[DeltAlum]

Associated Press
October 4, 20002

CU fraternity closed after accident involving alcohol

National officials of the Phi Delta Theta fraternity have closed
their University of Colorado chapter after it was found to have
violated rules barring underage drinking.

"That chapter is permanently suspended," said Howard Obenchain,
spokesman for the fraternity's national office. "They're gone."
Former members of the Boulder chapter couldn't be reached Thursday.
CU officials said some of the students remain living in the
fraternity's house. Rooms in the house, owned by a group of alumni,
will be leased out to students in the future.

Phi Delta Theta could attempt to reopen after three or four years,
once the current members finish school at CU, said Bob Maust,
coordinator of the university's alcohol education programs.
"I think this is an example of what strong fraternities can do,"
Maust said of the charter's revocation. "The national office was well
ahead of us on this one."

CU's Office of Judicial Affairs will consider student-conduct charges
against those involved in the keg party and an automobile accident
that followed.

"They're currently in the process of investigating the incident," CU
spokeswoman Pauline Hale said.
Six fraternity members and pledges were injured, one seriously, early
Sept. 19 when the SUV they were riding in rolled over on Colo. 119
near Boulder Falls.

The students were among 20 pledges who were dropped off in the
mountains with a keg of beer as part of a fraternity "icebreaker" for
potential inductees, according to police reports.

Officers cited nine fraternity members and pledges for underage drinking.

(c) 2002 The Associated Press.