Public Safety has recommended charges to the Office of Student Conduct for the women’s club rugby team after the completion of a hazing investigation. The team is set to face a disciplinary panel that will decide the consequences of the charges, which can include a freezing of funds or club status.
As noted in the crime log, the charges include 31 counts of hazing, three counts of corruption of minors, nine counts of purchase or consumption of alcohol/underage drinking, six counts of criminal conspiracy, seven counts of furnishing alcohol to minors and six counts of organizational hazing.
Director of Public Safety Jeff Troxell declined to comment further on the nature of the complaint or the findings of the investigation.
Assistant Dean of Students Jennifer Dize said that after receiving the report from Public Safety with a summary of conducted interviews and additional notes, “Student Conduct reads that report and decides whether or not charges go forward to a panel and potentially an individual administrator.”
“We have initiated the enforcement process as it’s defined within the student code of conduct,” Sarah Moschenross, vice president for student life, said.
The ensuing process includes implicated students going before the three-person Student Conduct Board made up of a combination of students, faculty and staff members.
Moschenross explained that the members of the conduct board will supplement the report from Public Safety with their own findings.
“[Public Safety has] done an investigation and [brought] forward the charges, and then the panel goes through and interviews people and then they determine based on all the evidence that they have, and based on the process of the hearing, whether or not they find someone responsible or not responsible,” Moschenross said.
According to the Student Handbook, “hearing panels make their determinations by a majority vote.”
Moschenross and Dize declined to comment on whether or not legal action would be taken outside of the school’s disciplinary process.
Several members of the women’s rugby team declined to comment or did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The team will remain on suspension for the duration of the investigation.
