ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, February 26, 1997 TAG: 9702260071
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: S.D. HARRINGTON STAFF WRITER
MEMO: ***CORRECTION***
Published correction ran on February 27, 1997.
Police charged 14 Roanoke College students and four former students
early Tuesday after an alleged hazing near Carvens Cove. A story
Wednesday incorrectly stated that all of those charged were students.
A ROANOKE COLLEGE GROUP of men were arrested following an exercise at Carvins Cove they called "a bonding experience."
The students called it a "bonding experience."
The Roanoke County police called it "hazing."
And on Tuesday, police charged 18 Roanoke College students - all males - with a variety of offenses, including hazing, after stumbling upon a club ritual at Carvins Cove.
The students arrested said they were members of Campus Inter-Action, a group that is neither sponsored nor funded by the college, according to Roanoke College spokeswoman Teresa Gereaux. Organizations must have an official constitution and a college employee as an advisor to receive college sponsorship and funding.
Roanoke County police found the students about 12:48 a.m. Tuesday after responding to a disturbance call on Timber View Road, a dead end near Carvins Cove. They found a rental truck filled with a couch, chair and beer containers. Officers heard people in the woods and followed a trail of litter and the smell of beer, Roanoke County Lt. Gary Roche said.
They found some of the suspects holding four blindfolded men on their stomachs in four to six inches of creek water. Others were watching from a bank, shining flashlights and yelling.
Roche said several of those arrested told investigators that the activities were a "bonding experience and that they were in a period of trust building." He said another member of the group told investigators that the ceremony has been going on for years.
Those charged ranged in age from 18 to 24.
Police charged 10 men with hazing, a Class 1 misdemeanor punishable by up to 12 months in jail and/or a $2,500 fine. Five of those men were also charged with trespassing.
Four men were charged with being drunk in public and trespassing. Four men were charged with only trespassing.
Three of those charged are members of the lacrosse team, Gereaux said. One plays on the tennis team. She said the college is conducting its own investigation and will determine whether the student code of conduct was violated by its students. Punishments for violating the code range from suspension to expulsion.
"We are taking this very seriously," Gereaux said.
Campus safety director Thomas H. Turner said the school had not interviewed any of the students and were still getting information from police.
None of the suspects could be reached for comment.
Staff writer Diane Struzzi contributed information to this story.
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