An investigation is underway into an incident that occurred at the Pi Kappa Alpha Fraternity house, in which there were 40 arrests for minors in possession of alcohol and obstruction of justice.
Tanya Winegard, vice president for student life and assistant director of the Center for Student Integrity, said her office does not yet know the exact details of what happened at the fraternity house that evening.
“We’ve opened an investigation and we’ll be pursuing all of that,” she said.
Winegard said the Center for Student Integrity will obtain a copy of the police report and meet with the students involved.
On Friday at 12:38 a.m., Omaha Police received a radio call to investigate a large fight disturbance at 3100 Chicago St., the address of the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity house. According to initial police reports, the officers smelt the odor of burning marijuana. They entered the house and found approximately 75 party-goers and a large quantity of alcohol.
Officers then made 37 arrests for minors in possession of alcohol and cited three for obstructing. MIP is a class III misdemeanor and obstructing is a class I misdemeanor.
Christopher DeGrande, president of Creighton’s chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha and Business junior, declined to comment after repeated requests by e-mail and phone.
Creighton Students Union president Adam Hare, who is a member of the fraternity, also declined to comment.
If an underage student is found responsible for alcohol consumption, Winegard said, the student will typically meet with a hearing officer to determine his or her next course of action. The student may have to write a paper, engage in community service, engage in counseling or some other sanction. In most cases, the student meets with his or her hearing officer once, but if facts about the incident are in dispute there may be subsequent meetings.
If the incident is part of a continuing pattern of behavior, Winegard said more severe sanctions may be needed. Expulsion is a possibility, but it is unlikely.
“It’s very rare that Creighton expels students,” Winegard said. She said only three students in her five years have been expelled from the university for non-academic misconduct. “Expulsion we consider a very last resort.”
As for the fraternity as a whole, Eric Immel, assistant director for Greek life at Creighton, said the investigation will concentrate on how responsible the fraternity was for the incident and how much was the responsibility of certain individuals.
When a fraternity commits a violation, Immel said, its case is heard by either the Interfraternity Council, the Greek Standards Board or, if the case is severe enough, the University Council.
Immel said the Interfraternity Council can’t place the fraternity on probation but usually tries to be more proactive with its solutions. The Greek Standards Board has the ability to place the fraternity of probation, which involves limiting its social events, or suspending it, which means the group can’t operate on campus for a certain amount of time.
“We want our students to be good neighbors, and it’s my understanding that this came from a fight or noise disturbance,” Winegard said, “and if our students aren’t being good neighbors we’re concerned by that.”