Fraternity violates alcohol policy

The Undergraduate Judicial Board unanimously found the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity guilty March 7 of openly distributing alcohol late last month. The group had pled not guilty to the charge.

Paul Bumbalough, associate dean of student development, said in an e-mail message that a resident adviser and a Duke University Police Department officer found a keg amidst a gathering of about 30 men in the fraternity section's commons room the night of Feb. 22. The RA and officer then left the living section to consult with Tom Riley, area coordinator for Wannamaker Quadrangle and a second-year Divinity student. When they returned, Bumbalough said that although the keg was no longer in the commons area, the RA and officer asked to speak with the group's president, Trinity junior Stephen Fusco, who declined to comment to The Chronicle.

When asked where the keg was, Bumbalough said Fusco responded by saying it "was kicked," and that he did not know where it was. Although Fusco admitted that he gave other members of his fraternity permission to purchase the keg, he said he did not know his action represented a violation of the University's alcohol policy, as he intended only brothers over the age of 21 to consume the beer.

Bumbalough also said Fusco "was confused about the alcohol policy and thought that the purchase of a keg was permitted for a closed, non-advertised, non-registered party where only fraternity members and pledges were in attendance." Fusco, citing his fraternity's national chapter's regulation that permits the purchase of alcohol on an individual basis, testified before a hearing committee of the UJB that "the keg was not in any way associated with the fraternity or the event in progress."

The associate dean also noted that Fusco took issue with the wording of the policy, which defines an event as "a party, concert or other group social gathering held on the University campus attended by undergraduates." Fusco said the episode in question constituted a private pledge initiation "ceremony," not a public "event," and that it did not, therefore, fall under the rubric of the University's alcohol policy.

"It was clear to the hearing panel that Mr. Fusco interpreted social as equivalent to 'a party,'" Bumbalough said, "and while he acknowledged that social interaction occurred between members of the fraternity at the ceremony and involved no one outside the group, it was his opinion that a social event had not occurred."

Bumbalough said Fusco told members of the hearing committee he had made an effort to interpret the policy, and believed that it permitted the event in question. "However... the policy clearly does not differentiate between greek/independent undergraduates, attendance by fraternity/non-fraternity undergraduates or an open vs. closed event," Bumbalough said, adding that Fusco dubbed the gathering a "BYOB" event.

But members of the hearing committee, Bumbalough said, wanted to stress both that ignorance of the University's policy did not excuse the violation nor mitigate the offense and that they believe it to be the responsibility of undergraduates to educate themselves about the policy.

The third offense results in the group's loss of University recognition and all privileges for one year, as well as renotification of the group's governing body.