Alpha Tau Omega fraternity may face disciplinary action because of injuries sustained to student guests at its "Prison" party during Halloween weekend.
ATO will be the subject of a judicial hearing to be held after the Thanksgiving break, said Chuck Vansant, associate dean for students, in an interview Monday night. Vansant, who attended the fraternity's Oct. 29 progressive party, declined to comment on that evening's events because of "issues [still] to be resolved."
Vansant's visit to the fraternity section is part of an ongoing effort by University administrators to keep closer tabs on student alcohol abuse and alcohol policy violations.
Paul Bumbalough, associate dean of students and adviser for judicial affairs, said he could not comment on the case "due to possible disciplinary action to be taken against the fraternity."
ATO members said they have held progressives for several years. Although the recent party was not held specifically for rushees, it did fall within the rush schedule, which started about a month into the fall semester and ended yesterday, said Trinity senior Todd Latz, president of ATO.
The Oct. 29 party came to an early halt when a freshman rushee slipped and cut himself near his eye. The student had to be transported by ambulance from the ATO section to the emergency room where he received stitches, said Trinity senior Pilar Viccellio, an area coordinator for the injured student's dorm.
ATO decided to shut down at about 11 p.m. following this incident, Latz said. "We called 911 . . . we wanted to take every precaution," he said.
Penka Kouneva, an area coordinator in East Dorm 2A, said she is aware of several other East Campus residents who had to be transported to the ER for injuries or intoxication.
Officer John Dailey of Public Safety said Public Safety officers took four intoxicated students to the ER that evening, and that other intoxicated students were likely transported by friends. Public Safety brought a fifth student to the ER for an alcohol-related injury that same evening, Dailey said.
Latz said two ATO brothers were among those taken to the ER due to intoxication that weekend.
Trinity senior Matthew Richardson, vice president of ATO, said the fraternity has followed the University alcohol policy to the letter.
"We have not had any probations or suspensions in the past year-and-a-half and are in good standing with the administration," Richardson said.
Richardson added that ATO's only recent violation was for allegedly serving alcohol to two underage students on the weekend preceding Halloween.
Kouneva alleges that "members of ATO were fully aware that most of their guests were first-year students." ATO's thus knowingly served alcohol to underage students, she said.
"I have nothing against fraternities, but since I'm an [area coordinator] I was very concerned about my residents, and I'd like to see ATO learn their lesson for what they did," Kouneva said.
Kouneva, after consulting with other RAs in her group, sent a letter to Bumbalough detailing her perceptions of the evening's events including violations of the alcohol policy.
Bumbalough sent a copy of this letter to Latz, informing him of the charges levied against the fraternity. Latz responded to the allegations by writing a letter of his own to Bumbalough.
In response to the recent events, ATO did not host parties the two weekends following Halloween. ATO has also decided to eliminate its yearly progressive to prevent more people from getting hurt, Richardson said.
Richardson also said that since the Oct. 29 party, ATO has held several educational programs for its members.
"We are taking the initiative to make sure responsibility is shouldered by all the brothers. We need to do more than even the alcohol policy requires," he said.
ATO has promoted alcohol-abuse awareness with two recent programs, Richardson said. One program addressed drinking and driving and the other featured two 21-year-olds each drinking a six-pack of beer while Public Safety officers charted their blood-alcohol levels, he said.
Administrators, as part of their campus-wide campaign, have visited the ATO section every Friday and Saturday night this month to ensure that the fraternity has not been violating the alcohol policy, Richardson said.
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