Lake Shasta became a dump after a fraternity visited the area. Hundreds of students from the University of Oregon went camping over the weekend at Shasta Lake in Northern California and left a pile of waste behind that included condoms, tampons, feces, and beer bottles.
Lake Shasta was trashed by a fraternity visit over the weekend. Several thousands of students from the University of Oregon decided to camp out at Shasta-Trinity National Forest, a compound located in Shasta County, California.
The Oregon’s Lambda Chi Alpha chapter threw a party at Shasta Lake, which is a reservoir:
“… within the Whiskeytown–Shasta–Trinity National Recreation Area, operated by the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. It is also popularly known as “Lake Shasta”. It is impounded by Shasta Dam, the ninth tallest dam in the United States. Known as the keystone of the Central Valley Project, the outflow of Shasta Dam provides electricity and irrigation water. It also provides Sacramento River flood control below the dam for the Sacramento Valley.”
Of course, the students uploaded loads of pictures of the event on social media networks like Facebook and Instagram to show the world how much fun they were having. Sadly, the images also showed the damage they did to the breathtaking lake.
Some of the photos revealed that more than 90 destroyed tents were left behind. The students also forgot a very impressive amount of trash that included old sleeping bags, coolers, and empty cases of Budweiser, feces, tampons, condoms, and plastic bags.
They abandoned old clothing, sandals, boxes of food, and ice chests, including one cooler painted with the name of the fraternity and the words “Do you wanna do some blow man?” It took more than 30 Forest Service members to clean up the massive mess, which covered 30 yards – the price tag is $10,000.
Members of Oregon’s Lambda Chi Alpha chapter are now under investigation for the weekend’s fiasco in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest. The chapter’s national organization also suspended all of its activities until the mess is addressed. Robin Holmes, the university’s vice president for student life, issued a statement saying that the fraternity is now being investigated. Holmes explained:
“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.”
Rob Sandbloom, a sergeant in charge of the boating unit for the Shasta County Sheriff’s Department, added:
“My personal guess is they have no respect for mankind, but, professionally, I don’t know.”
Phyllis Swanson, a spokesperson for Shasta Trinity National Forest, said there is still major work to be done and went on to share some not so pretty details about the mess left behind. She said:
“What was different about this one is they left behind an incredible amount of trash, condoms, tampons and lots of human feces were strewn about the campground. There are no restroom facilities at the island, so it appeared the visitors created one under a tent. It was everywhere, human waste everywhere, we had to wear gloves, photographs don’t do it justice.”
The fraternity said in a statement that they are sorry for the incident and offered to help with the massive clean up. They said:
“Unfortunately, the individuals who committed the destruction to Lake Shasta recently seen on social media did not uphold [our] values .We will, in no uncertain terms, hold the individuals who did this accountable.”
Below are pictures of the trashed lake taken by park visitor Jennifer Vick Cox and shared on Facebook by thousands of people. Cox wrote:
“Here is what a group of University of Oregon students left (they are gone) on Slaughterhouse Island on Lake Shasta. Way to represent your school.”
What are your thoughts on the fraternity’s actions at Lake Shasta?
