ROANOKE TIMES 
                      Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times

DATE: Saturday, April 27, 1996               TAG: 9604290017
SECTION: CURRENT                  PAGE: NRV-1 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
DATELINE: RADFORD

SECOND RU FRATERNITY CLOSED FOR TWO YEARS

Radford University has shut down a second fraternity for two years following an internal judicial conviction on alcohol violations, officials announced Friday.

Chi Phi fraternity will be prohibited from holding any organized activities until 1998, in the second punishment announced this week in connection with the alcohol-related death of an underage student two months ago.

On Wednesday, the university and national fraternal organization suspended Pi Kappa Phi's charter indefinitely. Friday, Radford officials said they won't consider lifting the suspension until 2001.

Valerie Coles, a freshman from Manassas, died early Feb. 11 after drinking at parties at Chi Phi and Pi Kappa Phi fraternities the previous night. Friends found her in her dorm room and an autopsy revealed her blood-alcohol level was 0.31 percent, nearly four times the level at which an adult is presumed too intoxicated to drive.

Radford University and the national Pi Kappa and Chi Phi organizations temporarily suspended the chapters immediately following her death. During that time the fraternities could not hold any activities.

Bonnie Hurlburt, dean of students, said Chi Phi's suspension means the organization is not recognized by the university as a campus organization. During the two-year period, the members will not be allowed to wear fraternity badges and letters.

The status of the fraternity's charter rests in the hands of the national organization's office, based in Atlanta. Officials there could not be reached Friday for comment.

Chi Phi's troubles with the university, too, may not be over. On Thursday Radford filed a new charge against Chi Phi for allegedly violating the terms of the interim suspension by holding an end-of-the-year banquet.

If found guilty, the fraternity's suspension may be extended, the university said. A similar charge, stemming from a banquet last week, led to Pi Kappa Phi's capitulation on the internal judicial charges earlier this week.

Chi Phi will be eligible to apply for recognition in the fall of 1998. Whether the university will recognize the fraternity then will depend on how well the fraternity follows the requirements of its suspension.

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