In the new issue of your favorite magazine The Blue and White, on campus later this week, you’ll read about the denial of tenure to a favorite Barnard professor, get some insight into CUSH’s split from the IRC, and hear from the wisest cabbie in New York City. Whet your appetite with this piece by senior editor Torsten Odland, CC ’15, on Operation Ivy League and how quickly institutional memory fades at Columbia. 

In the early hours of December 7, 2010, the following students were awoken and arrested for drug dealing by NYPD officers: Harrison David, SEAS ’12; Chris Coles, CC ’12; Stephan/Jose Vincenzo/Perez, CC ’12; Michael Wymbs, CC, ’11; and Adam Klein, CC ’12. Specifically, they’d sold: marijuana, cocaine, LSD, ecstasy, and Adderall. The bust was the culmination of a five month long investigation of the students, from whom undercover NYPD officers bought $11,000 worth of drugs over the course of 31 deals.

In the Office of Special Narcotics’ original press release, they referred to the sting as “Operation Ivy League.” Though Police Commissioner Ray Kelly denies ever using it, it is the name that stuck.

Illustration by Anne Scotti, CC ’16

Students from 2010 remember “OIL” as a “big deal.” Operation Ivy League united the Columbia community in confusion; the atmosphere on campus in the days after the arrests was described to me as a “collective daze”—OIL was “shocking” and “upsetting” and everyone was talking about it.

The responses to “Five Students Arrested in Drug Bust, ‘Operation Ivy League,’ ” Bwog’s first article covering the story, demonstrate how intensely Columbia students felt about the issue: “My thoughts go out to the countless individuals in the Greek community who fight everyday to show the truly positive side of their fraternity or sorority, only to have actions like this essentially reset the process. It’s an absolute shame”; “My heart goes out to the desperately poor people from third-world countries who risk their lives smuggling drugs inside their bodies because they have no other option. My heart does NOT go out to Ivy Leaguers who got caught.”

For the Columbia students who were there, OIL was an unforgettable event, about which many still feel strongly, both in support of or in disgust with the arrested. It’s remained campus news for two years–—Bwog published updates about each of the accused’s court cases, and still keeps campus posted when Jose Perez appears on network news to talk about the dangers of Adderall.

Two years from now, almost all of the undergrads who remember the atmosphere on campus in the days after the arrests will have graduated. Which begs the question: Does Operation Ivy League matter to Columbia students anymore? Let me put it this way: In Columbia history, can we put Op. Ivy League in the same category as “that time Snoop Dogg played Bacchanal?” Did it permanently impact the lives of Columbia students, or is it another “legendary moment” that ultimately amounts to a memory?

Read on to find out…

Stephan Vincenzo—oops, it’s Perez–is back on TV to discuss the “prescription epidemic” sweeping the country. Again! Dressed to the nines (again), Perez also talks about returning to New York for trial and his forthcoming graduation from Emory University.

The video won’t embed for us, but you can watch him tell his “story about redemption” here.

In other news, we can expect the brownstone decision this Friday.

Somebody call Nancy Reagan. NBC’s Brian Williams is talking about Adderall. Interviewed (and ready to scare you straight!) is our very Stephan Vincenzo/Perez (N.B. Stephan told the B&W years ago that “Vincenzo” is “as an homage to Al Capone’s brother.” But that probably doesn’t go well with his redemption narrative, so he’s back to “Perez.”)

For the uninitiated, he was the the Pike brother arrested in Operation Ivy League. For context: read his Campus Character. Remember his sick Carman party. From the horse’s mouth: “we r throwin da sickest party to get the year started rite…. Carman the sexyest dorm house ever…. we’re goin show these other dorms who runs shit…”

From the pretty awful network news story:

His decision to take Adderall ended up changing his life. That night Perez says he powered through his work and was capable of reading for eight hours nonstop—absorbing all of the information. Before long, he said he asked his friend how he could get his own Adderall prescription.

Contemporary context: the drug bust that involved Vincenzo is what got the three brownstones on 114th vacated, and why they’re up for grabs now.

Extra treat, after the jump.

See you at The Big Game, huh?

Many say that interest in Greek life at Columbia is at an all time high, and it is so. Just a few days ago, PanHell picked AOII and Gamma Phi Beta to fill the two openings they set aside for new sororities, and Greek life flexed its upvote muscles in that comment thread. Last May, the IFC approved a Columbia chapter of SAE (despite vicious vicious hazing at Dartmouth and a death at Cornell). In 2010, Barnard searched its soul, officially recognizing and funding sororities.

“Regardless of people’s individual feelings about Greek life,” Greek life is growing.

