HANOVER — Dartmouth College sorority Alpha Phi and the fraternity Beta Alpha Omega will participate in formal recruitment this fall for the first time since the organizations were suspended following the death of a student who drowned during an event that they co-hosted, Hunter Preston Carlheim, the college’s director of Greek Life and Student Societies, said.
The college suspended Alpha Phi and Beta Alpha Omega days after the body of Won Jang, a 20-year-old biomedical engineering student from Middletown, Del., was pulled from the Connecticut River. His body was found the day after he attended a party in July 2024 that was put on by the two Greek houses.
The terms of suspension included the cessation of all organizational activities and loss of access to the respective chapter houses, a spokesperson for the college said in an email.
Beta Alpha Omega remains suspended through the upcoming summer term, followed by two terms of alcohol probation and an additional term of probation.
Fall recruitment at Dartmouth is typically a two-and-a-half-week mutual selection process wherein potential members meet with representatives from Greek houses and bids are extended.
The recruitment for Alpha Phi will be facilitated by the Office of Greek Life, the Inter-Sorority Council — a group of students who support women’s Greek organizations on campus — and members of the national Alpha Phi International Fraternity, the umbrella group that oversees all its chapters.
Beta Alpha Omega does not have a national organization, so its recruitment process will be facilitated by an alumni board as well as the college’s Office of Greek Life and the Interfraternity Council.
Jang was among a group of attendees at the July 2024 party who went to the docks near Ledyard Bridge to swim in the river until a heavy rainstorm forced the students out of the water.
As students scattered, no one noticed that Jang hadn’t left the river. Hanover Fire Department personnel recovered his body the following day.
An autopsy report by the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner’s Office determined his blood alcohol level was .167, the Valley News reported last year. In New Hampshire, the legal blood alcohol limit for drivers under the age of 21 is .02.
Alpha Phi was charged in Lebanon District Court with a misdemeanor for facilitating an underage alcohol house. The charge was ultimately dropped.
Two Beta Alpha Omega members were found guilty in Lebanon District Court of providing alcohol to people under the age of 21 at the party Jang attended.
A judge fined the two students $930 each, the Valley News reported last year. One had pleaded guilty and the other pleaded no contest.
A representative from the Inter-Sorority Council and Alpha Phi International Fraternity did not respond to requests for comment by deadline.
Other Greek organizations at Dartmouth have been suspended in recent years.
The college suspended fraternity Omega Psi Phi for violating Dartmouth’s policies, including its hazing policy, during the 2024 fall and winter terms. The organization is suspended for three years and is not permitted to resume operations until the winter term of 2028, according to the college’s website.
The college suspended the sorority Kappa Kappa Gamma in 2024 for being in possession of five bottles of hard alcohol. The sorority was suspended for the spring term of 2024, and placed on alcohol probation for the 2024 summer term.
