Theta Delta Chi fraternity pleaded guilty earlier this month to three misdemeanor charges in a plea bargain that resulted in the dismissal of five felony accounts of serving alcohol to minors stemming from an incident in January of this year.
The state of New Hampshire handed down three sanctions as part of Theta Delt's settlement. For one year, the fraternity is prohibited from having distilled spirits in their house and may not break College alcohol policy. In addition, the organization must complete 500 hours of community service during the next year, George Ostler '77, Theta Delt's lawyer, said.
The fraternity originally faced $6,000 in fines for the three misdemeanors, but the court agreed to suspend the fines if Theta Delt complies with the terms of the settlement, Ostler said.
"Everybody from the state to the College wants to make sure the house abides by the College alcohol policy so that there are no dangerous situations in the future," he said.
The felonies that Theta Delt faced came after a house member called Safety and Security on Jan. 5, 2005, utilizing the College's Good Samaritan policy to help an intoxicated member. Although the Good Samaritan policy is intended to protect both the intoxicated student and the organization that placed the call, the student was transferred to Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center for medical attention, warranting Hanover Police's search of the Theta Delt house.
Although state charges have been settled, Theta Delt still has one violation pending with the College relating to Dartmouth's hazing policy.
"Communication has been very good and very candid and very forthcoming to date, so I'm not expecting that this will be a contentious matter," Dean of the College James Larimore said of the pending charge.
The College originally investigated Theta Delt's behavior and accused the fraternity of breaking College policy on four counts, including providing alcohol to minors and violating New Hampshire law, but has since dropped three of the four infractions. The College stopped these investigations after the Social Event Management Procedures committee amended the Good Samaritan policy in late spring of 2005 to exempt an organization from College discipline when the Good Samaritan policy is invoked.
"That should be taken care of in the near future, so this stuff can be put behind us," Theta Delt president Brad Heritage '06 said of the last charge pending.
Theta Delt is not currently on College probation, but that could change once Dartmouth settles its final charge, Heritage said.
According to Heritage, current Theta Delt seniors have a "pretty strong direction" and have many plans for the year that they can implement now that the case has been settled.
"It was kind of a hassle to come in and take all this stuff on, so it's nice to be able to put this behind us finally," Heritage said.
