Frat Trashed Resort to Tune of $75K: Manager

Other U-M Greek orgs blamed for $20K more in damages at 2nd resort
By Jenn Gidman,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 23, 2015 10:07 AM CST
Frat Trashed Resort to Tune of $75K: Manager
A University of Michigan fraternity and sorority are accused of causing $50K to $75K in damage to the Treetops ski resort.   (More News)

Members of six University of Michigan fraternities and sororities who may have watched Animal House one too many times are accused of causing nearly $100,000 in damage at two ski resorts last weekend, the Detroit Free Press reports. Smashed ceiling tiles, broken windows and furniture, filthy rooms, and ruined carpets were just part of the wreckage left in the wake of the free-for-all at Treetops Resort in Gaylord, manager Barry Owens tells ABC News and other sources, estimating the damages at $50,000 to $75,000. Fraternity Sigma Alpha Mu has been indefinitely suspended by its national office, according to a U-M statement; the college says the Sigma Delta Tau sorority was also involved. Meanwhile, four other frats and sororities are being investigated for similar chaos to the tune of $20,000 at the Boyne Highlands Resort in Harbor Springs.

"The rooms were just a pigsty," Owens tells USA Today. "I've been in this business for 30 years and it's the worst condition of rooms that I've ever seen." In a Wednesday statement, SAM's chapter president said the fraternity is "embarrassed and ashamed of the behavior" and that the chapter "accepts full responsibility ... to pay for all damages and cleaning costs." U-M isn't pleased with the turn of events. "The [damage] caused by out-of-control students fueled by excessive alcohol consumption … is an affront to the thousands of respectful, hard-working students on our campus," a U-M spokesman says, as per MLive.com. Treetops, which will be meeting with university officials, is considering filing criminal charges against SAM, USA Today notes. (ABC News has photos of the wrecked resort.)

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