Three of last semester's pledges to Sigma Chi Omega, the Greek organization featured on MTV's "Fraternity Life," are in trouble with UB for trespassing in the Buffalo Zoo.
Tonight's episode features three of the cast members - Tim Kukulka, Earl Altheide and Steve Paul - scaling the wall at the Buffalo Zoo in the early hours of the morning. Juxtaposed on the screen are the maximum possible sentences and monetary fines for the pledges, were they to be caught.
Though the violation did not happen on school property, Kukulka, Altheide and Paul were served with subpoenas on March 18 to appear before the Student-Wide Judiciary. The three have not been charged by any other judicial organizations.
"The school bylaws have a little loophole that says if you get in trouble, basically, off campus, they can charge you," said Kukulka.
Altheide said the incident had nothing to do with pledging and that the three brothers sneaked out of the house in the hopes of stealing a chicken from the zoo to keep as a pet.
"It was really late at night, and we were doing nothing, and they were like, 'Let's go find an animal,'" said Altheide.
After the three realized they were not able to get into any of the cages, Paul said, they hopped back over the fence and left.
"It's not like we were harming the animals or anything," he said. "We were just, like, patrolling the zoo."
"That's the last time I go to the zoo unless I'm paying to go there," said Kukulka, chuckling.
Representatives at The Buffalo Zoo declined to comment on the incident.
The preamble to the university's rules and regulations states that "In cases involving violations of the law which occur off campus, the university may be concerned with the incidents which, by their nature, adversely affect the university's educational mission."
Kukulka said he understands the situation the university is in and admitted that what the brothers did was wrong.
"I respect the school's decision to put their foot down," he said. "They have to take some action of some sort, or else they'd be promoting it."
However, Kukulka said, it is not fair that the brothers can be brought on charges only after the administration watched the tape of the show.
"It's really unfortunate that it happened so long ago," he said. "We probably should have used our heads, and (MTV) shouldn't have incriminated us."
Dennis Black, vice president of Student Affairs, was away for the week at a conference, but stated in an e-mail that members of UB-related activities are responsible for their actions in and out of school, regardless of when the incident occurred.
"Time is not a factor," Black stated. "A mistake made six months ago is still a mistake, and there can be consequences from mistakes."
Todd Kamenash, the university's assistant ombudsman, said he could not comment on any open case, but in cases such as these, the university has a specific policy.
"Whenever a student is given charges, they can speak to the SWJ, and it's more of a mediation session," Kamenash said. "It's not a prosecution session or anything."
If students decide not to be reviewed by the SWJ, they can take their case before a panel of administrators.
Altheide said he feels like the administration is trying to make an example of the three because of the widespread attention the show has attracted.
"I think it's, like, just to prove a point," he said.
Altheide and Kukulka both said they worry about what will happen once the show airs tonight.
"My main concern is what Buffalo Police will do when they see this," Kukulka said. "They can prosecute."
Black stated he was fairly certain the Buffalo Zoo will be pressing charges once the show - which was originally set to air on March 19, but was postponed due to the war - airs tonight.
"I would be surprised to hear that the property owners were not considering criminal charges," stated Black. "I suspect that they will or have consulted with law enforcement officials."
When Kukulka - who, along with the other cast members, views a copy of each episode on the Monday prior to the airdate - saw the tape, he called MTV to ask about his liability in the situation.
According to Kukulka, representatives from MTV said the pledges would not be in trouble, but within 15 minutes, Kukulka said he was served with the subpoena from the university.
He said he is now concerned about the remaining episodes in the 13-week series.
"If this happens every single episode, they might as well have a permanent seat for us in the court room," he said.
Photo: Courtesy of Laron Fomby
