Two members of a Dartmouth College fraternity and a sorority have been charged in the death of a student who was found dead in a river over the summer after attending an off-campus party where alcohol was allegedly served to people who were under 21.
Won Jang, a 20-year-old who was a student at the college and a member of the Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, attended a party off campus in July held by Alpha Phi, a sorority, the Hanover Police Department in New Hampshire said in a statement Friday. The department said Jang and most of the other attendees were under 21 years old and drinking alcohol that was bought and served by Beta Alpha Omega members who were over 21.
After the party, several attendees decided to go for a swim in the Connecticut River, but when a heavy rainstorm occurred many of them left in groups.
"No one in these groups noticed that Jang was unaccounted for. It was confirmed via multiple interviews, to include Jang's family, that he could not swim," Hanover police said in a statement.
An autopsy report later determined that Jang's cause of death was drowning, according to police. His blood alcohol level was .167, the department said. That amount is more than twice the state's legal amount allowed for drivers 21 and older.
Jang was an undergraduate student from Middletown, Delaware studying biomedical engineering and was a student mentor, according to The Dartmouth. Scott Brown, dean of the college, said Jang "wholeheartedly embraced opportunities at Dartmouth to pursue his academic and personal passions," according to the paper.
Two members of Beta Alpha Omega fraternity were each charged with a misdemeanor for providing alcohol to persons under 21 years old. The Alpha Phi sorority was also charged with a misdemeanor violation of facilitating an underage alcohol house, the police also said.
Neither Alpha Phi nor Beta Alpha Omega responded to a request for comment.
Dartmouth College said both the Alpha Phi chapter on campus and Beta Alpha Omega were "immediately suspended" after Jang's death and an internal investigation was launched. The suspensions are still in effect "pending the results of Dartmouth's internal investigation and conduct process" that the college said is still underway.
"Dartmouth has long valued the contributions that Greek organizations bring to the student experience, when they are operating within their stated values and standards," the college said in a statement to NPR. "These organizations, as well as all Dartmouth students and community members, have a responsibility to ensure Dartmouth remains a safe, respectful, equitable, and inclusive community for students, faculty, and staff."
The college also said that because of federal law it "cannot comment on individual disciplinary matters."
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