Dartmouth suspends Greek houses after student’s death

Dartmouth College has suspended a fraternity and a sorority after the death of a student amid suggestions of hazing.

The body of the student, Won Jang – a 20-year-old rising junior from Delaware majoring in biomedical engineering and economics – was found over the weekend in the Connecticut River.

Mr Jang was reported to have attended a social gathering involving his fraternity, Beta Alpha Omega, and a sorority, Alpha Phi, the previous evening along the river near the Dartmouth boathouse.

Investigators also were reported to have received an allegation from within the Ivy League institution that some form of hazing may have been involved.

“The following day, when the student did not show up for an engagement, authorities were made aware of the incident,” officials of the state of New Hampshire’s Fish and Game Department said in a statement recounting Mr Jang’s disappearance and death.

Both the fraternity and the sorority have been suspended, a Dartmouth spokesperson said. The fraternity was reported to have been on probation at the time for alcohol use and the sorority had recently been under a similar sanction.

The rules of suspension include bans on social events and on any non-members entering their houses.

US fraternities and sororities regularly attract concern over behaviours such as hazing, in which students seeking membership are sometimes subjected to abusive initiation rituals, and about acts of racism and sexism. Colleges and universities nevertheless tend to tolerate them, for reasons that include their popularity among current students and the institutional allegiance and financial support they foster among alumni.

Mr Jang was the valedictorian of his high school class in Delaware, and he worked at Dartmouth’s DALI Lab, which connects undergraduates with computer skills to outside partners needing their help.

Officials gave no cause of death for Mr Jang. His body was found by state investigators using a remotely operated underwater camera, the Fish and Game Department said in its statement.

paul.basken@timeshighereducation.com