Dressed in street clothes, a Liquor Commission officer told KDE president Edy Wilson '06 that he had been looking for underage people leaving the party intoxicated, she said.
According to Wilson, KDE's first contact with the officer came after the sorority made a Good Samaritan call to Dartmouth Safety and Security for help with an intoxicated student. The officer received his confirmation that illegal activity was occurring inside the house when he saw Safety and Security helping the drunk individual, Wilson said.
Although Dartmouth has rules that exempt students involved in Good Samaritan calls from College sanction either for serving or consuming alcohol, such calls have recently resulted in arrests. Theta Delta Chi fraternity was charged with five felony counts of serving alcohol to minors last year after a Good Samaritan call led to a student being rushed to the hospital.
"Our concern at the time was the safety of the student," KDE social chair Lynda Tricarico '06 said.
Wilson also said that, when the Liquor Commission officer approached KDE, the door to the sorority was visibly raucous and difficult to control.
"At the time that he showed up there were a lot of people trying to push their way into the party," she said.
The Liquor Commission officer arrested at least one underage intoxicated student on the KDE porch for unlawful possession of alcohol by consumption, College Proctor Harry Kinne said.
Although it may be difficult to discern a student's age just by looking at them, Wilson said she thought the officer was looking for intoxicated people who were not wearing bracelets that denote those who are of age and allowed to drink at registered parties.
The Liquor Commission then suggested to KDE officers that they send all underage partygoers home, Wilson said.
KDE subsequently decided to shut the party down altogether, and did so with the help of Safety and Security, Kinne said.
Kinne also said that Safety and Security did not know of the commission's presence on campus and did not attempt to help them at all.
Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity, located next door to KDE, also held a registered party Friday night, but learned of the commission's presence before the night had started, Sig Ep risk manager Mike Dovidio '07 said.
A Liquor Commission officer described as a medium-height, light-skinned black man with a shaved head, who looks like he could be a college student, was already familiar to some students on campus, including Dovidio.
One member of Sig Ep had seen the same man in an unmarked car parked on Webster Avenue earlier that evening and reported it to him, Dovidio said.
After KDE's party had shut down, Safety and Security told Dovidio that Sig Ep was a more difficult target for the Liquor Commission because the fraternity had a "solid presence" at their door, Dovidio said.
According to Kinne, the Liquor Commission has come to campus on party nights in the past.
"I know that they've shown up on campus numerous times. Sometimes they've arrested people, and sometimes they haven't," he said.
