Tommy Dawson serves City Council despite diagnosis
Baseball and softball teams begin fall camp
Recipe: Gluten-free sesame chicken
Sports
8
Lifestyle
11