DURHAM, N.H., Oct.8 -- A New Hampshire county grand jury indicted a banned University of New Hampshire fraternity Tuesday on a misdemeanor count of providing alcohol to a minor. The charges followed the death in August of a Acacia fraternity member, Todd Cruikshank, 19, of Londonderry, in a drunken fall.
Stafford County Attorney Lincoln Soldati said the misdemeanor charge treats the fraternity as if it were a corporation. Soldati said that if found guilty, the now disbanded fraternity could be slapped with a $100, 000 fine. Cruikshank died on August 31 after falling from the fraternity roof the night before. Autopsy reports indicate that he had been drinking at the time he slipped from the roof. Police said they found several underage drinkers at the frat house when emergency crews arrived after Cruikshank fell. The New Hampshire drinking age is 21. UNH administrators kicked the fraternity off campus because it had violated the school's alcohol policy. The fraternity had just been reinstated to probationary status after being suspended in connection with a hazing incident in 1991. As part of the reinstatement, the administration forbade the fraternity from having any alcohol in the fraternity. The fraternity's appeal of the sanctions last month was rejected by a judicial review panel. The fraternity may also face eviction from the town of Durham for having more than the maximum number of unrelated persons living in one residence. Because the fraternity was booted off campus, it no longer enjoys the exemption for occupancy limits they had when they were recognized by the university. Acacia is expected to be arraigned within the next two weeks.
