Correction appended
Three eating clubs were charged with serving alcohol to a minor and maintaining a nuisance yesterday. Cottage was the only club confirmed to be on that list, based on an email sent to members by club president Vince Ley '08.
Club presidents declined to comment on the charges. Interclub Council president Will Scharf '08, however, said that "the Borough Police continually targeting club presidents is ridiculous, and I thought we had moved past that."
The charges come as Princeton Borough is exerting increasing pressure on the clubs to crack down on alcohol violations on club premises. Borough Police Lt. Sharon Papp said during a Borough Council meeting Tuesday night that University-related alcohol violations were especially high in September, adding that council members and the director of a local youth alcohol counseling center plan to meet with eating club officers on Oct. 19 to discuss the violations and with fraternity representatives tomorrow.
Casey DeBlasio, a spokeswoman for the Mercer County prosecutor's office, said yesterday that she had not yet heard about the charges. Borough police officers did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Members of Colonial Club are currently in the process of completing 500 hours of community service as a result of a plea bargain by Colonial president Tommy Curry '08 with the Borough in May. Curry was accused of maintaining a nuisance and serving alcohol to a minor, but charges were later transferred from the president to the club as a collective entity.
Last year, Terrace president Patti Chao '07 was charged with maintaining a nuisance and serving alcohol to a minor after a student fell during Initiations. The charges were later dropped and brought against the club's graduate board instead.
Both clubs pled guilty and were levied fines, $664 in Terrace's case.
These latest charges arise during a period of increased concern about underage drinking. In March, a freshman at Rider died from alcohol poisoning after binge-drinking at a fraternity party. Last week, Director of Public Safety Steven Healy referred to the possibility of an alcohol-related student death as his "worst nightmare."
Clubs have responded to these concerns by increasing security measures such as requiring students to wear wristbands designating whether they are underage and more stringently restricting access to their bars. "All of the eating clubs have redoubled their commitment to security this fall," ICC adviser Tim Prugar '06 said.
Correction
The original version of this article stated that Borough Police officers would meet with eating club and fraternity representatives to discuss alcohol violations. The police officers will not be attending the meetings. The Daily Princetonian regrets the error.
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