Camping Area in Lake Shasta Desecrated by Fraternity Members
Camping Area in Lake Shasta Desecrated by Fraternity Members
By Samuel White Swan-Perkins
Officials from Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area are reaching out to University of Oregon officials, after a campground allegedly rented out by fraternity members was found littered with U of O paraphernalia on Monday.
A post on Facebook that has been shared over 10,000 times by noon Monday showed half a dozen photos of a scene that looked more like a town dump. Camping chairs were left in the lake, huge piles of rubbish containing non-biodegradable items such as beer cans, sleeping bags, flip flops and tents were left on the shore to rot. Nearby plastic contractor’s bags filled with human detritus spilled their contents onto the ground. It also appeared as if fires had been built outside of any ring or fire pit, a definite danger as fire season rapidly approaches in the North State.
A statement from Robin Holmes Vice President for Student Life University of Oregon reads: “The manner in which the Shasta-Trinity forest area was left is disgraceful. Trips to this area have become an annual event for fraternities and sororities all along the West Coast. It is one the University of Oregon does not sponsor or condone in any way.
The university is actively investigating the situation and will take action as appropriate. We are working with authorities to learn all we can and determine who is responsible. One national fraternity organization, Lambda Chi Alpha, has taken the commendable step of suspending all of its UO chapter’s activities until the situation is addressed. We hope other national organizations will follow their lead.”
Locals are not exactly surprised by Monday’s discovery, as every Spring they are subjected to this sort of behavior from college students from Universities up and down the Western seaboard. One shared that multiple trips had been made to the island this past weekend to discourage the rowdy fraternity members. They recounted “having to boat out several times a day for noise complaints, fights, etc. while they were there, so they (the locals) were verbally told where (the students).. were from.” Items bearing a certain fraternities Greek letters were found in large quantities.
A fairly remote area with spotty cellphone coverage, Shasta Lake is a picturesque island in the middle of an alpine lake. Native American commenters on the Facebook post voiced their primary concern: how will this affect the salmon? For generations the area was kept pristine; now motorboats and unruly fraternity members are disturbing this balance and seem to revel in doing so.
For now, the mess has been cleaned up and the campground returned to working order. In years past, students from the University had volunteered to help the locals clean up and prepare for important ceremony in nearby areas. This fact was mentioned in the comments section of the Facebook post. Surely those good works will not be forgotten, but actions as irresponsible as these make a mark, however impermanent.
Sam White Swan-Perkins is a freelance journalist and owner of White Swan-Perkins Cultural Consulting, based in Butte County, CA. As a young child he had the freedom to ride his horses across the plains of his home state of Missouri. He was raised to respect the outdoors and to leave no trace. Sam worked in the outdoor industry for over 15 years for such companies as The North Face, Marmot and with companies like Nike and ESPN. In his free time, he enjoys snowboarding and frequenting the local swimming holes with his girlfriend, dogs and friends.
