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120 arrested at USD for underage drinking
John-John Williams IV
jjwilliams@argusleader.com
published: 2/3/2004
VERMILLION - Police cited 120 people for underage drinking during a weekend party at a University of South Dakota fraternity house.
Vermillion police were called to the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity at 856 Madison St. about 12:15 a.m. Saturday.
When officers arrived, they saw numerous people who appeared to be under the drinking age leaving the house. Officers were told they had been drinking and that other underage drinkers were inside.
"When the officers got there, they (students) were starting to leave the building; when they saw us, they went back in," said Vermillion Police Chief Art Mabry.
He said officers rounded up all the people in the house and determined which ones were 21 or older. That took more than four hours, he said.
"It involved calling every off-duty officer we could get ahold of," Mabry said.
Most of the students were cooperative, Mabry said, but one jumped out a second-floor window and escaped.
The fraternity's president, Jeff Hay, was charged with maintaining a disorderly house.
The USD Public Safety Office and the Clay County Sheriff's Department assisted with the investigation.
Mabry said the fraternity will have to reimburse the city for the cost of the operation.
The 120 citations are not the most in Vermillion history, he said.
"Three or four years ago, 150 people were cited (at another fraternity party)," he said. "Last spring, 60 (were cited)."
This is not the first time Sigma Alpha Epsilon has been punished for underage drinking.
In January 1998, police cited 52 underage drinkers at a fraternity party, prompting the university to ban Sigma Alpha Epsilon from serving alcohol for a year.
"Students 21 years of older are (normally) allowed to have alcohol in their room but not in the common areas," said Nathan Schock, USD director of communications. "With this (latest) violation, they (the fraternity) will be restricted from having alcohol for one full year. They are also subject to greater scrutiny in the next four years."
If the fraternity is caught breaking the alcohol rule in the next four years, Schock said, it could lose recruiting privileges. Further violations could result in the fraternity not being recognized by the school.
Schock said there had been no problems with Sigma Alpha Epsilon recently.
"This particular crowd seems like quite a good one," he said. "They had 1,000 hours of community service last semester. And this semester they are on pace for 3,000 to 4,000 hours."
The punishment for underage consumption is an $88 fine and loss of a driver's license for 30 days.
Schock said each student cited also will have to pay a $100 fine that will go toward a mandatory alcohol-education class. Further infractions could result in suspension or expulsion.
Reach John-John Williams IV at 331-2328.
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