KKG Dartmouth charged for hazing, alcohol

GA-Beta · #1 10-26-2006, 03:10 PM

Kappa to be charged with College violations
By Dan Duray, The Dartmouth Staff
Published on Thursday, October 26, 2006

The Office of Undergraduate Judicial Affairs notified Kappa Kappa Gamma sorority Wednesday that the organization, and several of its individual members, will be charged with violations of various College standards of conduct.

The charges brought against the sorority will include causing or threatening to cause harm to new members of the organization, hazing, alcohol policy infractions and violation of the sorority's terms of probation, according to a statement issued by Acting Associate Dean of the College Mary Liscinsky.

The alleged offenses committed by the individual members, the number of members charged, and other personal information have been held by the College in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act.

The charges are the result of an investigation following the Oct. 9 new member event at an Enfield, N.H., rollerskating rink that resulted in the arrest of 11 members. On that Monday night, an ambulance and the police were called by older members because several new members were highly intoxicated.

Director of UJA April Thompson said that the charges against the sorority would be heard by the Organizational Adjudication Committee and that the Committee on Standards would handle the charges against the individuals. Both committees will be independent in their arbitration, as well as in their respective decisions about any possible consequences.

"We're at an allegations stage, which is a very early stage," Thompson said. "The OAC will be informed by precedent. That's what will guide the committee, that's what will guide their decisions if the organization is found to be responsible."

Thompson also praised the members who called 911 on behalf of their intoxicated peers, calling the action "a really amazing and courageous decision."

Liscinsky stated that the Good Samaritan Policy may apply to the members who were hospitalized during the incident. The Office of the Dean of the College will judge whether or not the policy applies to this incident, which occurred far from campus. Acting Dean of the College Dan Nelson said he believes the spirit of the policy applies, though it would be rare to employ the policy in an off campus incident.

"The College's standards of conduct apply to students on and off campus, and in crafting and refocusing, over the years, the College's Good Samaritan policy, that attention and focus is really on student safety," Nelson said. "We believe strongly that the policy should apply to students whether they call from the basement of a fraternity, the floor of a residential hall or some space off campus."

If the Good Samaritan policy is cited, the organization and its members could be freed of alcohol violations, though charges such as hazing could remain.

Nelson also praised the members for calling 911.

"One of the best things that happened in this otherwise very unfortunate situation is that somebody called for help for students who needed it," he said. "It's important for students to do that and I'm very pleased that that happened in this case, as troubled and concerned as I am about the rest of the reports about what might have happened that evening."

Thompson went on to emphasize that the charges are by no means an implication of the organization's guilt.

"I wouldn't want the community to point fingers," she said. "There are a lot of questions that need to be asked and the organization needs to talk to a committee about the answers to those questions."

Kappa President Whitney Dickerson '07 did not return phone calls for comment.

Tom Earp · #2 10-26-2006, 04:54 PM

Thought things like this only happened in Fraternitys?

tunatartare · #3 10-26-2006, 04:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tom Earp

Thought things like this only happened in Fraternitys?

Oh good G-d, here we go again.

33girl · #4 10-26-2006, 05:00 PM

OK, unless NH is a lot different than here, I don't think they serve alcohol at roller rinks. How did the pledges get there? Were they on a bus or did they meet them at the roller rink? If it's the latter and they showed up drunk how could the sorority be at fault?

ISUKappa · #5 10-26-2006, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 33girl

OK, unless NH is a lot different than here, I don't think they serve alcohol at roller rinks. How did the pledges get there? Were they on a bus or did they meet them at the roller rink? If it's the latter and they showed up drunk how could the sorority be at fault?

In this article from the other Dartmouth thread, it said there were empty bottles of wine and other alcohol at the roller rink that the owner of the rink said had to have been brought in as they do not serve alcohol. But you're right, it could be difficult to prove if alcohol was provided to the new members by the chapter or if the new members took it upon themselves to drink before the activity.

PhrozenGod01 · #6 10-26-2006, 06:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ISUKappa

In this article from the other Dartmouth thread, it said there were empty bottles of wine and other alcohol at the roller rink that the owner of the rink said had to have been brought in as they do not serve alcohol. But you're right, it could be difficult to prove if alcohol was provided to the new members by the chapter or if the new members took it upon themselves to drink before the activity.

Whether or not hazing occured, skating while drunk is just plain stupid. There is a good reason why most skating rinks don't serve alcohol. It seems like terrible bid acceptance event planning in this case.

