Allegation of Rape at Fraternity House : SDSU Panel to Rule on Party Sponsors

San Diego State University announced Tuesday that it will press a wide variety of administrative charges against the fraternity and sorority that co-sponsored the Nov. 15 party at which an 18-year-old sorority member said she was raped.

The charges, which include physical abuse of a member of the campus community and lewd or obscene behavior at a campus function, will be heard Jan. 21 and 22 by a special disciplinary board composed of two students and three university staff members.

The committee will decide the guilt or innocence of Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity and Delta Gamma sorority, and it has the power to impose disciplinary sanctions that include decertifying the organizations as campus institutions, probation or fines.

On Monday, the Daily Aztec, SDSU’s campus newspaper, published an open letter apparently written by the sorority member’s mother urging fraternity members to tell the police what they know about the incident, during which she said her daughter was raped.

The letter described the young woman as having “very high moral standards”--the product of a conservative Christian home in a small, agricultural town. It said she had gone to the party out of duty to her sorority, had a 7 a.m. class the next day and had intended to leave early.

“My daughter’s youth and innocence have been stolen from her. Her life will never have that carefree happiness she once took for granted,” said the letter, signed “Her Mother.” “She will probably have to undergo extensive psychotherapy, and the chances of her ever having a normal relationship with a man are slim, at best.”

According to police, the young woman said she was drinking what she believed was a non-alcoholic punch but became dizzy and asked to be taken to a room to sit or lie down during the Nov. 15 party. She said she was raped between 2 a.m. and 4 a.m. in a private room at the fraternity house, and she has identified the fraternity member in a photo lineup. Her mother said she was unconscious for four hours at the house.

But San Diego County Dist. Atty. Edwin Miller decided against filing any criminal charges after interviews with 20 fraternity and sorority members. He said Dec. 5 that his office could not prove beyond a reasonable doubt that rape had occurred.

University officials said they were disappointed by Miller’s decision, and they continued to press their own investigation of the incident.

The administrative charges announced Tuesday against the fraternity include the abuse and obscenity charges, compelling fraternity or sorority members to drink liquor, providing liquor to someone who is intoxicated, disrupting the university’s investigation of the incident, and failing to comply with state laws regulating the sale and consumption of liquor.

The fraternity is also charged with hazing, which the California Administrative Code defines as causing mental or physical harm, humiliation, or ridicule; compelling a person to participate in perverse or indecent activities; or impairing a person’s academic efforts.

The sorority is charged only with the alcoholic-beverage violations and hazing. Sue Raney, an SDSU spokeswoman, said the charges against the sorority stem from the fact that it co-sponsored the party.

Raney said SDSU’s Division of Student Affairs brought the charges against the organizations, and no individuals. She said it is continuing an investigation to determine the responsibility of individual students involved in the incident and may bring misconduct charges against those involved in late January.

The special disciplinary hearing board will include representatives of the campuswide fraternity and sorority councils, Raney said. She said Pi Kappa Alpha and Delta Gamma representatives will be able to plead their cases before the board rules.

Pi Kappa Alpha, one of 17 fraternities at SDSU, has been placed on “interim suspension” by the university. That is, it has lost its right to use the university’s name, schedule activities on campus and take part in the Interfraternity Council.