Purdue News

October 14, 1998 Co-op house board: Rochdale men must go, granted grace period WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. -- The students living in the Rochdale (pronounced ROSH dale) Cooperative, which Purdue University sanctioned earlier this month for violating university regulations and state laws regarding alcohol and hazing, must leave the house. The board of the Purdue Cooperative Housing Association, made up of students and staff, Wednesday (10/14) passed a resolution supporting the action the association's advisers took last week to withdraw recognition of the house. The board then voted to extend a grace period to the tenants, allowing them to stay in the house until the end of the semester, contingent on the availability of suitable insurance and a lease agreement that must be signed by each tenant, said Steve Huffman, a Purdue student who is president of the association. The board also formed two committees, Huffman said. One will consider risk management issues involving alcohol and other related activities. The other committee will consider how make the pledging a positive experience. Wednesday's action followed the university's decision on Oct. 7 to withdraw recognition of Rochdale as a student organization. The Purdue Office of the Dean of Students took the action after finding that the cooperative coerced pledges to drink beer and deprived them of sleep. The house, at 800 Northwestern Ave., also was found to have violated university regulations by holding an open party and sponsoring two other events where alcohol was served to minors. The incidents occurred Aug. 24 to 29. Withdrawal of recognition is the most serious penalty Purdue can impose. It means the organization no longer exists in the eyes of the university and no longer can function as a student organization. The members of the former cooperative, currently home to 25 Purdue male students, have until Oct. 21 to appeal the university's decision to the Campus Appeals Board, which is made up of students, faculty and administrators. Pablo Malavenda, director of student activities for the Office of the Dean of Students, conducted the university's hearings concerning Rochdale. He found that the Office of the Dean of Students not only had warned Rochdale several times in recent years about hazing, but also had called the cooperative officers just days before the open party was held to make sure the officers were aware of university policy. That policy states that no alcoholic beverages may be served at a party that is an open event. An event is considered open if invitations are extended to more than three guests per house resident. All student organizations also must comply with Indiana law that prohibits them from giving alcohol to anyone under age 21. In addition to finding the violations concerning the open party, Malavenda also verified six separate instances of hazing, some of them involving alcohol. One of the most serious took place early in the morning of Friday, Aug. 28. During a party, "pledge class members were coerced to drink, were harassed verbally and had beer thrown at them and on them," Malavenda reported. "In the center of the room, active members placed a garbage can in anticipation of the inevitable vomiting due to the excessive drinking of beer." The next day the drinking continued with a "beer olympics" involving minors. Citing several recent incidents on college campuses, Malavenda added: "The courts have been clear that the consumption of alcohol at a membership activity is not voluntary consumption. It is coercive. "It also can be deadly, especially when large quantities are consumed over a very short period of time." There are 13 cooperative houses at Purdue, six for men and seven for women. These are residential houses operated by the students, who contribute four to six hours of work a week to offset part of their housing cost. This is the first time that Purdue has withdrawn recognition of a cooperative. Writer: Jeanne Norberg (765) 494-2096; e-mail, jeanne_norberg@purdue.edu Purdue News Service: (765) 494-2096; e-mail, purduenews@purdue.edu To the Purdue News and Photos Page