And so this semester Greek life at Columbia finds itself at a plastic juncture. The three 114th brownstones occupied by Pike, PsiU, and AEPi before they were booted for their connection to Operation Ivy League are open to repopulation by student groups, Greek and otherwise. Unsurprisingly, lots of different cliques are salivating over those sweet, sweet brownstones. Applicants include AEPi, Pike, AXO, Lambda Phi Epsilon, The Student Wellness Project, and Writer’s House.

Read more about the selection process below

Looking good by comparison, Columbia

PrezBo will become the most senior Ivy President at the end of this year, after 2 other Ivy Presidents step down. Since he took office in 2002, he only needs to serve until 2046 to beat Nicholas Murray Butler’s record of 43 years.  (Spectator)

Some other university’s chapter of Pi Kappa Alpha is in the spotlight today after use of an alcohol enema unfortunately caused a student to be hospitalized. Not sure their hijinks can top Operation Ivy League though. (CNN)

Apparently college students aren’t spending as much money at bars as they used to, favoring pregaming coordinated through social media instead. Also, the Cornell students in this article have embarrassed us all. (NYT)

Beware of NYU students getting it on in Butler. Their reporters paid us a visit and found Butler beautiful, only slightly depressing, and ideal for sex. (NYULocal)

Football fans have an extra reason to be happy today because the NFL ref lockout is over! (Chicago Tribune)

 Sheer beauty via Wikimedia Commons

Your future home?

First, a recap.

The 114th Brownstones have seen a lot of action. After saying goodbye to Alpha Epsilon Pi, Pi Kappa Alpha, and Psi Upsilon at the end of Spring 2011 following Operation Ivy League, 536, 542 and 546 W. 114th opened their doors to a variety of transfer, wait list, and summer transfer students for the 2011-12 academic year. This housing season, the Brownstones entered the lottery, with the few doubles going to juniors and sophomores in suite selection, and singles still up for grabs in regular selection (which is coming up).

The Brownstone Review Committee

In February, Terry Martinez, Dean of Community Development and Multi-Cultural Affairs, announced that students could apply to a committee that would decide who the Brownstones would be available to starting in Fall 2013. This month, Katherine Cutler, Director of Communications and Special Projects at CSA let us know that this committee has been selected, and that they will be in charge of deciding which groups will be able to call 114th home come the 2013-14 year. No explicit mention of Special Interest Housing, but that’s basically what this will be.

According to Cutler’s e-mails, the committee will:

• Develop the criteria for a successful application
• Hold open information sessions to help answer any questions or clarify the process
• Review completed applications
• Make recommendations to Dean Shollenberger for final decisions

Bwog has obtained only scant reports about the goings-ons inside the ex-frat houses on 114th. The description of amenities below is from 546, and the pictures are from both 536 and 546.

Location: 536, 542, and 546 W. 114^th St.

• Nearby dorms: Ruggles, Carman, Broadway, Hogan and other brownstones/Greek houses.
• Stores and restaurants: As central as any Block dorm—Strokos and Artopolis to the East, Broadway to the West, and a whole ton of food carts.

Cost: TBA

Amenities (in 546):

• Bathrooms: One or two full baths per floor, except for the top floor.
• AC/Heating: No AC.
• Kitchen/Lounge: First floor has a cavernous lobby with five awkward chairs that no one uses. Living area has a dining table with six chairs, two couches. Sizable kitchen with two fridges. Gatherings in the gigantic basement are prohibited, likely to prevent frat-style parties.
• Laundry: One washer and one dryer, coins only. Many residents go next door to Broadway.
• Computers/printers: None, but both Broadway and Carman labs are nearby.
• Gym: No gym.
• Intra-transportation: A large central staircase.
• Wi-Fi: Ethernet only.
• Flooring: Hardwood.

Room Variety:

• 536 has six doubles and eight singles
• 542 has six doubles and six singles
• In 546, second floor and third floors have three singles and a double, fourth floor has four singles, fifth floor has two singles
• Most rooms have high ceilings, as tall as 12 ft.
• All rooms vary in size, but in general most singles and doubles will be slightly larger than those in most other dorms

After serving a short jail stint for failing a drug test, Christopher Coles pleaded guilty Tuesday to selling marijuana to an undercover police officer. He will now begin the rehabilitation program originally offered to him in early November. According to the AP, Manhattan state Supreme Court Justice Ellen Coin warned Coles, “Most of the people you are going to encounter there [in rehab] are not going to be college kids. This is not a fraternity.”

If Coles—who, unlike his fellow Operation Ivy League defendants, was actually not part of a Columbia fraternity when arrested last year—makes it through the year-long program, he’ll be allowed to withdraw his guilty plea and the case will be dismissed.

