Daniel McCarthy, Manley Burke In November 2006, Tyler Cross, a freshman at the University of Texas, fell to his death from a fifth floor balcony at his off-campus dormitory.  Cross was a pledge of Sigma Alpha Epsilon.  The police investigation...

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com Early in October Johnny Smith was found dead in a pool of his own vomit in the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house at Wabash College.  The Indianapolis Star reports that the County Coroner labeled alcohol...

Daniel McCarthy, Manley Burke As previously reported in Fraternal Law, Gary DeVercelly, an 18-year-old pledge of Phi Kappa Tau at Rider University, died in March 2007 after drinking a large amount of vodka.  Four fraternity members and two Rider administrators...

Tim Burke, Manley Burke, tburke@manleyburke.com Whether or not the now-universally mandated 21-year-old drinking age is helpful or harmful in dealing with alcohol abuse among college students is the focus of the Amethyst Initiative launched this summer by John McCardell, the...

Barbara Schwartz Bromberg, Esq, Dinsmore & Shohl INTRODUCTION The IRS on September 9, 2008, issued temporary Income Tax  Regulations which surprised and astonished the tax professionals community by eliminating the advance ruling process for a Section 501(c)(3) organization's public charity...

The Phi Mu Delta chapter at the University of New Hampshire has been charged with hazing and facilitating an underage drinking party.  Two students were found unresponsive with possible alcohol poisoning at the chapter house following a party at the...

Daniel McCarthy The Alpha Eta Chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha recently won an appeal against the University of Florida in the District Court of Appeals in Florida.  The University suspended the chapter in 2007 after the University conducted an investigation...

Daniel McCarthy, Adam Eckstein The Americans with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability in, among other things, employment, government and public accommodations.  The issue of whether the ADA applies to fraternity and sorority houses was addressed...

Adam Eckstein The Higher Education Opportunity Act, signed into law August 14, 2008, created new fire safety reporting rules that require schools to report annually to the Secretary of the Department of Education and to the campus community.  This language...