Fraternity Suspended, Faces Charges Over Frat House Conditions

Cal State Fullerton’s Delta Chi fraternity, suspended two years ago for staging a panty raid, has been suspended again and now faces misdemeanor criminal charges for “repeated failure” to repair the fraternity house, city officials announced Thursday.

City authorities said they plan to file the charges next week accusing the fraternity and the building’s owners of numerous fire, health, safety and building code violations.

The university last Friday withdrew its official recognition of the fraternity because of the fraternity’s failure to comply with city regulations, said Roger Nudd, vice president for student services.

Delta Chi alumni Thursday said they were surprised to hear of the city’s pending move.

In the past year, members and alumni have spent several Saturdays fixing the house at 2100 Associated Road, said alumni Jerry Nininger and Bob E. Sandoval.

Made Improvements

“We’re not saying we’re 100% perfect. But there have been substantial improvements in the past year,” said Nininger, a 1970 alumnus.

Alumni have recarpeted the house, re-tiled a bathroom, hung new drapes, cleaned the backyard and done numerous repairs, said Sandoval, another 1970 alumnus.

“As far as we were concerned, the complaints that the city had listed 17 months ago were taken care of,” Sandoval said.

Fullerton assistant planner Ted Commerdinger said Delta Chi representatives have not corrected the violations from 17 months ago. Also, the fraternity did work on the building without proper city permits, Commerdinger said.

Nininger said city officials are taking the lack of one or more permits “as evidence” that the violations have not been corrected, when, in fact, the house is almost--if not totally--up to code, he said.

Old and New Violations

“We want to comply. We want the house in good shape too,” Nininger said.

In a release issued by the city on Thursday, City Atty. R. K. Fox said city building and fire inspectors, along with county health officers, found old and new violations during a tour of the house on Nov. 6.

The inspectors said some of the violations were “life-threatening” and must be fixed by the following Monday or the house would be shut down, Commerdinger said.

Nininger said the violations included the use of extension cords--”I don’t know how life-threatening that is.” Sandoval said the nine electrical and wiring problems cited by the city were fixed Monday.

Nininger said he was concerned that the city “is using the media to inform us about these criminal charges” when “we don’t even have the list (of violations) they say we’re not in compliance with.”

Property records identify the owners as Arthur V. Jenkins, Eugene H. Urbanic and Robert H. Kramp. They could be not reached for comment.

Suspended Two Years Ago

Two years ago, the national headquarters of Delta Chi suspended the Cal State Fullerton chapter’s charter, said Ray Galbreth, national fraternity director in Iowa City. The suspension followed an unannounced 3 a.m. panty raid on two sororities on Sept. 16, 1984, for which three members were arrested on suspicion of burglary, Nudd said. The fraternity also was involved in a hazing incident and the sale of alcoholic beverages without a liquor license, he said. That suspension remains in effect.

In September of 1985, the university withdrew its recognition of the chapter for one year. As of Friday, the university again withdrew that recognition, which means Delta Chi members can not identify the fraternity with the university, nor can they use the campus for any activity, Nudd said.

Galbreth expressed surprise to hear of the new charges because, he said, the fraternity had made progress in the past year. “It makes me wonder if there is some sort of misunderstanding on our group’s part on what they needed to be doing,” he said.

In the past year, several members have been asked to leave the house, and the 22 members, along with eight pledges, who remain are “men who have not caused any problems,” Sandoval said. The group has also rewritten its constitution to include emphasis on grades and university involvement.