Silence over drunk prefrosh continues
No word yet from investigation
The Department of Residential Life is investigating a Campus Preview Weekend incident during which a prospective freshman was found intoxicated and unconscious outside McCormick, according to Bexley housemaster Robert M. Randolph. “[It]appears she may have gotten the alcohol … in Bexley,” Randolph wrote in an e-mail to the bexley-residents mailing list.
Various MIT authorities have declined to comment on the incident, and details about the ongoing investigation remain hidden.
Randolph said it was still unclear to him exactly what took place during CPW, but that he is “looking forward to getting a report” from the investigation.
In the absence of hard facts, rumors have circulated about what might have occurred, including that the student’s admission to MIT has been revoked.
Stuart Schmill ’86, dean of admissions, which coordinates CPW, also declined to comment on the incident specifically “out of respect for the privacy of the student,” he wrote in e-mail. Schmill said nothing about this student’s case but said that it is “very rare” that students’ admissions are revoked.
He said that he and his office coordinates with the other deans at MIT to ensure safety during CPW. In the case of an alcohol-related incident occurring during CPW, Schmill said that, in general, “we would work with the deans” to arrange an appropriate response.
He said that the only specific response his office would have authority to implement on its own would be to not assign prefrosh to be hosted in a specific living group if a concerning incident were traced back to that group.
During CPW, MIT’s official policy mandates that “no events or parties with alcohol are permitted, no alcohol is allowed out in common areas, and no alcohol is to be provided to prefrosh,” Schmill wrote in an e-mail.
“This was communicated to the leadership of the living groups before CPW by the dean of student life, and also communicated to CPW student hosts by the admissions office staff,” he wrote.
Deans in the Division of Student Life could not be reached yesterday to comment on this story. Residential Life is part of DSL.
Tom Gearty, spokesman for DSL, said yesterday he had not heard of the investigation.
MIT Police Captain Jay A. Perault declined to comment on the incident, which did not appear in published police logs. Perault was directed not to comment by Police Chief John DiFava and the MIT News Office.
MIT communications director Nathaniel W. Nickerson, who looked into the incident at The Tech’s request, declined to comment.