South Campus has proven to be a hotbed for illegal activities during recent months, with students being arrested for a variety of drug, alcohol, and hazing-related charges.
Officers observed a party on West Northrup Place after receiving a complaint of loud music. Upon entering the house at 11:40 p.m., officers found 23 bags of marijuana and two marijuana cigarettes.
They also found that minors were being served alcohol, leading Buffalo Police to arrest one person on charges of criminal possession and unlawful dealing with a minor. The suspect's name was not disclosed.
Michael DeGeorge, Buffalo Police Department spokesman, wasn't sure if the party was connected to a fraternity.
"Officers were called on the scene for a noise compliant. There [were] about 200 people at the party with loud music," DeGeorge said.
Buffalo Police also responded to a similar call the following night at approximately 12:30 a.m. Officers responded to a noise complaint in the 3100 block of Main Street. They observed alcohol being served to minors, but were not sure if it was a commercial address or an apartment.
Edwin V. Schantz, a junior management major, and Ryan McCormack, 21, a resident in the apartment where the alcohol was being served, were arrested and charged with violating state liquor laws and unlawfully serving a minor.
These events follow an alleged hazing incident at a house on Northrup Place last semester.
UB students Kyle O'Shea and Jason S. Rosen, both 20, were charged with second-degree hazing and reckless endangerment, and were suspended for a semester. Timothy Sheridan and Adam Daniel, both 20, were at the location at the time of the alleged incident and were also suspended. O'Shea, a former Spectrum writer, and the other suspects were unavailable for comment.
Reports stated that a UB student that was at the house required medical attention after being covered by some mixture of spray paint and hot sauce. Allegedly, the victim was required to take off his clothes and cover himself in the mixture, according to Buffalo Police.
The students involved in the incident were reportedly pledging for the off-campus fraternity Alpha Tau Omega, which was removed from the list of recognized fraternities by UB in 2002.
According to the Greek Affairs Web site, hazing is any action that is induced "to produce mental or physical discomfort, embarrassment, harassment or ridicule."
The group was referred to the Student-Wide Judiciary (SWJ) for the incident. The SWJ could not provide any information regarding specific students because it would constitute a violation of their privacy rights.
However, in the event that such a matter would come before the SWJ, the official process would include a suspension hearing followed by a judicial hearing. If the person is arrested, the SWJ can delay the second hearing until after the person's court dates.
Todd Kamenash, the assistant director of Judicial Affairs, further explained the process.
"We take certain factors into account, such as the report of either the Buffalo PD or Campus Police," Kamenash said. "There aren't any cookie cutter responses to such events. We look to see if there was any clear and present danger to individuals involved, as well as the servers of the event and whether or not a student has a history. Then we can properly make a decision."
