Three house fellows from Witte Hall resigned under threat of

termination earlier this semester as a result of an outing where

alcohol was served to an underage house fellow, according to

sources close to those involved and confirmed by Witte residents

knowledgeable of the incident.

Under housing guidelines, if a house fellow knowingly consumes

alcohol with a minor, he or she is subject to immediate

dismissal.

Over the winter recess, a group of house fellows went to local

bars before the Witte residents returned for the spring semester.

Upon returning to Witte, at least three house fellows continued to

drink in a room, with at least one of them younger than 21, the

sources said.

Additionally, another four to seven house fellows from the

residence hall were put on probation as a result of the

incident.

Witte house fellow Brad Dolezel said all three vacancies have

been filled since the resignations.

Chrissy Wild, Kevin Otten and Ashley Irvine were said to have

been the house fellows who resigned from their positions.

Otten, who could not be reached for comment, reportedly told his

superiors about the incident without warning the other people

involved; he turned in himself and his colleagues.

The house fellow under 21 went to a bar with her coworkers,

using a fake I.D. to get in and obtain alcohol, according to one of

Wild’s former Witte Hall residents, sophomore Aaron Wiegel.

“[Wild] was 21 at the time,” Wiegel said, adding that his former

house fellow told him she did not know there was an underage person

in their midst. Wiegel added he did not feel her forced resignation

was justifiable.

“She didn’t want to resign,” Wiegel said. “But there’s nothing

she could do about it.”

Both Wild and Irvine refused to comment on the issue, though

Wild said she “was not fired” and that the topic is emotional for

her. Irvine said she did not want to talk about it in “any way,

shape or form.”

Wiegel, who said he liked his former house fellow, said Wild was

forced to leave her room in Witte and moved into some friends’

apartments.

“If she was drinking on the floor and making a disruption and

being a bad role model [I could see dismissing Wild], but students

weren’t even here,” Wiegel said about Wild’s departure.

Wiegel’s roommate, Steve Ruona, agreed, saying Wild was a good

house fellow. He does not agree with the university’s actions in

the case.

“I didn’t think [forcing a resignation] was really necessary,”

Ruona said.

Kristen Gurney, a house fellow at Kronshage Hall, said drinking

with a minor leads to automatic dismissal, adding it is a house

fellow’s responsibility to know with whom he or she may party.

Gurney, who said she only heard rumors of the Witte Hall

incident, said she does not know any house fellows who would

knowingly drink with minors.

“We have respect for our jobs,” Gurney said.

The house fellows’ superiors, Witte Residence Life Coordinators

and University Housing employees Jenni Adams and Laura Guthrie,

could not be reached for comment before press time.