HANOVER, N.H. — A Dartmouth College sorority and two fraternity members have been charged in the death of a 20-year-old student who drowned after attending an off-campus party over the summer.
Won Jang, who was a Dartmouth student and a member of the Beta Alpha Omega fraternity, attended a party in July hosted by the school’s Alpha Phi sorority. Hanover Police say Jang and most of the other attendees were under 21 and were drinking alcohol supplied by Beta Alpha Omega members who were over 21, NPR reports.
After leaving the party, several attendees “made a spontaneous decision” to swim in the nearby Connecticut River, police wrote in a statement issued Friday.
RELATED ARTICLE: Substance Abuse on Campus: Challenges First-Year College Students Face
“While at the river, a heavy rainstorm hit the area, and many individuals then left the river in various groups,” the statement continues. “No one in these groups noticed that Jang was unaccounted for. It was confirmed via multiple interviews, to include Jang’s family, that he could not swim.”
Jang’s body was found in the river about 65 feet offshore the next day. An autopsy report conducted by the New Hampshire Chief Medical Examiner’s Office determined Jang’s cause of death was drowning. A toxicology report found his blood alcohol level was 0.167.
Beta Alpha Omega Members, Alpha Phi Charged with Misdemeanors
Two members of the Beta Alpha Omega fraternity have been charged with one misdemeanor each for providing alcohol to persons under 21 years of age. The Alpha Phi Sorority was also charged as a corporation with one misdemeanor violation of facilitating an underage alcohol house.
Eric Wilson, a lawyer for one of the charged students, wrote in a statement that the allegations that his client provided alcohol to underage individuals “appears to be unrelated to the tragedy that occurred hours later,” noting he was a “devoted friend to Won and remains heartbroken over his passing.”
Dartmouth Police: Hazing Not a Factor in Student’s Death
At the time of Jang’s death, Beta Alpha Omega was on alcohol probation after a three-term suspension that ended in the spring. The Alpha Phi sorority had also been on alcohol probation in the fall of 2023 but it was lifted at the time of the July party.
Jana Barnello, a spokesperson for the school, said Alpha Phi and Beta Alpha Omega were immediately suspended following as incident and an internal investigation was launched.
Lieutenant Michael Schibuola said Hanover Police investigated whether hazing had contributed to Jang’s death but ultimately determined it had not, according to the New York Times.
Michigan State Faced Similar Drowning Incident
A similar incident happened in 2021 at Michigan State University when 18-year-old Brendan Santo, a student visiting from nearby Grand Valley State University, went missing over Halloween weekend. Nearly three months later, a private investigator found Santo’s body in the Red Cedar River. Medical examiners ruled Santo’s death an accidental drowning and reported that alcohol contributed to his death.
RELATED ARTICLE: Michigan State Security Camera Failures Hinder Search for Missing Teen
Temporary fencing was first installed around the river in Jan. 2022 before being replaced by permanent fencing in Aug. 2022, Fox reports. The permanent fence is approximately 2,300 feet long and four feet high.
Schibuola said police are working with Dartmouth to improve safety near the river following Jang’s death.
