MIT Frat Probed Following Poisoning

MIT is investigating yet another campus fraternity in the wake of allegations that a Boston University (B.U.) student suffered alcohol poisoning after attending a party at the Theta Chi fraternity house.

The Boston Police Department (BPD) issued a violation complaint to the house after a first-year student, Marie Figueredo, 18, said she had been drinking there on Nov. 14, the Boston Globe reported.

According to the report, Figueredo drank so much that her roommate called an ambulance. She was treated at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and released the next day.

"There has been an ongoing investigation in the deans office," MIT spokesperson Robert J. Sales said yesterday. "If we find that people are at fault, there could be severe consequences."

At present, the fraternity has not been placed under any sanctions, he said.

Theta Chi President Ian Peir, an MIT senior, confirmed that no action had been taken against the fraternity.

"There's an investigation going on and basically I'm not allowed to talk about it," he said in an interview last night.

The most recent allegation of underage drinking at MIT comes less than a week after the Boston Licensing Board voted to temporarily close another fraternity's house because of the drinking-related death of first-year Scott Krueger, who in September fell into a coma after a party at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity. Krueger later died at Beth Israel.

According to Sales, students living at Phi Gamma Delta must vacate the house before Jan. 15.

Kevin Carleton, director of public relations at B.U., declined to discuss the details of the incident yesterday, citing privacy considerations, but he said that students who placed themselves "at risk" through alcohol consumption "would be required to undergo an evaluation" through the university's counseling center.

Carleton stressed B.U.'s commitment to preventing underage drinking.

B.U.'s alcohol policy, instituted in 1989, limits the amount of alcohol that a student of legal drinking age may bring into living areas.

Guests are prohibited from bringing in any alcohol and residents can bring in a six-pack of beer or a one-quart or one-liter bottle.

The university has also worked jointly with local store owners to prevent deliveries to underage students.

In addition, B.U.'s community-relations director rides with the BPD on Friday and Saturday nights, Carleton said.

Under B.U.'s policy, students hosting off-campus parties where alcohol is served to the underaged or which violate noise regulations may be sanctioned by the university

Carleton stressed B.U.'s commitment to preventing underage drinking.

B.U.'s alcohol policy, instituted in 1989, limits the amount of alcohol that a student of legal drinking age may bring into living areas.

Guests are prohibited from bringing in any alcohol and residents can bring in a six-pack of beer or a one-quart or one-liter bottle.

The university has also worked jointly with local store owners to prevent deliveries to underage students.

In addition, B.U.'s community-relations director rides with the BPD on Friday and Saturday nights, Carleton said.

Under B.U.'s policy, students hosting off-campus parties where alcohol is served to the underaged or which violate noise regulations may be sanctioned by the university