Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 21, 1993 TAG: 9304210177
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: MICHAEL STOWE STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: BLACKSBURG LENGTH: Medium
Lanny Cross, associate vice president of student affairs at Tech, said the suspension is the most severe penalty the university has ever levied against a Greek organization.
"It's a stiff penalty," said Larry Hincker, director of university relations. "The bottom line is that the university is not going to put up with this crap."
Pi Kappa Alpha was found guilty of having:
Allowed underage persons to possess alcohol.
Served alcohol to underage or intoxicated people.
Purchased alcohol from unlicensed dealers.
Encouraged or required people to consume excessive amounts of alcohol.
Performed acts that were or seemed dangerous.
Deceived potential members in an attempt to persuade them that they would not be initiated or hurt.
In addition to suspending the fraternity, six people were disciplined for infractions of student-life policies. The university would not release the names or elaborate on the disciplinary action taken against the students.
The judicial hearing was the result of an April incident in which one of the fraternity's pledges was taken to Montgomery Regional Hospital's intensive-care unit for alcohol poisoning. The pledge recovered and was released from the hospital a few days later.
Tech police charged Scott Allen Burk, 22, with one count of hazing and five counts of providing alcohol to persons under 21 years of age.
Burk, who has resigned from the fraternity, is scheduled to appear in General District Court on Tuesday.
Tex Camden, a member and former president of Pi Kappa Alpha, said the fraternity's members were in a state of disbelief when they found out Monday night that the university was suspending the group.
"To be blunt, we thought the penalty was way too harsh," he said.
Camden said the 80-member fraternity plans to appeal the suspension.
Scott Russell, director of services for Pi Kappa Alpha's national office in Memphis, said he also thinks the penalty was excessive.
"I'm certainly disappointed," he said. "There were other ways to handle this."
Hincker said the penalty was harsh because the fraternity has been on probation for three years for other alcohol-abuse violations.
"This is simply the last in a series of incidents," he said.
Hincker said Tech will ask the national office to suspend Pi Kappa Alpha's charter. Russell said the national office will review the case again before deciding if the charter will be revoked.
Pi Kappa Alpha rents a house on Tech's campus, and Hincker said the university will not renew the lease when it expires in May.
Pi Kappa Alpha is the second Tech fraternity to be suspended in recent years. Delta Kappa Epsilon is under a four-year suspension for a racial harassment incident.
by CNB