MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – A West Virginia University fraternity has been suspended and another Greek community member is facing felony charges after a pair of incidents over the last week.
University Police allege Garrett Boehme, a political science major and Phi Sigma Phi member, fired a gun in the air during an argument. Reports indicate Phi Sigma Phi and Delta Chi members were arguing early Sunday morning when Boehme retrieved the weapon from the center console of a vehicle and fired it once in the air.
Boehme, who has been charged, has a preliminary hearing on Feb. 24.
WVU Director of Fraternal Values and Leadership Matthew Richardson said hazing and criminal activity has dropped substantially over the last five years. Over that time, Richardson said a change in the Greek culture has been led by the university and alumni.
“We have started to build a really strong trust with our students and alumni,” Richardson said. “I think we’re viewing this as an opportunity for us to collaborate and prevent it from happening again.”
In a separate incident, the WVU chapter of Delta Chi was suspended Monday for an unspecified hazing report.
“We can confirm the alleged activity did not have any alcohol or substances involved at all,” Richardson said.
According to Richardson, the hazing investigation is in the very early stages.
“Hazing as you know is a crime in West Virginia, so law enforcement and the university is investigating and a lot of those details are not available. The process has really just begun.”
In this case, the victim came to university officials with hazing allegations.
“Every instance of hazing that’s brought to our attention is investigated,” Richardson said. “We always start by working with the University police to see if the incident in question rises to something that merits criminal charges against an individual or an organization.”
Richardson said hazing will never be tolerated and they will work to ensure the safety of their student body.
“They are victims and they are extremely brave, without them bad behavior can continue to exist, so I applaud their bravery,” Richardson said.