As the leaves begin to change from their bright, leafy green shades to the pale yellows and sunset orange colors, as the tailgates are in full swing with red solo cups littering fraternity lawns and as the students at MSU are finally settling down and getting into the swing of things, September is a time to rejoice in our return to our beautiful campus. It's a time to get excited for the next eight months to come. But, not everything has been all fine and dandy throughout the first month of the 2014-2015 school year. 

 On September 7 at about 1:30 a.m., two unknown parties engaged in a verbal confrontation, which led to a disagreement between the two opposing sides on the premise of an apartment complex next to Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity. As the altercation between the parties developed into a physical confrontation, one of the brothers of Alpha Sigma Phi attempted to calm down the situation in the interest of the public’s safety. In doing so, he was stabbed in the lower back by one of the offenders, which resulted in a cracked rib as well as the knife wound. As soon as this incident occurred, authorities were called and arrived on scene as the injured brother was transported to Sparrow Hospital immediately.   

This confrontation did not go unnoticed and worried the Greek community to a great extent. Andrew Brewster, a junior and brother of Alpha Sigma Phi witnessed the ordeal.   

“On the the front lawn of the apartment complex next door to our house, a big fight broke out,” Brewster said, “...and since we were concerned this fight could endanger the guests at our house, some of our brothers stepped in in an attempt to peacefully stop the violence.”   

With a pocketknife in the offender’s hand, Brewster watched his brother get stabbed.    

“I actually saw my brother who was stabbed drop to one knee and another brother went behind him to shield him,” Brewster explained.“My immediate reaction was to get people out of the area and to a safe place.”  

Not only did Brewster witness this fight, but his brother as well as senior Corey Mack was also involved. 

"I personally was in the altercation," Mack said, "...breaking up the fight with two other brothers. I got pinned against the wall and repeatedly punched in the face, while one brother was taken to the ground and kicked and the last brother was unfortunately stabbed."

As Mack has recovered from his brutal injuries, he feels as though, as unfortunate as this incident was, it has allowed their fraternity to strengthen their bonds of brotherhood.  

"After the incident happened  it really put everything into perspective for us," Mack said."We asked ourselves what would've happened if we lost a brother. Not a single one of us could picture the brotherhood with a missing link. Since then we have made sure to take time everyday to spend time with one another and grow as a unit."

To both Brewster and Mack's knowledge, the suspects were never found. However, Alpha Sigma Phi believes that this fight took place independent from the party they were hosting at the time and want to keep that clear. In the case of the wounded brother, he would like to stay as anonymous as possible, but in regards to his recovery, he is now healthy and safe.     

Not only did this event occur, but also about a week later on September 13, another incident transpired on the lawns of Gamma Phi Beta during the second weekend of recruitment.   

A homeless man drunkenly stumbled onto the lawn where girls were awaiting their next party for Gamma Phi Beta. Screaming profanities and gruesome threats, he reached into a bag that made it seem as though he had a gun, which in turn terrified the girls as they ran inside the house for cover. Although no harm was done and the belief that he had a gun turned out to be inconclusive, this incident still had girls shaken up. Now a sister of Alpha Xi Delta, but a PNM at the time, freshman Hannah Rakow experienced this frightening event first hand.     

When she first saw this man yelling at the house next door and watched him begin to approach her group of girls Rakow felt that he was a little strange, but figured he was just a random guy who was curious as to why all these young women were dressed up sitting on the lawn of a sorority house. He asked them why they all looked so nice, but no one responded to him.   

“None of us really answered him because it was kind of creepy,” Rakow said, “And I think we were all getting sick of the catcalls and being honked at by guys because we were dressed up.”   

But, suddenly the situation escalated quickly. 

“He just stood there even when we ignored him,” Rakow said, “....so the rho gamma told him he needed to keep walking. He freaked out at her and was yelling horrible things.”    

Girls witnessed him saying multiple vulgarities while also directing inappropriate hand gestures towards their group. This is when he reached into a bag he was carrying, which to the already frightened girls, looked like he was reaching for a gun. Although a shooting never took place and everyone that witnessed this homeless man’s disrupting actions are fine, it is events like these that scare our community and make us realize that anything can happen on a big campus such as Michigan State.   

“For the most part we live on a very safe campus,” Rakow said, “but some of the recent events have taught me to not let my guard down as easily and to pay attention to my surroundings more than I thought I would need to before.”    

Like Rakow, Brewster, Mack and  their brothers of Alpha Sigma Phi, they experienced very traumatizing events that can occur any time and any place without warning. You cannot pretend that people like 'the stabber' and 'the homeless man' do not exist in this world, but you can ensure your safety by not getting involved in the fights or confrontations happening around campus, having an action plan in case something does occur and calling the authorities as soon as a situation such as these transpire. It is so easy to get hot headed or not go with your gut when you feel like something is wrong, but know how to protect yourself for your own safety and rely on your instincts when you believe something is not right.     

These events, as scary and worrisome as they are, do not define Michigan State and the overall population of students that attend our university or are involved in Greek life. But, they are a wake up call and as we proceed with the school year, realize how important it is to be careful and be safe on our campus.