Park rangers on a routine patrol Sunday discovered an "incredible amount of trash" left at a popular Lake Shasta island campsite that included a number of University of Oregon-related items. 
 
 Photos of the trash left on Slaughterhouse Island at the Northern California lake went viral Monday -- and work crews are still cleaning up the remnants. 
 
 Phyllis Swanson, a spokeswoman for the Shasta-Trinity National Forest said about 60 houseboats were docked at the site this weekend. It's an annual, and unsanctioned trip for fraternity and sorority members along the West Coast. It's not out of the norm to have upwards of 1,000 college students on the lake, she said. 
 
 "What was different about this one," Swanson said, "is they left behind an incredible amount of trash." 
 
 Crews discovered about 90 tents, some of them brand new, sleeping bags, ice chests filled with food and alcohol, personal items and a lot of trash along the lake's edge. The island doesn't have a restroom or garbage area -- lake users typically carry their belongings in -- then out of the area. But that didn't happen this year, and the photos of the refuse went viral. 
 
 Pictures posted to Facebook show a UO shopping bag and sandals. 
 
 While the trip is not sanctioned by the university or the school's fraternity and sorority system, that didn't stop school leaders from blasting the behavior. 
 
 The University of Oregon took the rare stance of commenting on the situation. 
 
 "The manner in which the forest was left was absolutely unacceptable and disgraceful," said Robin Holmes, the vice president for student life. 
 
 While the university can't confirm that UO students were at the site, Holmes acknowledged that Duck gear was strewn across the landscape. She added the school could discipline students who are involved in the situation, adding those students would have violated the school's code of conduct. 
 
 In a statement, Holmes said national fraternity Zeta Omicron Zeta was suspending all of its chapters' activities until the "situation is addressed." 
 
 One photo showed a cooler emblazoned with one of that fraternity's chapters, Lambda Chi Alpha's Greek lettering and the phrase, "Do you wanna do some blow man?" 
 
 UO has roughly 4,000 students who participate in about 30 different sororities and fraternities in Eugene. 
 
 Evan Anderson, the inter-fraternity council president, said he couldn't say whether any fraternities from UO were at Lake Shasta. But Anderson said he had been speaking with chapter presidents to see what they knew, and they were considering putting together a trip to Shasta to do some community service or help clean up the area. 
 
 Swanson said she and other forest rangers "can't point a finger at anybody" or any particular school regarding the trash left at the lake. 
 
 But, she noted, it's illegal to abandon property in a national forest. "And it's illegal to litter," she added. 
 
 Three rangers spent all day Sunday cleaning up the mess, and they collected about 10 yards of garbage thus far. 
 
 She added that crews believe they spotted a potential other site Monday where more trash was left. 
 
 "It's going to be days until it's cleaned up," she added. "We hope to have it done by Memorial Day." 
 
 
 
 -- Andrew Theen 
 
 atheen@oregonian.com 
 
 503-294-4026 
 
 @andrewtheen ||||| Photo via Facebook 
 
 Summer’s just about here, my friends, which means it’s time to drain some brews, grill some hot dogs, and leave an “incredible amount of trash” at lakeside campsites across this great nation. Apparently, some University of Oregon bros hit for that particular cycle this last weekend, and trashed the everliving shit out of Lake Shasta, a reservoir down in California. 
 
 According to a park ranger, hundreds of college students went camping on Slaughterhouse Island, a small island in the lake without garbage facilities or bathrooms, and instead of packing all their shit out, they just left it there. This includes some 90 tents, and a bunch of Oregon gear. 
 
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 Crews discovered about 90 tents, some of them brand new, sleeping bags, ice chests filled with food and alcohol, personal items and a lot of trash along the lake’s edge. The island doesn’t have a restroom or garbage area — lake users typically carry their belongings in — then out of the area. 
 
 As the photos show, there’s a variety of UO stuff and a cooler with a rather rhetorical “DO YOU WANNA DO SOME BLOW MAN?” inquiry on it. Officials have noted that garbage dumps after college trips are typical, but not to this degree. This particular houseboating trip (obviously) wasn’t officially sanctioned by the school, but Oregon VP of student life Robin Holmes said that the national office of one fraternity was suspending all of its activities “until the situation is addressed.” 
 
