| Alumnus dies in bloody frat brawl (2/03) | | Print | |
| Wednesday, 22 October 2003 | ||
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Alam Kim, a senior at San Jose State University and Class of '98 alumnus, died from a stab wound to the heart shortly after arriving at San Jose General Hospital. The fight involved members of San Jose chapters of two Asian-American fraternities, Lambda Epsilon Pi and Pi Alpha Phi, who met at Flickinger Park in San Jose to settle an escalating feud. According to Sgt. Steve Dixon, Press Information Officer for the San Jose Police Department, four people, including Kim, suffered serious stab wounds, and one was knocked unconscious from a blow to the head.
"He was the type of person who sought ways to diffuse conflict, not escalate it," Bullard said. "He was a peacemaker." Kim was an active member and leader of the drill team during his four years at Lowell and initiated the JROTC Garden Project. "The Alumni Association plans to dedicate the garden to Kim and memorialize it with an engraved plaque," Bullard said. Kim was a 23-year-old art major at SJSU with a knack for computer science and fixing car stereos, according to Bullard. "He was so generous with his time," Bullard said. "I remember I told him I needed to have my car stereo replaced, and he offered to install one for me, so he came over and spent a few hours working on it. And he had such a great sense of humor; I just don't know anyone who didn't like him." Kim attended City College of San Francisco before transferring to SJSU and joining Lambda Epsilon Pi. Although the fight primarily involved members of the San Jose chapters of both fraternities, members of Pi Alpha Phi called on members from other chapters for reinforcement, and approximately six to 10 brothers from UC-Santa Cruz accompanied them to Flickinger Park, according to Dixon. The events leading up to the brawl apparently began at around 1 p.m. on Jan. 21, when about 30 members of both fraternities met outside Santa Clara Billiards. Police broke up a fistfight, but issued no citations and made no arrests. The fraternities planned to meet that night at Flickinger Park to finish the fight. Although no blatant violence had been reported, the rivalry between the two houses is common knowledge on the SJSU campus. "Because Lambda Epsilon Pi and Pi Alpha Phi are the only two Asian-American fraternities on campus, there is bound to be competition for members," said Meredith Moran, Director of the Student Life Center at SJSU. "But most did not realize the magnitude of this feud; this rivalry turned ugly fast." Share this article:           |
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