Eight university clubs and organizations have been temporarily suspended for their possible involvement with a house party that occurred on April 12 on Stony Brook Road and incited police response.
At approximately 3:30 p.m., the Suffolk County Police Department and University Police responded to a call regarding the house party. Upon arrival, officers were greeted by over 200 party-goers. A helicopter was also dispatched to the scene.
Sebastian Bullock, 23, of Uniondale; Michael Ferron, 22, of Brooklyn; and Andrew George, 23, of Elmont were later arrested for disorderly conduct, among other charges, as reported by Newsday. However, as stated in a letter from President Samuel L. Stanley, the arrested individuals were not Stony Brook University students.
“The University has been actively engaged in this matter and is taking swift, responsive action,” Stanley wrote.
At the moment, the names of the clubs and organizations that were suspended are being withheld.
A temporary suspension prevents the clubs and organizations from holding meetings and conducting any sort of business, which includes programming and both on-campus and off-campus community service “as a university-recognized club.”
“When the Department of Student Activities receives a report alleging violations of the Student Conduct Code and/or local, state, or federal laws by a registered student club/organization, the group is placed on temporary suspension pending the results of an investigation,” Anthony LaViscount, the director of Student Activities, said in an email.
According to LaViscount, investigations are made through interviews and hearing notices. People named in the report, and executive board members from the organization, are interviewed to gather information about the incident and violation. General body members may also be interviewed.
The findings then give way to what happens next.
“A hearing notice is generated, including the hearing information and the nature of the alleged violations/policies,” LaViscount said in the same email.
As of April 29 at 5:20 p.m., one organization was reinstated, while the others have not. They are still on temporary suspension until their review process is complete.
“If it is found that any organized clubs were involved, appropriate action will be taken,” Stanley wrote in the letter.
Kerri Mahoney, the vice president of Clubs and Organizations for Undergraduate Student Government, said in an email she did not have any information on the subject.
Stanley also wrote in the letter that Stony Brook is working with students in off-campus housing to teach them and advise them on how to be good neighbors. The university’s Office of Off-Campus Living details ways on how students can be courteous and kind neighbors.
Under “Good Neighbors,” on the website for Off-Campus Living, there is a section about Noise Ordinances that states that noise levels should be kept to a minimum, and if residents do decide to throw a party, they should inform their neighbors beforehand, since neighbors have the right to call the police if it is too loud.
The site also defined a noise disturbance as “sounds that may endanger the safety or health of any person, disturb a reasonable person of normal sensitivities, or endanger personal or real property.”
Newsday reported that party-goers seemed to be inebriated.
The Student Conduct Code prohibits anyone from under the age of 21 from drinking alcohol and gives strict guidelines as to the amount of alcohol that can be owned by anyone over the age of 21. The Student Affairs website for Living Responsibly Off-Campus also states that anyone over 18 serving alcohol to anyone under the age of 21 invokes social host liability.
The Office of Student Affairs did not respond to emails inquiring about this issue.
