An undergraduate adviser is under investigation by the Office of Residential Life after planning a party and providing alcohol to freshmen on his hall last Thursday night, according to several sources.
Ted Siegel '02 -- the UGA for the second floor of North Massachusetts Hall who planned the party -- declined to comment last night, but one party-goer who did not wish to be identified said Siegel told him last Tuesday of his plans to throw a floor-wide party, including serving alcohol to freshmen.
The incident, which occurred two days after the official arrival date of the Class of 2003, is in violation of the UGA contract, which explicitly prohibits UGAs from providing alcohol to freshman.
The party-goer said Siegel convinced an '01 male to buy alcohol for the party, which Siegel distributed to his freshmen floormates during the hall's first UGA meeting on Wednesday. Siegel also distributed recipes printed off of the Internet for mixed alcoholic drinks, according to the party-goer.
"[Siegel] didn't particularly give them a choice," he said of the party-planning meeting.
One freshman woman who lives on the second floor of North Mass said she attended the floor discussion before the party.
"We [some freshmen on the floor] kept resisting" the idea of the party, she said. "I don't want drunk people trashing my room."
"But finally we gave up ... we realized that we weren't going to win," she said.
She said she felt uncomfortable participating in the party because it was illegal. All of the '03s on the floor and Siegel are under 21 years old.
Not all '03s on the floor were against the party, however.
"The floor's collective goal was to have the biggest party of the year," an '03 male from the floor told The Dartmouth. "We wanted to get things going, to know who was in North Mass."
He said six or seven rooms on the floor were involved with the party, which began at about 10:30 p.m.
He said before Safety and Security arrived at 11:30 p.m., he estimates about 150 people from around campus had flocked to the floor.
Bryn Alderson '03 who also lives on the second floor of North Mass said he and his roommates did not have alcohol in their room and kicked students out who entered holding alcoholic drinks.
The formerly mentioned party-goer said the point at which he realized the party was out of control was when he was in a female triple where one roommate appeared to be happy, while the "other two were huddled in the corner, very uncomfortable."
"They wanted everyone to be gone," he told The Dartmouth. "It was like [Siegel] forced it on them."
Mass Row Area Coordinator Janelle Ruley '00 who oversees the UGA in question said that while the party was going on she and the cluster's programming coordinator were attending Last Call, an alcohol awareness program.
When asked how she felt when she returned to find the party on the second floor of North Mass, she replied, "I was shocked. Hello? It was one day after training ended."
She said that since the event, she has been talking to Siegel and others, trying to determine what actually happened.
She said in the course of her meetings with Siegel he has told her more than one story about the events of Thursday night and the preparations that preceded the party.
"That's the thing that's most worrisome to me," she said.
Ruley said the entire Mass Row ORL staff held a meeting on Friday night at which Siegel told his side of the story and people offered feedback. She said the meeting ran for about one and a half hours.
Since then UGAs have been holding meetings with their individual groups to talk about the event.
One Mass Row UGA who requested to remain anonymous said, "We don't endorse or condone underage drinking in any way."
She said she would never consider giving alcohol to her '03s.
"That's absolutely not my role," she said.
Eddie Le '00, another Mass Row UGA said, "I have talked to freshmen individually about the role of UGAs in their eyes."
Allison Evans '02, a Mass Row UGA, said, "If he bought the alcohol for his freshmen, his position should be in jeopardy. I think that at the very least he should be confronted by the ORL staff."
Vicki Gist, the area director for the west side of campus told The Dartmouth that since the event she has been investigating the incident.
"I have been speaking to staff members and people who have come forward with information," she said.
"Providing alcohol to undergraduate students is an automatic violation of the UGA contract," Gist said.
Margaret Smith who coordinates drug and alcohol awareness at the College said UGA training sessions and the advising manuals that ORL distributed made it clear that providing alcohol to first year students is a violation of college and state policy.
