Five brothers and two students who had received bids at the UNH fraternity Phi Mu Delta were arrested late Friday night as Durham Police responded to a call that several individuals were in need of medical attention due to excessive alcohol consumption.
In response, the University of New Hampshire has interim suspended the fraternity, located at 21 Madbury Road, denying them all rights and privileges of a recognized student organization, including loss of rights and privileges of membership in the UNH Interfraternity Council. The suspension is pending the outcome of a hearing by the UNH Office of Conduct and Mediation.
"The incident is very serious and disappointing, but does not represent the majority of our Greek chapters or the members of our community," said Mary Anne Lustgraaf, director of Memorial Union/Student Activities, who oversees management of the Greek system.
The national office of Phi Mu Delta followed suit with UNH administration, suspending the chapter pending completion of the investigation, and ordered for the cancellation of their homecoming plans next weekend.
"The decision to temporarily suspend was based on allegations that the chapter failed to support and demonstrate Phi Mu Delta's founding values, which are the cornerstone of the organization and for each chapter," said Tom Murphy, executive director.
This is not the first confrontation Phi Mu Delta has had with UNH policy, though they weren't actively on probation prior to this weekend. Adam McCready, coordinator of Greek Life, said the fraternity was on disciplinary probation on two occasions last year - once on Feb. 9 for violating UNH alcohol policies, which expired April 1, and on another occasion for town noise violations.
After contacting emergency services, the two members were rushed to Wentworth-Douglass Hospital in Dover and were released the next morning. After being released from the hospital the two were charged with unlawful possession of alcohol.
"I never want to lose a fraternity or sorority, but I think since UNH is trying to build a Greek system based on values, some will buy into it and some won't," said McCready. "So it's unfortunate, but not unexpected." The Nu Beta chapter of Phi Mu Delta has been on the UNH campus from 1918 until 1982, before re-founding in 1995. There are currently 34 active brothers, according to the their website.
The incident at Phi Mu Delta follows the arrests of seven Sigma Beta brothers last Tuesday evening. A three-month drug investigation led to a raid of the Sigma Beta house from various local law enforcement agencies who found marijuana, Ecstasy, hallucinogenic mushrooms, oxycodone and other unspecified prescription drugs, as well as assorted drug paraphernalia. The arrests are not believed to have any correlation.
Following last week's events, not all students have been surprised at the news.
"I have a class with one of the brothers and a pledge at PMD and he was like, 'are you ready for this weekend? Because you're not going to remember it,'" said undeclared freshman Lydia Schubert. "Everyone's getting in trouble. It's kind of scary but not really surprising."
Others offered a more concerned sentiment to the incident.
"People should be way more careful when they're drinking, especially when security has been so high lately," said undeclared freshman Conor Sullivan. "But if it's going to happen, it's going to be at a frat."
All those arrested at Phi Mu Delta Friday night were charged with unlawful/internal possession of alcohol and were released on $500 personal recognizance bail. They are scheduled for arraignment in the Durham District Court at 8:30 a.m. on Nov. 6.
Bryan M. Hogan, 18, 7A Rocky Hill Road, Somersworth, N.H. Jesse N. Fand, 18, 4 Chester Drive, Meredith, N.H. Matthew D. Jacobson, 18, 7 Lincoln Street, Somersworth, N.H. Paul M. Couture, 18, 74 Chase Street, Beverly, Mass. David S. Mofford, 19, 123 Old Carnage Road, Waitsfield, Vt. Nicholas Dellacava, 18, 17 Overledge Drive, Derry, N.H. Nicholas Balatsus, 19, 15 Manor Drive, Manchester, N.H. The investigation is still ongoing and criminal charges against Phi Mu Delta Fraternity are anticipated, according to a press release by the Durham Police Department Monday morning. Members of the fraternity declined comment on the incident.
Be the first to comment on this article!