A letter from an alumnus about alcohol and Ivy Club

This letter is a copy of one sent to the board of Ivy Club.

June 5, 2002

I read with much dismay in the most recent PAW that a female undergraduate was found passed out on the curb/sidewalk in front of Ivy Club and that criminal charges of serving alcohol to minors have been filed against club officers as the police report stated that club members deposited the inebriated female undergraduate on the sidewalk and left her there and then called the authorities. If the police report is true then I demand that all undergraduate members resign immediately as none of them are worthy of membership for having allowed such an ungentlemanly incident to have occurred.

In my day (I apologize for that oft-used phrase) when I was a Member of Ivy I can recall Tequila Nite (or something like that) at a neighboring club (Tiger Inn) when a drinking contest resulting in the total intoxication of another undergraduate, and I personally carried said individual to the infirmary and stayed by his bedside for a brief time. It would never occur to me or anyone else in Ivy or on the Rugby team to leave someone passed out on the floor or sidewalk especially a fellow female student!

Are we supposed to be thankful she was not sexually assaulted? Are we supposed to be grateful that they at least called somebody before she was kidnapped? I for one am so ashamed! Again I call for the immediate dismissal of any and all undergraduate membership involved with this horrendous crime. Ivy is supposed to aspire to something greater; at least it used to, in my day.

Wade Hampton Helm ’79
Louisville, Ky.

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