Two Binghamton University students and multiple members of the Chi Phi fraternity got into a physical altercation late Friday night. One student went to the hospital, but nobody was critically injured in the incident.
According to one student involved in the incident, the attack began after he had mistakenly urinated on the fraternity’s front door. Very quickly, about six members emerged and started yelling at and attacking him. He said that Adam Wilkes, the other of the two students attacked and the Student Association (SA) vice president for academic affairs (VPAA), had come to his defense and was injured when he tried to stop some of the fraternity members from harming him.
Gregg Martin, the president of Chi Phi fraternity and a junior majoring in industrial and systems engineering, said that the incident unfolded differently. According to him, one of the students involved was behaving inappropriately toward fraternity members.
“He was not accidentally peeing on our door,” Martin said. “He was asked to stop and refused, and then became the aggressor.”
Wilkes, a junior double-majoring in economics and sociology, said that the incident was damaging to the relationship between BU students and the Greek Life community.
“The assault I suffered from undermined the general trust I had in fellow students and the Greek community,” Wilkes said. “Fraternities have to hold all of their members to a standard of decency, and I hope word spreads that Chi Phi lacks that standard.”
Wilkes posted on his Facebook page following the incident, where he briefly summarized some of the night’s events.
“About four and a half hours ago I was literally pushed to the ground, punched repeatedly in the face and on top of my head, and my shirt was ripped open by a bunch of brothers of Chi Phi,” Wilkes wrote. “This was because I told them not to touch my friend who they had shoved into a wall. I don’t know what culture drives people to be so violent when drunk but we have a real problem here, whether it be psychological-developmental or institutional. If we all consider violence deplorable why is it so widespread!”

Morgan Musto, a junior majoring in business administration and the treasurer of Chi Phi, said that both parties were responsible for the incident.

“The guy was publicly peeing on our door and wouldnt stop when asked. One thing lead to another and the people fought. Brothers were also punched during the fight and a lot of brothers attempted to break it up,” Musto said. “We understand that public urination on property isnt a justification for violence and arent trying to justify it in any way.”
Wilkes said that it is necessary for all organizations to work to prevent acts of violence and aggression from occurring in the BU community.
“While not every individual in Chi Phi is to blame, moving forward, it’s important for every single fraternity to keep members with an inclination toward malice and violence in check,” Wilkes said.
According to Martin, the fraternity is looking to identify those responsible for the incident regardless of blame. He said that this instance is definitely not reflective of their chapter as a whole.
“We are taking actions as a fraternity to find out who was involved and those held accountable will be handled accordingly,” Martin said. “The actions of a few brothers does not speak for the fraternity as a whole or Greek Life in that matter.”