Check out this breaking story by Associated Press. At the bottom, there’s a link to the San Diego State website and to statement by SDSU president.
By ALLISON HOFFMAN Associated Press Writer
SAN DIEGO (AP) – An undercover drug probe focused on San Diego State University and some of its fraternities has led to arrests of 96 people, including 75 students, authorities said Tuesday.
Eighteen of the students were arrested Tuesday when nine search warrants were executed at various locations including fraternities, said Jesse Rodriguez, San Diego County assistant district attorney.
During the probe investigators discovered that in some fraternities most members were aware of “organized drug dealing occurring from the fraternity houses by its members,” the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration said in a statement.
“Undercover agents purchased cocaine from fraternity members and confirmed that a hierarchy existed for the purpose of selling drugs for money,” the DEA said.
Authorities said they found drugs being moved in resale quantities.
“We’re talking about trafficking,” Stephen Weber, SDSU president, told a news conference.
The district attorney’s office said search warrants were served in San Diego and suburban La Mesa, including the Theta Chi fraternity house and several apartments.
A member of Theta Chi sent out a mass text message to his “faithful customers” stating that he and his “associates” would be unable to sell cocaine while they were in Las Vegas over one weekend, according to the DEA. The text promoted a cocaine “sale” and listed the reduced prices.
Dale Taylor, national executive director of Theta Chi, said he was “obviously shocked and saddened” by the allegations.
Theta Chi has prohibited the San Diego chapter from group activities like parties or sports activities and will investigate additional disciplinary measures, up to expulsion of members or the entire chapter.
The San Diego chapter was founded 61 years ago and has 65 members. It recently purchased two small pieces of land where raided Tuesday and planned to build a new house there.
“There were on the upswing,” Taylor said. “They had improved their recruitment. They were trying to raise money for a new house.”
Theta Chi’s San Diego chapter declined to comment.
“We’re talking to our advisers,” said John Phillips, a past president of the chapter.
Theta Chi’s San Diego chapter declined to comment.
“We’re talking to our advisers,” said John Phillips, a past president of the chapter.
Theta Chi has 131 chapters in the U.S. and Canada and more than 161,000 initiates. It was founded in 1856.
The undercover probe dubbed Operation Sudden Fall was sparked by the cocaine overdose death of a student in May 2007, authorities said. As the investigation proceeded, another student, from Mesa College, died of a cocaine overdose at an SDSU fraternity house on Feb. 26, the DEA said.
During the probe conducted jointly by university police and federal drug agents, more than 130 undercover drug buys were made at locations including fraternity houses, student parking areas and in student dormitories, authorities said.
Among drug seizures were two kilograms of cocaine and some 350 ecstasy pills, officials said.
Arrestees included a person who was about to receive a criminal justice degree and another about to receive a master’s degree in homeland security.
“A sad commentary is that when one of these individuals was arrested, they inquired as (to) whether or not his arrest and incarceration would have an effect on him becoming a federal law enforcement officer,” said Ralph Partridge, special agent in charge of the DEA in San Diego.
Authorities also seized several guns, at least $60,000 in cash, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, hash oil,
Shawn Collinsworth, executive director of the national office of Phi Kappa Psi, said he was told by two of the SDSU fraternity chapter’s leaders that four of its members were arrested. He added the fraternity is cooperating with the investigation.
“It isn’t behavior becoming of Phi Kappa Psi,” Collinsworth said.
Some defendants were scheduled to appear in state court to face charges Tuesday.
San Diego State is one of the largest schools in California’s state university system with about 34,000 students. The campus has an active network of fraternities and sororities.
Note from HigherEdGal: Here’s the official San Diego State website set up to deal with the issue. A campus spokeswoman, Coleen Geraghty, told me this afternoon that 18 students were arrested on or around campus today, 15 students arrested previously, all related to this specific investigation. She said the other arrests took place earlier and were not necessarily related to this particular probe.
Here is the official statement by the SDSU president about the arrests.
Associated Press Writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego and Greg Risling in Los Angeles contributed to this report.
AP-WS-05-06-08 1605EDT
Gov got too much competition…
viva montezuma!
“…one of these individuals was arrested, they inquired as (to) whether or not his arrest and incarceration would have an effect on him becoming a federal law enforcement officer,”
LOL!!! There would have been 100 arrests but three of the guys were smoking pot and starting a fire in Mission Viejo and the other was shooting his dad in the butt.
Lol, what a crazy day.