Sorry to hijack, but that website referred to in the above post has a great article in the Dartmouth Mirror about the school's greek system. Check it out.

exlurker · #7 10-26-2006, 06:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PhrozenGod01

Whether or not hazing occured, skating while drunk is just plain stupid. There is a good reason why most skating rinks don't serve alcohol. It seems like terrible bid acceptance event planning in this case. . . .

As I recall, an earlier article said that the event was supposed to be alcohol-free, which would have been in keeping with the NPC Unanimous Agreements: VI. . . .Each College Panhellenic Association shall prohibit the use of alcoholic beverages in membership recruitment and Bid Day activities. Each College Panhellenic shall prohibit the participation of men in membership recruitment and Bid Day activities. (2C & 2D) (see NPC web site).

PeppyGPhiB · #8 10-26-2006, 09:51 PM

If it was a Bid Day activity, or any chapter-sanctioned activity for that matter, and alcohol was at the event, the sorority is responsible.

FSUZeta · #9 10-27-2006, 07:50 AM

agree with peppygphib. it is the responsibility of the older members in general, and the officers in particular, to make sure those entering the party are not under the influence. i believe that at the time a member or guest enters the sorority function, the sorority is held responsible for their actions and their safety.

unfortunately, it does not matter that the chapter is not serving alcohol-those who have pre-partied, should not be allowed in, and a cab (or an offer to drive them home)should be called for them. i am looking at it from a national liability standpoint.

kudos to the members who called 9 1 1. i'm glad no one was injured.i hope that the chapter does not suffer any repercussions from the college. it does sound like a risk management seminar for the chapter might be useful.

am i right in remembering that dartmouth is known as a school with some substance abuse issues ?

adpiucf · #10 10-27-2006, 09:41 AM

Several GLOs at my undergrad had ice skating and roller skating socials. While we formally discourage "pre partying" and underage drinking, those socials usually involved some very drunk people who ended up at the hospital with alcohol poisoning or injuries related to being drunk and on skates.

I found it ironic that when I was an IO I observed that the chapters without major risk management (read: alcohol) issues were our Canadian chapters. With the drinking age being 18 in Canada, there wasn't as much of a need to knock down 5 shots and 6 beers to "get through the social." Binge drinking doesn't seem to be as big of an issue in Canada b/c the majority of college students are of legal drinking age.

Somehow I feel this was a case of new members pre-drinking to sustain their buzz throughout the event... Probably because I have been at those kinds of events. I've never been a huge drinker, so I just don't understand why people can't survive a gathering without a drink or a major buzz everytime. Those members did the right thing calling 911.

tunatartare · #11 10-27-2006, 09:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FSUZeta

am i right in remembering that dartmouth is known as a school with some substance abuse issues ?

yes

ISUKappa · #12 10-27-2006, 09:50 AM

Oh I completely agree, as it was Bid Day, there should not have been any alcohol before, during or after the event and the sorority is responsible. I guess personally, I took the article to mean the chapter was being charged with hazing because the chapter members forced the new members to drink to excess. That is what I think would be difficult to prove.

33girl · #13 10-27-2006, 10:02 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ISUKappa

Oh I completely agree, as it was Bid Day, there should not have been any alcohol before, during or after the event and the sorority is responsible. I guess personally, I took the article to mean the chapter was being charged with hazing because the chapter members forced the new members to drink to excess. That is what I think would be difficult to prove.

Yes, I think this is a RM issue - they shouldn't have let the drunk girls in or else driven them home - but it doesn't sound like a hazing issue.

And I'm with them in questioning why the campus police showed up to an off-campus event 15 miles away.

REE1993 · #14 10-27-2006, 01:15 PM

Was this Bid day? Did I miss that part?

I am wondering, How did the non-members get there? Did sisters drive them there? Were they pledges? Did they go there voluntarily?

Lots of unanswered questions.

PeppyGPhiB · #15 10-27-2006, 02:30 PM

REE, it sounded to me that the roller skating was the Bid Day activity. I'm guessing the women carpooled there, probably with actives driving the new members (at least, that's how it's done at my school on Bid Day). If I recall, the article said there were bottles at the roller rink, which means drinking was happening at the activity.

Is anyone else disturbed that the chapter in question was already on probation when this happened, and yet they still thought this was a good idea? I think more than a "risk management seminar" is warranted here...these ladies broke a bunch of laws/rules. That's the old Panhellenic VP of Ethics/Standards comin' out in me.