Students lock out domestic violence
Alpha Chi Omega is locking out domestic violence, and for once it is recommended to send your friends to jail.
The Alpha Chi Omega sorority built a jail for their spring philanthropy. Alpha Chi Omega is serving mock arrest warrants and raising charitable bail from April 6-8. Warrants are $3 and the resulting arrest can be lifted after arrestees raise a $10 bail. The money goes toward a $1,000 scholarship for a reentry student who was a victim of domestic violence.
“We’ll be selling warrants to arrest people all the way up to Thursday,” said Emma Shoaf, philanthropy chair for Alpha Chi Omega.
The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity helped construct the Alphatraz jail out of old ASUSU election a-frames, Shoaf said. The jail will sit outside the TSC near the fountain for the duration of the event. The jail has no door as the bars, made of PVC pipes, are set wide enough to allow for entry and exit, Shoaf said. Therefore, it is up to the arrestee to remain in the jail to creatively raise money to post his or her bail.
“We’re not going to force anyone into the jail cell, obviously,” said Sarah Korich, Alphatraz public relations representative.
Korich said arrested students and faculty are encouraged to allow themselves to be arrested and in turn raise bail in whatever way they choose, because “whatever they want to contribute helps.”
Shoaf said one girl plans to bring her puppy if she is put in Alphatraz, and let 10 people play with her puppy for a dollar each to raise her bail.
Alcatraz Island in San Francisco held some of history’s most notorious prisoners; Alphatraz will house some of the most well-known figures on campus, and anyone with mischievous friends.
“We’ve asked people for help being in the jail,” Korich said, “Some of our campus’ more famous people.”
Shoaf said a greater bail amount will be set for more well-known arrestees to escape from Alphatraz, such as ASUSU president Tyler Tolson.
Korich said students, faculty and anyone around campus are free game to be incarcerated in Alphatraz. People will be notified by call or text that someone has paid for a warrant for their arrest. If professors allow, arrestees will be picked up during class, Korich said.
“We don’t want to cause a scene or anything,” Korich said.
She said Alpha Chi Omega does, however, want to increase awareness about Alphatraz and the prevention of domestic violence. Alphatraz shirts reading “I Helped Lock out Domestic Violence” will be sold for $7, with all proceeds going toward the scholarship.
“Every year we give a $1,000 scholarship to a reentry student coming to USU that has been a victim of domestic violence,” Shoaf said. The scholarship is then awarded at a special dinner, where the recipient tells her story, Shoaf said.
“We ask (applicants) to write a story about their situation,” said Michelle Bogdan, director of the Student Access and Diversity Center.
“We take a look at the person’s financial situation, we look at their academic performance. The biggest part of that application process is their biography or their essay they write for that scholarship,” Shoaf said.
Shoaf said Alpha Chi Omega is looking to have multiple scholarships in future years. She said the idea for Alphatraz came from another school’s chapter of the sorority. When Alpha Chi Omega learned about this idea it was too late in the semester to implement it successfully.
“I’ve been trying to really run with it,” Shoaf said. “It should be good. This year, one of my goals was just to get the event out there and to get people to know that, as Alpha Chi Omega, we want to do this event and raise money for domestic violence.”
The monetary goal for Alphatraz is $1,500, with $1,000 going toward the scholarship and the remainder toward next fall’s philanthropy event, Korich said.
Alpha Chi Omega has been advertising the event through a window countdown at the sorority house as well as through ASUSU and around campus.
“Mostly our focus has been on social media advertising,” Korich said. “A lot of it has been word of mouth.”
Members of Alpha Chi Omega have also been doing announcements in their classes. Shoaf said she hopes Alphatraz will turn into a memorable tradition, one where people reminisce on the time they had their friends arrested.
“Hopefully it will be a big even that the whole campus can enjoy,” Shoaf said.
– noelle.johansen@aggiemail.usu.edu