Vargas Gives Apology For Drinking From Beer Bong, Students Show An Outpouring Of Support

Southeast president Carlos Vargas emailed a campus-wide apology Sept. 21 in regard to accepting an offer to drink from a beer bong six days earlier at the Southern Illinois University-Carbondale tailgate, and his message has drawn attention well beyond the campus through social media. In the statement Vargas said that a beer bong is a device that is normally associated with binge drinking and something he does not condone. “The above action projects an image that I am not proud of, is not flattering, and certainly not expected from the president of Southeast Missouri State University,” Vargas stated in his email. The incident and subsequent apology have drawn a large reaction from the Southeast community and more widely, on the internet. A screenshot of the email was posted on Old Row’s instagram account (a national website that shows campus culture) Sept. 22. It received more than 54,000 likes in two days. Some Southeast students have found Vargas’ apology unnecessary, including Kyle