Brotherhood Stands Against Rape with Annual Sleep-Out

Contact: Jack Keenan, (207) 581-4161; George Manlove, (207) 581-3756

ORONO — Beta Theta Pi, the University of Maine’s oldest fraternity, is holding its 15th annual sleep-out fundraising event Feb. 19-23 to raise money and awareness for Rape Response Services of Bangor, an organization offering education, counseling and sexual assault-prevention services to the public.

Forty-four brothers of the Beta Eta chapter of Beta Theta Pi will sell raffle tickets in the Memorial Union at UMaine during the fundraising week preceding the sleep-out.

At the end of the Feb. 19-23 fundraising week, the brothers will all participate in a 12-hour sleep-out, from 6 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 23, to 6 a.m., Sunday, Feb. 24. All 44 brothers will be locked out of the fraternity house at 12 Munson Road and will not be allowed back in until the following morning. The fraternity brothers will camp on the front lawn for the night.

Raffle tickets will be sold into the evening of Feb. 23. Winners of various prizes, donated by businesses in the greater Bangor area, will be drawn. A bonfire also will burn through the night as the central symbol of the annual tradition.

Last year’s Beta Sleep-Out raised in excess of $4,100.

“This year we would like to raise $5,000,” says Jack Keenan, public relations chair for the fraternity.

Members of the university and surrounding communities are encouraged to drop by to show their support and make a donation. For more information, please contact Jack Keenan at (207) 581-4161 or e-mail at arthur.keenan@umit.maine.edu. Donations also can be mailed to “Sleep-Out,” Beta Theta Pi, 12 Munson Rd., Orono, ME, 04469.

Rape Response Services provides crisis intervention, support groups and community education in Penobscot and Piscataquis counties. The organization’s efforts are important in preventing sexual assault and counseling those affected by the crime.