Update, 9:45 pm: According to the New York Post, Chris Coles is back in jail after failing a court-mandated drug test. He will return to court December 22nd, and will still have a chance to enter the treatment program he was granted diversion to in November.

The AP reports that Stefan Vincenzo has pleaded guilty to “selling a prescription stimulant,” Adderall. This is not the same as the diversion to treatment Klein sought and Coles got—rather, Vincenzo will

“…be allowed to withdraw that plea and plead guilty to a drug misdemeanor in a year if he does 300 hours of community service, passes monthly drug tests and avoids rearrest.”

Harrison David pleaded guilty to a felony charge in July, as did Michael Wymbs in November. Adam Klein, who is still seeking diversion to treatment, is due to appear in court later today.

Adam Klein—the last of the students arrested in Operation Ivy League to begin pretrial proceedings—was denied diversion to treatment in a Manhattan courtroom today, reports Bloomberg. Had he been granted diversion and completed the program successfully, Klein could have avoided a felony charge on his criminal record.

“Obviously we’re disappointed,” Klein’s attorney, Alan Abramson, told Bloomberg. “We think Adam is an ideal candidate for diversion and the kind of defendant the diversion statute was created for.”

Klein now faces a sentence of 2 and a half years (maximum) if he’s convicted of criminal sale of a controlled substance.  He, along with the other defendants, was offered a plea bargain in June, turned it down.

Klein and Stephen Perez, also known as “Stephan Vincenzo,” are the only two Operation Ivy League defendants whose cases are still ongoing. Harrison David was convicted of a felony drug charge in August and received a few months in jail, while Michael Wymbs pleaded guilty last month and received five years of probation. Christopher Coles was more fortunate, as Judge Sonberg granted him a diversion to treatment a few weeks ago.

Perez has a court hearing scheduled next Tuesday, and Klein will return to court Jan. 10.

Christopher Coles, one of the students arrested last year in Operation Ivy League, was granted a diversion to treatment earlier today, according to DNAinfo. Instead of receiving probation or jail time, Coles will complete a one-year drug treatment course. Perhaps most importantly, he will not have a felony charge on his criminal record when he completes the treatment.

A diversion to treatment is meant as an alternative to a felony conviction and jail time for drug offenders who sell drugs primarily to fund their own addiction, not just to make money. Coles recognized he had a crushing addiction and sold drugs to support it, argued his lawyer, Marc Agnifilo. “He contacted Columbia University on his own without knowing that he was going to be arrested a month later and said, ‘I have a problem with marijuana. I want to stop smoking. My life is falling apart. My parents are not supporting me, they’re disowning me,’” Agnifilo argued in court, before telling the New York Post, “I think he was high most of his waking hours.” Agnifilo’s argument convinced the judge, who approved Coles’ diversion to treatment and invited him back to court on December 20th to work out the details of his treatment plan.

Coles’ co-defendants also applied for diversions to treatment earlier this year, but did not receive them. In August, Harrison David was sentenced to 3 months in jail and 5 years of probation, and last week, Michael Wymbs received five years of probation. Cases against the last two defendants, Jose Stephen Perez and Adam Klein, are still pending at this time.

Bloomberg reports that Michael Wymbs, one of the five Columbia students implicated in last year’s Operation Ivy League drug bust, has pleaded guilty to the court’s drug charges. By doing so, he will be eligible for five years’ probation instead of a 2.5-year prison term.

Last month, state Supreme Court Justice Michael J. Sonberg ruled that neither Wymbs nor Jose Stephan Perez, a.k.a. Stephan Vincenzo, would be eligible for “diversion to treatment” rehabilitation programs in lieu of formal drug charges, citing that their drug sales were motivated by profit rather than by addiction.

Fellow defendant Adam Klein, whose hearing was postponed today, is still seeking diversion to treatment, whereas Stephan Vincenzo’s hearing is still scheduled for today. Defendant Christopher Coles has already been granted diversion to treatment, and he has until November 22 to inform the court of his decision to enroll.

According to Bloomberg News, Judge Michael Sonberg has denied the motion for a “diversion to treatment” for Operation Ivy League defendants Jose Stephan Perez and Michael Wymbs. However, Judge Sonberg ruled that fellow defendant Christopher Coles could be eligible for the program, given his self-reported addiction to marijuana. A fourth defendant, Adam Klein, is still waiting for a ruling on his eligibility for the program. The final Operation Ivy League defendant, Harrison David, was sentenced in August to six months (likely to be reduced to three-and-a-half for good behavior) in prison at Rikers Island. The remaining four are due back in court next month.

