Students, Frats Suspended After Drug Bust

Feds Make Wave Of Arrests At San Diego State University; Cocaine, Cash, Guns Seized

(AP)  San Diego State University has suspended six fraternities after a sweeping drug investigation that landed dozens of students in jail on suspicion of openly dealing drugs on campus.

The probe — prompted by the cocaine overdose death last year of a freshman sorority member — led to the arrests of 96 people, 75 of them San Diego State students. A second drug death occurred during the investigation.

Twenty-nine people were arrested early Tuesday in raids at nine locations including the Theta Chi fraternity house, where agents found cocaine, Ecstasy and three guns, authorities said. Eighteen of those arrested were wanted on warrants for selling to undercover agents.

Theta Chi and five other college social organizations have been suspended pending a hearing on evidence gathered during the investigation, dubbed Operation Sudden Fall.

All of the arrested students have been suspended and will be barred from attending classes or taking final exams until their cases are reviewed, San Diego State President Stephen Weber said in a statement. Those who live in university-owned housing were evicted, he added.

"If guilty, they have ruined an untold number of lives," Weber said. "We are determined to remove people from our community who have placed our students at risk."

Authorities said some fraternity members openly dealt drugs, and that one sent a mass text message advertising special prices on cocaine. Two kilograms of cocaine were seized in all, along with 350 Ecstasy pills, marijuana, psychedelic mushrooms, hash oil, methamphetamine, illicit prescription drugs, several guns and at least $60,000 (euro38,885) in cash, authorities said.

Profits may have been used to finance fraternity operations, according to an affidavit.

A member of Theta Chi sent out a mass text message to his "faithful customers" stating that he and his "associates" would be unable to sell cocaine while they were in Las Vegas for a fraternity formal, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration. The text promoted a cocaine "sale" and listed the reduced prices on bulk quantities.

The fraternity and sorority system at San Diego State has about 3,000 students, out of an enrollment of 34,000, but Fraternity Row — a strip of housing for members of the organizations — plays an outsized role in campus social life. It sits a block from Cox Arena, home to many college sporting events.

Dale Taylor, national executive director of Theta Chi, said he was "obviously shocked and saddened" by the allegations. Theta Chi prohibited the San Diego chapter from group activities such as parties or sports activities and will investigate additional disciplinary measures, up to expulsion of members or the entire chapter.

Theta Chi has 131 chapters in the U.S. and Canada and more than 161,000 initiates. It was founded in 1856.

University police launched their investigation into drug sales on campus after Shirley Poliakoff, 19, died from a cocaine overdose in May 2007. Investigators discovered many students in fraternities were aware of organized drug dealing within their houses.

[honestabe8]

why is weed illegal?

[redbeard1944]

How come there were no pictures or names of the student drug dealers was published? And yes they were drug dealers. It doesn''t matter if they were on or off campus. The police allowed them to hide their faces. I would like to see their names and faces published in all the major papers. Being they are "good kids from good families" their names and faces will not be made public. If this would have happened at Morehouse or Howard it would have been on every station everyday for a week or more. But being they are white they are not treated like a Black or Hispanic.

[dog7771]

Hey Limbaugh and G. Bush, how''s the 12-Step going? Buy a suit? HAHAHA. That suit will do nothing for you without the brains and common sense to use in the real world. And kids didn''t invent drugs or drug abuse. Mankind likes to alter consciousness; prayer, wine,coffee, yoga, day-dreaming, all escape mechanisms of a sort. And in moderation, drugs can be fun. Beer can be fun..wine can be fun. leave the tobacco/heroin/meth alone, however. Those will take you over the edge. Not many have the will power or physical strength to resist addiction while indulging with recreational drugs.

[cepe10-2009]

Good post Andrew. The ignorant are not going to understand that though:)

[swwils]

THEY need too suspend all them,college isn''t a party it is supposed to be our future,we need those young adults to be coherent not doped up!I read that the med students have a C average,I don''t want a C average DR. working on me.

[andrew_693]

Unlike some retarded right wingers out there, College does not make you take drugs. Being an imbecile with no will power is what makes people take drugs, not having a personality or balls also helps to become a mindless drug controlled ***, like rush limbaugh. Those of you morons out there who think that everyone that attends college is a drug addict or drug dealer are wrong, usually those don''t graduate. By following that simplistic logic, we would have to say that christianity is what makes people go to war and exterminate other cultures, like our christian president Bush is doing. Bush is an example of a frat boy that went to college and graduated because his dad is the member of the board of trustees. Most college students are hard working people so don''t disrespect them because of a few bush christian type of pseudo students.

[naucoming4u]

Anyone running for President who DOES NOT have a college degree?

We''ve tried all the MBAs and PHDs.... and look where that has got us!

A simple High School grad who brought him/herself up from humble beginnings to at least an average (yet successful) wage earner would be the best candidate America could even dream of right now!

JUST SAY NO.... to drug addicted college pukes for President!!!

[j-whitman]

I heard one kid wasn''t far away from getting his master''s in Homeland Security

[j-whitman]

Ain''t notin like an edumication ---- This was the same college a few years back where students got busted for cheating in an ethics class

----- GO AZTECS ------

[smurfni]

What I don''t like about this is that it vaguely implies that all the drugs, weapons, and money were found on campus. Most of the drugs were found in residence of the suppliers who are not students. Like the 50 lbs of marijuana, two suppliers had about twenty lbs each. It also seem as tough all 96 are connected. Also don''t like how they portray Poliakoff as a victim. She choose to do drugs, why should she get sympathized? Because she''s from a middle class caucasian family?

[fibonacci_]

bobnjersey, yea and who is to say that the people that bought the drugs and sniffed them are not responsible for their own actions as well.

[bobnjersey]

["If guilty, they have ruined an untold number of lives," Weber said. ]

seems a bit presumptuous to make this statement at this stage. how does he know this?

[marcosis78]

Im sure their college career is ***** now.

[fibonacci_]

What a waste of perfectly good weed.

[montanaman9]

"The whole fraternity & sorority system is useless."

Posted by dvillegas43 at 12:06 PM : May 07, 2008

Your post shows you do not know much about the Greek system other than what you read about in the news. I whole-heartedly disagree with your entire post. I became a member of the Greek system, beginning in my second year of college, after nearly flunking out in my freshman year. I was welcomed into a warm and hospitable environment, was taught study habits and learned how to function in an entirely educational/social situation that was completely centered around the college experience. I graduated on time with honors, and I can, 20 years later, look back and proudly admit that if it weren''t for that experience, I would not have been successful in college or anytime since. My best friends to this day I met as brothers in the fraternity. This scene in Sad Diego is an aberration. If one were caught with anything illegal in our house, you''d be kicked out and in jail...

[fibonacci_]

Look at all that weed...

[raskal_2]

For the homeland security student,...He was just planning an insider job.

[sistatee-2009]

The educational system in the U.S. from the elementary grades through college is a total wreck.

[excoachken]

Maybe I meant to say,"dumbing down." I was too dumb to proofread.

[excoachken]

This is the result of our "dumbing done" of all education, where all that is needed tro attend college is enough money to pay tuition. These morons are just the tip of the iceberg.