Alpha Delta fraternity charged with providing alcohol

By Josh Koenig, The Dartmouth Staff

Published on Thursday, January 10, 2013

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Alpha Delta fraternity was indicted yesterday on two charges of providing alcohol to minors, the Valley News reported. An arraignment, scheduled to take place yesterday morning in the Grafton Superior Court, was postponed, according to AD alumni advisor John Engelman ’68, who declined to comment on the specifics of the case.

The indictments specifically accuse the fraternity of providing alcohol to a 20-year-old female on Oct. 5 and to an 18-year-old male on Oct. 14, both of whom were stopped by Hanover Police, according to the Valley News. Neither student required hospitalization, Hanover Police Chief Nicholas Giaccone said.

Under New Hampshire state law, the offense could carry up to a $100,000 fine. If the arraignment is rescheduled, the court will officially inform the defendant of the offenses charged in the complaint.

The fraternity has retained legal representation in the proceedings, Engelman said. If a Greek house were found guilty of a similar offense in legal proceedings, it would receive further internal punishment from the College, according to Greek Letter Organizations and Societies Director Wes Schaub, who declined to comment on the specific case.

“The board has a pretty broad leeway in the decision of suspensions, educational programs, really anything,” Schaub said. “It could run the gamut.”

The College’s Alcohol and Drug Policy prohibits the possession or consumption of alcoholic beverages by individuals under the legal drinking age, public intoxication and the distribution of alcohol to individuals under the legal drinking age.

“I will tell you that serving alcohol to minors violates both New Hampshire law and Dartmouth’s own policies, and doing so can have negative outcomes,” Justin Anderson, director of media relations for the College, said in a statement to The Dartmouth. He declined to comment on the specific case.

Social Event Management Procedures training educates new fraternity members about the College’s existing policies for social events and state laws regarding alcohol consumption, GLOS Education and Leadership Initiatives Coordinator Sam Waltemeyer said. Fraternity social chairs also meet with Waltemeyer each month throughout the academic year, he said. Waltemeyer declined to comment on the current case against AD.

Both minors encountered Hanover Police outside of the fraternity’s physical plant.

The first incident occurred at 11:30 p.m. at the intersection of East Wheelock and College Street, and the second occurred at 1:27 a.m. on East Wheelock Street, according to the Hanover Police press log entries that matched the arrests mentioned in the indictment.

“Based on how they presented themselves to the officers, [the officers] were able to detect they were under the influence,” Giaccone said.

AD was given repeated warnings after other recent alcohol-related offenses, according to Giaccone. Officials did not indict the fraternity for previous offenses. About a year ago, the fraternity was charged with a misdemeanor instead of a felony in a negotiated plea.

Town of Hanover Attorney Christopher O’Connor said he had negotiated a plea with attorneys representing AD last year.

“Other efforts for remediation have not resulted in change,” Giaccone said. “They need to be part of — and buy into — a cultural change that we know is going to be difficult.”

In an interview with the Valley News, Giaccone said that Hanover Police recognize that fraternity members come and go and that they want to ensure that new brothers are not held responsible for offenses committed by previous brothers.

President-elect Philip Hanlon ’77 was a member of AD during his time at the College.

“I took away a lot of real positives from my experiences as a member of [AD]. Number [one] is lifelong friendships,” Hanlon said in an interview with Dartmouth Alumni Magazine. ”My closest friendships in life are with the brothers I had at [AD].”

In the same interview, Hanlon said that behaviors that cause physical and psychological harm to students, including high-risk drinking, have no place on any college campus and that every effort must be made to curtail abuses.

AD President Timothy Connor ’13 and Safety and Security Director Harry Kinne declined to comment for this article. Grafton County Attorney Lara Saffo, the prosecutor assigned to the case, could not be reached by press time.