A University fraternity is under scrutiny after a local newspaper reported members gave alcohol to underage drinkers.

The Athens Banner-Herald incorrectly associated Chi Phi Sunday with the arrest of a University student and an out-of-town visitor who were underage drinking at a fraternity party.

“Nothing was going on at the [Chi Phi] house,” Chi Phi Vice President Patrick Richardson said in a phone interview Monday.

The information was also incorrectly documented in the Athens-Clarke County police reports. The two incidents, reported by the same officer, actually involved the Chi Psi fraternity on South Milledge Avenue, located about a mile away from Chi Phi on South Lumpkin Street.

“We understand that the Greek letters are easily confused,” Richardson said. “But we are just glad our name is being cleared.”

The Greek Life office said they were investigating the claims, but were awaiting police reports.

“Anytime a fraternity violates a University policy then there’s certainly an opportunity for us to do an investigation,” Wes Fugate of Greek Life said in a Monday morning phone interview. “If they are at fault we will act accordingly.”

Fugate said if the reports are verified, the fraternity could face action by Greek Life, the Interfraternity Council and University Judiciary.

Fugate was unable to be reached after the police report discrepancies were noticed by The Red & Black Monday.

According to the police reports:

In the first incident 19-year-old Auburn student Jonah Ariel Kaufman was caught urinating next to the Five Points’ Golden Pantry between 12:06 and 12:20 a.m. on Saturday. The arresting officer smelled alcohol on him.

Kaufman told the officer he

was staying at Chi Psi’s fraternity house on South Milledge Avenue, where there was a party.

Upon arrest for underage possession of alcohol, marijuana was found, leading to an additional possession of marijuana misdemeanor charge.

In a second incident occurring an hour and a half later, University student Austin Day Gallman, 20, was arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol after he ran into the road, almost being hit by the arresting officer’s car. When the officer asked Gallman if he was OK, Gallman said, “we are just wrapping up.”

Though the police report documents the incident as having occurred at the intersection of Oakland Avenue and South Milledge, where the Chi Psi house is located, the narrative was written as though the incident occurred on Lumpkin Street.

“I assumed the party was at Chi Phi at 1120 South Milledge. This was the yard [Gallman] was coming from,” Sgt. Hood wrote in his narrative.

1120 South Milledge Ave. is Chi Psi’s address.

In addition to misrepresenting the fraternity, the police report identified a male individual who said he was the fraternity president, and the Banner-Herald reported his identification as the Chi Phi president.

“The officer, who noted the fraternity leader seemed extremely intoxicated, told him about the two underage drinking arrests and chastised him,” the article stated.

“The article quotes me as walking to the officer and talking to him, I wasn’t even in Athens that night. I was back in Atlanta with my family. They never contacted me about the article or what was said,” said Bobby Deery, Chi Phi’s president, in a Monday night phone interview.

Shane Vaiskauskas, who was indirectly identified in the police report as the Chi Phi president, was with Gallman during the arrest and refused to leave.

According to the police report, “[Vaiskauskas] said he had nothing to do with [the two arrests] and he did not know Gallman had been there before.”

Vaiskauskas told the arresting officer he was the president last semester, and “is still considered president now. This even though another president has been elected.”

However, in the report, Vaiskauskas did not specify his position was for Chi Psi.

In a Monday night interview, Vaiskauskas said he was not the president of Chi Psi. When questioned about the discrepancy, Vaiskauskas declined to comment further.

Attempts to contact other members of the Chi Psi executive board were unsuccessful as of Monday night.