Hanover Police Selectively Enforce Underage Drinking Laws Against Dartmouth Students
The Hanover Police Department brought charges against two Dartmouth College juniors and the Alpha Phi Sorority (APhi) for alcohol-related misdemeanors following the drowning death of Won Jang, a 20-year-old biomedical engineering major, this July. Jang’s death is tragic, but selectively enforcing underage drinking laws against his classmates is inappropriate.
Officers of the Hanover Police Department recovered Jang’s body on July 7 after a missing persons report was filed that same day, per The Dartmouth. The preceding night, Jang, a member of the Beta Alpha Omega Fraternity (Beta), attended an off-campus party hosted by the APhi. He and “several attendees made a spontaneous decision to swim in the river,” according to Hanover Chief of Police Charles B. Dennis, when a “heavy rainstorm hit the area.”
Jang, whose family confirmed to the police that he could not swim, was tragically left behind as other partygoers exited the river. The toxicology report determined Jang’s blood alcohol level to have been 0.167, which is typically accompanied by “disorientation, dizziness, increased motor impairment, blurred vision, and impaired judgment.”
Though earlier reporting suggested that hazing could have led to Jang’s death, the Hanover Police Department declared the fatality an accidental drowning in September as its investigation continued. On Friday, the Hanover Police Department concluded its investigation by charging two members of the Beta fraternity with providing alcohol to underage persons.
The department also charged APhi with “facilitating an underage alcohol house party” under Section 644:18 of New Hampshire’s criminal code. The college itself hosts Microbrew Mondays, Winter Carnival, and Green Key, all of which are liable to underage drinking, despite various age-verification measures.
APhi and Beta, which had been previously suspended for three terms in fall 2023, have been suspended by Dartmouth since July 9 and will remain so while the college conduc
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