Two weeks after his on-campus arrest, it is unknown whether the president of UF’s Interfraternity Council for 2017-18 will see consequences for the DUI charge he faces.
Shane Michael Hanney, 21, was arrested July 14 at about 2:51 a.m. for drunkenly driving his scooter on his way home from Midtown, according to a University Police arrest report. Police pulled Hanney over after he swerved in his lane multiple times and stopped about 3 feet past a stop sign on West Fraternity Drive.
Hanney, who served as the president of UF’s Theta Chi Fraternity last year, tested .226 and .239 for his blood alcohol content, according to the report. The legal limit is .08.
Hanney faces a DUI charge and has a court arraignment set for Aug. 17, according to Alachua County court records.
As IFC president, Hanney represents the country’s fourth-largest fraternity system, with 26 total chapters and about 2,800 members, according to the UF IFC’s website.
After multiple attempts, neither IFC officials nor UF Sorority and Fraternity Affairs could be reached for comment. UF spokesperson Janine Sikes said due to student privacy laws, the university and the IFC are not at liberty to say whether Hanney will face consequences.
“On issues involving student consequences or penalties, we can’t provide comment,” Sikes said.
Hanney could not be reached for comment.
While some take issue with how Hanney’s behavior reflects on the student community, others feel it could prove beneficial for Hanney and the IFC fraternities.
Zachariah Chou, an independent Student Government senator representing Infinity Hall, said regardless of whether there are consequences, Hanney could take his negative experience and turn it into a learning experience for the thousands of young men he’ll oversee as IFC president.
“Now he knows exactly what’s at stake with having a criminal record,” said the 19-year-old political science and journalism sophomore. “At this point it’s just a matter of whether he’ll take what he’s learned and put it to use.”
Shane Michael Hanney, 21.