 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 fraternity national organization, Zeta Omicron Zeta, has taken the commendable step of suspending all of its chapters’ activities until the situation is addressed. We hope other national organizations will follow their lead. 
 
 Park rangers now have to clean everything up right before Memorial Day weekend. A sheriff’s sergeant put it bluntly: 
 
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 When asked why they might have just abandoned so much personal property, Sandbloom says, “My personal guess is they have no respect for mankind, but professionally, I don’t know.” 
 
 Got ‘em. At least the Forest Service is up a buttload of tents now. 
 
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 h/t Adam ||||| In response to an incident on the weekend of May 21 in the Shasta-Trinity National Forest in Northern California, the University of Oregon issued the following statement from Robin Holmes, vice president for student life: 
 
 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. 
 
 Robin Holmes 
 
 Vice President for Student Life 
 
 University of Oregon ||||| CHICO (KPIX 5) — Fraternity brothers at California State University at Chico are accused of hacking down dozens of trees in a national forest. 
 
 They’re facing criminal charges for allegedly going on a tree-cutting binge in Lassen National Forest as part of an initiation ceremony for new pledges. 
 
 But the brothers say they didn’t do anything wrong. 
 
 It’s finals weeks at Chico State and the men of Pi Kappa Alpha are laying low. 
 
 It’s not just the pressure of final exams, it’s also the pressure of a federal investigation. 
 
 The U.S. Forest Service says the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity at Chico State left a mess at a campground and now they’re all charged with federal crimes, including their president, Evan Jossey, from Pleasant Hill. 
 
 Chico State student Mark Anderson said, “It sounds like they got a little out of hand in the middle of nowhere and caused some damage. Poor judgment and planning.” 
 
 It happened in April at, according to their own pictures, an initiation event. 
 
 According to the charges, the group illegally chopped down more than 32 trees and fired guns. 
 
 A campground visitor took photos of the mess after the group left. 
 
 Ray Mooney with the U.S. Forest Service said he couldn’t understand how anyone would want to disrespect the forest in this way. 
 
 The chapter doesn’t have a house, but it’s Facebook page says it denies at least some of the allegations launched against them. 
 
 But the U.S. Forest Service released surveillance photos of young men buying the tools they believe were used in the vandalism. 
 
 Each member now faces vandalism, illegal firearms and degrading U.S. territory charges. 
 
 According to their Facebook page, they also face threats from the community. And fellow students say, the scorn of fellow fraternities. 
 
 The fraternity and its president will be in court June 26, 2017. But more charges may be headed their way. ||||| The University of Florida’s chapter of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity is under investigation after members spit on and took flags from wounded veterans. 
 
 Last weekend, Zeta Beta Tau students from UF and Emory University were in Panama City Beach for their spring formal. They were staying at the Laketown Wharf Resort where veterans were also staying for the Warrior Beach Retreat, according to Linda Cope, founder of the retreat. 
 
 For the past six years, the Warrior Beach Retreat has been hosted by Panama City Beach twice a year to bring in wounded veterans and their families. 
 
 Cope honors her son, Joshua, at the retreat — he lost both legs and his right hand after his vehicle hit a roadside bomb in Iraq, according to the retreat site. 
 
 “We focus on the caregiver and strengthening marriages,” Cope said. “That’s our vision.” 
 
 The event brought together combat wounded veterans and included a parade on April 16 where between 8,000 and 10,000 people lined the streets. Cope said the students from Emory and UF acted dishonorably the next day. 
 
 Cope said Zeta Beta Tau students picked on the veterans, spit on them and their service dogs, and urinated on American flags. 
 
 “In all of my years, I’ve never seen such debauchery and disrespect,” Cope said. 
 
 Cope also said the women accompanying the men were equally as bad. 
 
 According to Panama City Beach Police, officers were not called, and there was not an incident report or any arrests. 
 
 Janine Sikes, the assistant vice president for media affairs at UF, said UF President W. Kent Fuchs received an email from Linda Cope concerning the incident. 
 
 Cope then received an email apology from Fuchs on Wednesday. 
 
 “I want to make clear that I am deeply sorry for the affront that our students may have caused,” Fuchs wrote in the email. “I want to assure you that it is not representative of our students or our university, and we will make every effort to learn more, take appropriate action and prevent similar incidents from occurring again.” 
 
