Ross Fenderson '00, a member of Phi Delta Alpha fraternity, was arrested in the early morning hours of Dec. 9 by police investigating a fire at Chi Gamma Epsilon fraternity. His arraignment on one charge of criminal trespassing is scheduled for Jan. 25 in Lebanon District Court.
Lieutenant Frank Moran, detective for the Hanover Police Department, said he could not confirm that Fenderson was involved or under suspicion of being involved with the actual setting of the fire though he was arrested outside of the fraternity.
Dean of Residential Life Martin Redman said that he was told Fenderson denied responsibility for the fire to the police.
Other students are suspected to be involved with the break-in and fire, but Fenderson is the only individual who has been charged with a crime possibly related to the incident. To this point, no one has been charged with setting the fire.
Former Chi Gam President Yale Dieckmann '00 said all eight people in the house at the time, including himself, escaped without injury. Seven Chi Gam brothers and one non-brother were inside when the fire started.
Former Chi Gam Treasurer Adam Siegel '00 quoted the restoration cost to the fraternity, which included the repair of smoke and floor damage primarily on the first floor, at $6,400.
"The authorities are going to deal with this in an appropriate way," Dieckmann said.
Moran, who is in charge of the fire investigation, said the fire started on the first floor when an individual or individuals poured citronella oil on a table and ignited it.
Moran said that the police's investigation was delayed because students he needs to interview concerning the fire have been off-campus during the College's interim period.
"Because it's premature in the whole thing, I just can't speculate to what is going to happen," Moran said.
He said the interviews and investigation will continue this week. Dean of the College Dan Nelson said that college disciplinary action for the individual or individuals involved will most likely take place early this term.
Though the fire occurred in a fraternity, "to the best of my knowledge, it is not a Greek issue," Redman said.
Siegel also stressed that the incident does not reflect the Greek system as a whole. "We realize this is an individual action, not [Phi Delt] as a whole," he said.
Winter term Chi Gam President Mike Chisholm '01 concurred. "Everybody in [Chi Gam] understands that this is not a house act," he said.
"Members of [Chi Gam] are not looking for revenge," Dieckmann said. "It is the act of one or few people."
Redman said that he is personally frustrated with the frequency of break-ins and burglaries by students on Webster Avenue. "This goes back to other incidents this fall. There seems to be a real attitude on this campus that people can go where they want and do what they want and this is okay."
The trespassing incident is not the first offence for which Fenderson has been arrested while a student at the College. He was arrested on misdemeanor charges following the February 15, 1997 theft of an electric guitar and stereo equipment from Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
In that case, Fenderson and another student involved plead guilty to the offense and were fined $480 in April of 1997.