He couldn’t figure out whether or not selling drugs would be bad for his future career as a federal law enforcement officer. Duhhh. I guess he is a stonehead stoner boneheaded doofus druggie pothead????
As a Greek at another CSU, I find this extremely infuriating and embarrassing. Greeks take an oath to challenge themselves. We provide a unique opportunity to members, unparallel to any other organization that charges one to be something better in every endeavor of life and for life. Clearly some chapters do not understand this concept in their recruitment process. Most of us do way too much good in our communities to allow the stereotypes to come true. Let’s kick the bad apples out, hold each other accountable, and have the integrity to live up to the standards of our founders. LET’S DO BETTER GREEKS – DON”T ALLOW THE BS!
OPEN LETTER TO: SDSU Campus Police, President Weber, any Any Other Decision-Makers Regarding Punishment for the Arrested Students
Thank you for undertaking this investigation and keeping SDSU parents informed. Illegal drugs continues to be a pervasive problem in our schools and universities, as well as other facets of society.
I trust that the disciplinary measures imposed by SDSU will consider the gravity of the offenses in a broad context. While I would not condone drug use in any way, I believe that some of the suggested penalties including eviction and expulsion are severe punishments that would be appropriate in some, but not all, situations. I hope that campus authorities will keep in mind that the accused students are children or at least young adults, even if they might be over 18. College is a learning experience and much of the learning occurs by trial-and-error. Of course, there are repercussions of making mistakes, but they should not be debilitating and should allow for second chances.
I point this out because I believe that much of the fault with illegal drug use and distribution is a direct function of our complacency as a society. It is glamorized on TV and in film media, not to mention the radio and the most popular music groups in rock and hip-hop. Our broken homes and two-income families don’t find the time to monitor young children as they are growing up, so children often look outside for guidance. And let us not forget the hypocrisy about alcohol - teenage drinking is rampant at almost every high school and college campus in the U.S., and most parents know it. According to the Marin Institute’s web site, the federal CDC reported in 2001 that over 30 percent of high school students reported hazardous drinking during the 30 days preceding the survey. I would guess that over twice this number of high school students use alcohol on a regular basis.
With this an accepted fact in our “adult” society, what message have we given to our kids that are now in college? Whether it is compliance with traffic laws (how many people obey the speed limit on the 805?), politicians and public figures getting caught cheating and/or lying (Bill Clinton, Elliot Spitzer, that Cunningham guy from San Diego, Enron management, UC Irvine’s entire medical school, Marion Jones, Roger Clemens or his trainer, etc.), immigration policy that seeks to redefine “illegal” or look the other way in the best interest of commerce, waging a war that is later based on faulty intelligence (oxymoron?) without an acknowledgment of the mistake, or the likes of Howard Stern, Eminem, Rosie O’Donnell, and Snoop Dogg pushing the limits of obscenity, we need to face the fact that our society AS A WHOLE respects laws only to the extent that they are convenient and also condones risky, racy, or controversial behavior. How long did it take baseball to address the steroid problem (assuming that they did)? Why is it still legal to drug horses before the big races?
In my 44 years, I still haven’t understood why tobacco, alcohol, and AK-47 rifles are legal in America, while marijuana is not.
While SDSU and law enforcement need to address illegal drug use promptly and firmly, I would suggest that the university should take a more supportive role while the governmental authorities handle the prosecution and punishment. For example, except for the most egregious offenders that might be a threat to others, perhaps the university can reinstate the students in their living groups and allow them to continue with final exams and their academic programs (including finals), and put them on probation and some type of monitoring program.
The students in question are young adults that will continue to make mistakes as they grow and learn in their life paths. As a society, we should point them in the right direction, offer support and guidance when warranted, impose discipline for bad behavior, and give second chances. Any drug prosecution will lead not doubt to a permanent criminal record, and I believe that expulsion and/or eviction in addition to that could be devastating to a young person that may not be able to recover to seek the academic and professional future to which he/she once aspired.
Make this a learning experience (that is the role of a college, right?). Let them learn from their mistakes, punish as appropriate, but give them a chance to correct themselves and prove their characters and ability to change. If these students are kicked out of college, some will be bitter and may never be able to recover.
By the way, is not SDSU the school where that OC superior court judge gave two lectures last semester on the merits of legalizing all drug use? What message does THAT send to our kids?
That’s insane. I hope SDSU kicks out all of the fraternities involved and revokes their charter.
These kids will be going to prison for a very long time it sounds like! And right before graduation, too!