 “The University of Florida is extremely concerned about allegations, specifically of illegal behavior with our students,” Sikes said. “We’re taking this matter vary seriously and opened an investigation to determined what happened and what we need to do in response.” 
 
 Sikes said she is not sure how long the investigation may last. 
 
 Executive Director of the National Zeta Beta Tau Laurence A. Bolotin, a University of Florida graduate from 2001, also wrote to Cope, stating Emory, UF and the international headquarters are fully cooperating with investigations and both chapters have placed themselves under suspension. 
 
 The UF chapter, which is currently under probationary status until Dec. 19, 2015, wrote to the Warrior Beach Retreat and veterans to offer apologies and to assure those involved would face consequences. 
 
 According to the letter, “As a Fraternity, we have a ZERO tolerance policy for such behaviors, and those found guilty will be expelled. The deeds described on both social media and in letters to our University are completely against our Fraternity’s values and ideas and those that have failed to respect those values will not be welcomed anymore.” 
 
 The UF chapter also offered financial assistance to the retreat so more veterans can participate in the coming years. 
 
 “We’re going to let them do that,” Cope said. “I’m thinking of different ideas because we could really use some fundraisers.” 
 
 Both the national and UF chapters were contacted for comment but did not return phone calls; however, they released their written statements. 
 
 Emory has not yet contacted Cope. Updated: Emory has released a statement that university officials have been in touch with the Copes. 
 
 “We’ve gotten nothing from Emory,” she said, “not one word.” 
 
 Expulsion may not be the only punishment students involved may face. Gainesville attorney Geoffrey Mason said this could qualify as a hate crime with additional battery charges. 
 
 Mason said someone could make the argument that the veterans’ national origin — the fact that they are Americans — was a factor. 
 
 “I would say especially if they were over 65,” he continues, “then that would absolutely be a hate crime, if it’s related to age.” 
 
 Prejudice towards physical disabilities or limitations can also be regarded as a hate crime. 
 
 “If they spit on a person, that’s absolutely battery,” Mason said. 
 
 Mason said Florida has provisions dealing with battery of the elderly, which would be classified as a higher level crime. The maximum legal sentence would be five years in prison and up to a $5,000-fine. 
 
 Penalties from UF have yet to be determined. 
 
 “I can’t talk about individual students, but I can tell you that the Zeta Beta Tau chapter certainly faces sanctions,” Sikes said. 
 
 It is Cope’s hope that students can learn a lesson in respect and responsibility from the incident. 
 
 “To every action, there is a reaction and a consequence,” Cope said. “They don’t need to take in vain the sacrifice these men and women have given for them to have the freedoms they have.” 
 
 Nicole Wiesenthal and Adriana Yurizza contributed to this report.
– The University of Oregon is investigating after as many as 1,000 students "trashed the everliving s--- out of Lake Shasta," as Deadspin puts it. Hordes of college students visit Slaughterhouse Island at the California lake during a weekend in May each year. "What was different about this one is they left behind an incredible amount of trash," says a rep for Shasta-Trinity National Forest. Some 60 houseboats carrying up to 1,000 students were docked at the island—which has no garbage facilities or bathrooms—over the weekend. Park officials later found 90 abandoned tents, sleeping bags, coolers, trash bags, and University of Oregon gear, per OregonLive. Photos posted to Facebook show everything from beer cases to flip flops, with plastic chairs and garbage strewn in the lake. The forest rep tells the Register Guard that 10 cubic yards of garbage had been removed from the site as of Monday, but it will be days before the island is clean and ready for Memorial Day visitors. UOregon's VP of student life, Robin Holmes, says the school "does not sponsor or condone" the annual trip to Slaughterhouse Island and the mess left at the site is "absolutely unacceptable and disgraceful." The school is "actively investigating the situation and will take action as appropriate." Activities at UOregon's Lambda Chi Alpha chapter have been suspended by its national organization "until the situation is addressed," Holmes adds. In one viral photo, an abandoned cooler is seen decorated with the Greek lettering for the fraternity along with the phrase, "Do you wanna do some blow man?" (The trash at this national forest resulted in a jail sentence.)