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Their plan sucks. Just look at the results.
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The News Journal
Wilmington, DE
February 3, 2005
UD frat suspended following death
Disciplinary action cites alcohol violations
By MICHELE BESSO / The News Journal
A University of Delaware fraternity has been suspended for multiple violations involving alcohol and safety, nearly five months after an intoxicated student was struck and killed by a train after leaving a party at the fraternity house, school and city officials said Wednesday.
Alpha Tau Omega is suspended through 2009. This is the fraternity's seventh case in front of the university's judicial board, university officials said.
The city of Newark will close the off-campus house at 153 Courtney St. and evict the residents Tuesday, a day after spring semester classes start, Newark City Solicitor Roger Akin said Wednesday. City officials sent a letter to the fraternity's executive board Tuesday after being notified by UD about the suspension.
In a Jan. 6 decision letter to the fraternity obtained by The News Journal, Kathleen G. Kerr, university judicial hearing officer, outlined the five charges against the fraternity. Each charge is related to the night that led to the death of 18-year-old Rachel Payne.
However, UD President David Roselle said Wednesday that the charges "did not have any bearing on the tragedy of Ms. Payne."
The fraternity was found guilty of three of the five charges:
* Allowing Payne to leave the party alone and intoxicated, without offering her a safe ride.
* Exceeding the legal capacity limits for the party by more than 200 people.
* Violating university alcohol policy and local laws, including the monitoring of underage drinking.
The university found the fraternity not guilty of a disruptive conduct charge and an an alcohol policy charge, saying fraternity members could not have known about alcohol brought into the house in unmarked containers.
Five executive board members were charged with monitoring the people at the party that night, the letter said. A fraternity brother testified that the board members drank "a couple beers, but nothing that would impair their judgment."
Wynn R. Smiley, chief executive officer for ATO's national headquarters, said he was troubled by the university's decision to suspend the fraternity. He said he was "kept in the dark" on much of the judicial proceedings, which is atypical for a host institution.
"We typically work together with the university to operate as a good campus citizen," he said. "Usually we are united, but they have not been upfront with us. I'm concerned that for whatever reason, the university wants this whole thing to go away, and blaming the fraternity is an easy way to make it all go away."
Payne's body was discovered on the railroad trestle over Chapel Street near Cleveland Avenue at 6:25 a.m. Sept. 12. Her blood-alcohol content was 0.236 percent, nearly three times the legal limit, according to toxicology reports.
A medical examiner ruled that Payne died of blunt trauma and acute alcohol intoxication. She was last seen about 1:30 a.m. at a party at the Alpha Tau Omega house.
Newark police did not file charges against the fraternity, saying its members did not provide the alcohol to Payne.
Kerr's letter indicates that Payne and her two roommates did acquire one beer at the house and shared it. Newark police were unable to respond to the claim Wednesday.
Payne's roommates said they took their own alcohol into the party by pouring a bottle of vodka into plastic water bottles. They said fraternity members never checked her identification. Fraternity members have said that minors are not permitted to drink alcohol in the house.
Libby Bak, one of Payne's roommates, said the fraternity should not "be blamed for everything that happened."
"I can see how the school would think that, but I think the university is taking this too far," she said. "It's not going to bring back my roommate."
University officials refused Wednesday to comment beyond a Web site posting, which reported that the fraternity was found guilty of alcohol and safety violations and has been suspended through the spring of 2009.
The university's attorney, William Manning, was unavailable for comment. Payne's family members could not be reached.
A handful of ATO fraternity members reluctantly packed up their belongings inside the fraternity house Wednesday. Members at the house would not comment.
Adam Boaman, 21, a junior who lives at the fraternity house, said Thursday from his Dover home that his fellow brothers are "good people."
"I think the world of them," he said. "If somebody says they are bad people, then they don't know us."
His mother, Liz Boaman, said the university's decision to evict the students is "ridiculous." She said her son received an e-mail about the decision two days ago and now must scramble to find a place to live.
City Council passed an ordinance in 2003 stating that all members must immediately vacate the premises of any fraternity or sorority that has its charter suspended or revoked by the university for more than a year.
Alex Boiko, 22, a UD senior and member of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, also on Courtney Street, said he was surprised by the university's actions.
"I think it's horribly unfair to kick so many kids out of their home when there's so little off-campus housing available," Boiko said. "They were good neighbors. One girl gets drunk and the entire fraternity is held accountable ... it doesn't seem logical to me."
ATO appealed the university's decision almost immediately after it was rendered, but the action was upheld by the student judicial system, officials said. The fraternity is no longer recognized by the university and has no campus privileges.
UD's housing office will assist fraternity members who are looking for on- or off-campus housing for the spring semester.
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