Groups host party to help VSA

Members of the Alpha Chi Rho fraternity and Groove Phi Groove and Tong Phi Tong social fellowships hosted Unity Jam '95 in the Houston Hall Auditorium Friday night in order to raise money for students injured during a fight at a Vietnamese Student Association party last month. The September 22 event was broken up by police after members of the local community, who had been invited by VSA, began a brawl just after midnight. Last week, the Student Activities Council turned down VSA's request for compensation. According to Dan Chen, a member of Tong Phi Tong, Friday's party was also a show of unity against reports that students are afraid to walk with black Penn Walk escorts. "It's really cross-cultural," Chen said. "We want to get everyone together for a good cause." Winston Chow, one of the disc jockeys at the first event, suffered minor head wounds and lost more than $1,600 in equipment when the fight erupted. At Unity Jam, Chow volunteered his services as DJ, using rentals to supplement his damaged gear. "It's not just for VSA but really the whole racial thing," Chow said, explaining the benefit dance's motive. To avert fears of another melee, the fraternities' Jam promised "tight" security. As the night wore on, though, this seemed an unnecessary precaution, with attendance proving lower than organizers and party goers hoped. "[The cause] was the reason we came," said College sophomore Brooke Horiuchi. "It's really sad that not that many people showed up." According to Chen, the apparent lack of support was due to a combination of factors, including the presence of other parties at Houston Hall that evening. "After considering all the competition we had, it wasn't too bad," Chen said after the party. "The turnout could have been better, but with the short time for publicity, we did pretty well." The dance raised more than $200, part of which went to cover party costs. The rest was given to Chow to distribute to other students at his discretion.