Pledges arrested for X-mas theft

Thirteen Phi Sigma Kappa fraternity members were arrested by Tredyffrin Township Police last month after attempting to chop down an 18-foot Colorado Blue Spruce tree and steal a number of Christmas ornaments from residences on the Main Line, Tredyffrin Police Sergeant Peter Gangl said this week. Phi Sigma Kappa President Raphael Garfield confirmed last night that all 13 students are associate members or pledges of Phi Sigma Kappa. Gangl said College freshman Avi Benus and Engineering sophomore Michael Greenspan were the two individuals caught trying to chop down the tree on a residence's lawn in Wayne, Pa. They were charged with disorderly conduct and criminal mischief. College freshmen Jared Glick, Frederick Hardt, James Loughran, and Jess Rosenthal, Engineering freshmen Daniel Boren and Ashley Grissom, Wharton freshman Paul Nathanson, College sophomores David Braffman, Christopher Jones and Anupam Mohanty and Wharton sophomore James Frazier were charged with disorderly conduct, Gangl said. Garfield said the actions of the associate members were not sanctioned by the fraternity. He added the incident started when one of the associate members volunteered that his pledge class would get a tree to decorate the fraternity house, located at 3615 Locust Walk. The decision to illegally cut down a tree was "spur of the moment" and "an extreme example of mob mentality," Garfield said. "They really weren't thinking," he added. "As a group they just built on each other's intensity. Everybody does something stupid in their life, and hopefully this is their one thing." The associate member class has begun to make reparations for their conduct by publishing a letter of apology in a local newspaper, performing community service, and reimbursing the owners of the tree, Garfield said. But the fraternity and the associate members may not be off the hook. A report of the investigation was sent to University Police by Tredyffrin Township Police, Gangl added. University Police Commissioner John Kuprevich said the report has been forwarded to the Student Dispute Resolution Center. SDRC Director Steven Blum said he was prohibited from commenting about the incident. Garfield said the SDRC has begun interviewing the parties involved and the investigation is in the "preliminary stage." In addition, Interfraternity Council President David Treat, a Tau Epsilon Phi brother, said the IFC would also conduct an investigation of the incident.

Please note All comments are eligible for publication in The Daily Pennsylvanian.