Penn State chapter of Delta Sigma Phi charged with furnishing alcohol to minors

A Penn State fraternity has been charged with giving alcohol to minors.

On Friday, State College police filed charges against Delta Sigma Phi, listed on the Interfraternity Council website as “one of the oldest fraternities at Penn State” and one of the largest Greek organizations on campus.

The chapter is being citedwith two misdemeanor counts of selling or furnishing liquor to minors and two counts of furnishing liquor, malt or brewed beverages to certain persons.

All four counts date to an Aug. 26 incident. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for Nov. 19.

Delta Sigma Phi was charged with serving minors in April 2010. The chapter pleaded guilty, paid a $500 fine and served 27 days of community service.

It is not the first fraternity charged this semester.

Last month, Lambda Chi Alpha was charged with serving minors after a visibly intoxicated 18-year-old woman was found by police sitting outside the fraternity. She and two other underage women reported having been served beer and vodka at the fraternity in November 2013.

Lambda Chi Alpha waived a preliminary hearing on those charges Oct. 3. Formal arraignment is scheduled for Oct. 29.

Both organizations face potential reprimands from the IFC, in addition to their legal troubles.

“The IFC will take action against these chapters if they are found responsible for violating federal law, Pennsylvania law, university policy or IFC bylaws,” IFC President Dan Combs said. “We are in the process of conducting an investigation to determine if the chapters are responsible for violating any of these policies or laws.”

This story was originally published October 20, 2014 at 12:57 PM with the headline "Penn State chapter of Delta Sigma Phi charged with furnishing alcohol to minors."