Wow how come they only busted them now? 96 people dealing drugs for such along time…
Seriously do you people even think ? 96 is probably about 1/100 of the people who are actually dealing drugs on campus , Every house has drug dealers , 60 k /96 people is roughly 600 dollars , the major drug houses were event touched , go after the cartel , boarder security , and gangs . I am not advocating for drug dealers but this is a sad attempt by the DEA to go after peripheral drug dealers with a few oz of pot on them . Sure they caught some people with large amounts of coke , pot , pills , and guns . Everyone at SDSU knows if you went into the average college frat , sorority , Dorm , Residents and even class rooms you would find reasons to bring about 2/3 of the campus to jail . I was told about this sting 4 months before it even began according to their reasoning about a 19 year old sorority girl odding . If i heard about it , I don’t deal drugs , and have no connection to law enforcement who else heard ? The truth is the police would rather investigate a bunch of college kids than go after the real problems . I’d rather break down the door of some 20 year old kid who is going to piss his pants and beg me not to ruin his life than deal with people who might actually fight back . In any event the people involved certainly are going to get what they deserve and more which is fine by me . But lets not make heros out of the DA for turning up a bunch of dorm room drug dealers . Further more the average San Diego College student would probably refer to our friends the neighborhood protectors(police officers) as anything but heros .
These 96 students are not in college to get an education; they are there to sell drugs. I’ll bet that you will find the same in every college in this country. Not only colleges, but high schools and alternative high schools.
The expelled students should have to repay the state of California the full costs of their college education. They stole an opportunity for a worthwhile student to attend their school. If 2/3 of campus students are really involved with drug dealing, then throw them out and alleviate campus overcrowding.
Clearly all of you older grumpy people dont remember what it is like to be in college? Most kids who deal drugs do it either to fit in or to make money to live…they arent doing it to harm anyone. And seriously…marijuana is EVERYWHERE and the media pretty much encourages it by showing it as a drug of great effects. All you people who think that these kids should get life in prison blah blah blah are just angry and old and not in site of the real world today, 2008. LIFE IS DIFFERENT ALL YOU OLD PEOPLE! Go ahead and get mad about there being drugs out there….but there is no escaping it. Instead of lecturing students about how bad drugs are why arent we teaching people to be secure with themselves and make their own decisions without giving into peer pressure. These kids have CLEARLY learned their lessons and should definitely get punished but not life in prison. OJ is just roaming the streets right now and he murdered his wife…..so some kids try to make a living in this tempting drug dealing lifestyle that brings in so much money? How about some constructive ways of reinforcement instead of punishment ?? Maybe you guys should take a psychology class and see that punishment makes future behavior worse. ALSO, ITS NOT FAIR TO PUNISH THE WHOLE GREEK SYSTEM?!! I am in the greek system and we do so much good for this community and teach our members great things and now all ur doing is punishing those future potential members who just want to be a part of a beneficial group that helps lonely freshman students meet others like themselves.
Mike Says:
May 6th, 2008 at 9:30 pm
He couldn’t figure out whether or not selling drugs would be bad for his future career as a federal law enforcement officer. Duhhh. I guess he is a stonehead stoner boneheaded doofus druggie pothead????
stone head stoner boneheaded doofus…. good god people are soo lame these days, what would be better than having anything you wanted on deck and cashmoney… just got caught up in the wrong thing.. ment well just made mistakes…oh and for mike grow some balls dude, you sounded like some cheerleader saying that wussy!!!! chump.
aj 188 assignment
I’m just curious to know if the drug bust took place at a predominantly black college or university would “concerned parents says” feel the same. I continue to be amazed at the double standards that exist. It just seems that justification can always be made when one group engage in bad behavior; however, if the circumstances were different I believe the response would be much different. I would like to know the thought process of how someone can justify excusing unacceptable behavior of some while wanting to inflict the maximum penalty for others. How do we come to justify this behavior over and over again? There is definitely two kinds of justice in this society and until everyone can see thing on an even playing field we are doomed. I say that these student should get the same punishment as any street corner drug dealer. If we really believe that drug are destroying our society lets not excuse bad behavior because the perpetrators are college students. I’m sure that tne individuals arrested will get off with a slap on the wrist because mommy and daddy can afford highly paid lawyers. For those who can buy freedom, life must be good.
I went to UCSB and graduated in 94. This stuff was going on in the Greek System there as well, but not at that extent. I wonder how the dumbass that sent the text message even got into college and its typical that a bunch of the perpetrators were criminal justice majors. Sheila, has a point. These guys should be made an example of. If you cant do the time dont do the crime.