Yesterday, Harrison David began serving his prison sentence at Rikers. The other defendants in the case have yet another hearing in Manhattan Criminal Court on September 23rd. It looks like the long saga of Operation Ivy League may be drawing to a close. Upperclassmen may be relieved it’s finally over, but members of the Class of 2015 probably have no idea what happened on campus while they were still finishing up their applications. And they thought Moodygate was a big deal! As a public service, Bwog presents this primer on Operation Ivy League.

What does “Operation Ivy League” mean?

Operation Ivy League was the name of a months-long NYPD investigation into drug-dealing that resulted in the arrests of five Columbia students last year. The students were Harrison David (SEAS ’12 and a member of the fraternity AEPi), Adam Klein (CC ’12 and Psi U) Chris Coles (SEAS ’11 and Intercultural House, or ICH), Michael Wymbs (CC ’12 and unaffiliated, living in East Campus), and Joseph Stephen Perez, better known as Stephan Vincenzo (CC ’12 and Pike). They were arrested early on the morning of December 7, 2010 when NYPD officers with guns drawn raided the students’ frat houses and dorm rooms.

What were the students accused of?

The students were accused of dealing a variety of drugs, and early reports stated that each student “specialized” in a different kind of drug, though this conspiracy argument was eventually dropped. Coles was accused of selling a pound and a half of marijuana; Wymbs of LSD and MDMA (ecstasy); Perez of Adderall and amphetamines; Klein of marijuana, MDMA, and LSD; and David of marijuana and cocaine.

And what happened to them?

After they were arrested, the students were taken to prison on Rikers Island. Within days, most of the students had been bailed out, and their families had hired high-flying defense attorneys. The exception was Harrison David, who remained at Rikers for nearly two weeks before his father, Dr. David David, bailed him out and sent him to live with a family friend and former corrections officer in Florida.

Did they go to trial?

Not yet. Instead of a trial, the students faced a series of hearings at Manhattan Criminal Court (down by Chinatown) in the months following the arrests. The defendants were charged with a variety of felonies (including “criminal sale of a controlled substance” and “criminal sale of marijuana”) in different degrees. If convicted, they would had had to face years of jail time. All students initially pled “not guilty” to the charges, and were later offered plea deals.

(more…)

This morning, Harrison David pleaded guilty to a felony charge in New York City Supreme Court. He will be sentenced on August 31st to 6 months of jail time (reduced to 4 for good behavior) at Rikers Island and 5 years of probation. Since he already served 2 weeks in Rikers Island before being released on bail, he only has 3.5 months of jail time left. His lawyer, Matthew Myers, told Bwog after the hearing that he expects David will be officially expelled from Columbia later today, now that he has been convicted of a felony.

David is currently living in Florida with a relative Myers describes as a “strict disciplinarian.” “New York is not a good environment for [David] anymore,” Myers said. He hopes his client can get a “fresh start” in Florida, where David will serve his 5 years of probation. Myers seemed reasonably happy with the plea deal. The prosecution had asked for a year upstate, but Myers convinced them to go with only four months at Rikers. When Bwog asked whether there was any way David could have avoided pleading guilty to a felony, Myers laughed and said he obviously could have gone to trial, but Special Narcotics would probably win. The fact one of the undercover officers involved in two of the sales to David was arrested for running an illegal gambling ring, Myers explained, probably made the district attorney more generous with the plea, but didn’t guarantee that David could win a trial.

It is unclear exactly what David will do now. Myers, perhaps unsurprisingly, praised his client, describing him as a “respectful, brilliant kid” with a “bright future ahead of him” who has “huge regrets he blew an Ivy League education,” but has still “handled the situation in a very mature fashion.” It is unclear when or where he’ll be able to go back to college, however. “Even state schools,” Myers lamented, are reluctant to accept students with criminal records. He went on to explain that he planned to apply in a few years for a “certificate of relief” signed by a judge that would give David back some legal rights (like voting and serving on jury duty) and hopefully make him more attractive to potential employers.

Meanwhile, the other four defendants continue to plead not guilty. Their lawyers will stick to the same argument from last month’s hearing: their clients are good kids who were addicted to drugs, and should be “diverted to treatment” rather than convicted of felonies and put on probation. Thanks to the repeal of New York’s extremely harsh “Rockefeller Drug Laws” two years ago, defendants charged with drug dealing who can show that they only dealt to fund their own addiction (as opposed to making money) are eligible for a diversion to treatment.

Update, 3:49 PM: The University has no comment on whether Harrison David will be, as his lawyer predicted, expelled today. We’ll keep you posted.