This isn’t an alcohol problem, this is some kind of systemic problem.
While I am 100% in favor of lowering the drinking age to 18, I don’t think it will make a lick of differences in cases like this. Just like I don’t think it will make much of a difference to the rampant sexual assaults on college campuses.
Why? Because the vast majority of people would help their friend who was obviously very screwed up. Just like the vast majority of men wouldn’t sexually assault someone.
This isn’t alcohol’s fault. This isn’t an educational problem (because, seriously, alcohol education is pounded into us). This is a problem far larger than either of these things.
The frat house is private property — police are not even allowed in without a warrant. Nationals make sure their houses understand this to protect the brotherhood. The university employee was not employed by the university in his capacity at the frat — suppose you moonlight at a second job — your primary employer can’t fire you, or be sued, for behavior at that second job, it’s illegal and attempts to do so would result in wrongful termination suits. Not that excuses anything here, but universities are businesses and law is part of decision making.
It’s not helpful to characterize an entire community as uncaring or irresponsible. You send your kids off to school here, and we try to be good neighbors who take them to the doctor, help them move furniture, teach them to cook, hold their hand in the ER, drive them home when they are drunk or scared or need mothering. You think your children know to wear a coat or not walk in traffic, or not walk alone, but they exhibit behavior that would startle their parents, to say the least. Anyway, just to repeat that there were many workplaces full of people weeping for the Piazzas, and hoping Pres Barron closes the system down as he has threatened to do, with the Trustees blessing.
I’m sure this is going to an unpopular comment among some, but how do you get a group of 18 young people, none of whom (except one who was bullied and backed down) aren’t independent enough in their thinking to go along with such poor and callous decision making?
On a campus where only 17% are reportedly joining the greek organizations, I’d argue that the type of students who are aren’t leaders or free and independent thinkers - these are the type that seek out fraternity life. They are followers and boorish. The string of events, the covering up, the pack mentality. How do you gather a group of young males together that when faced with such a horrific situation and the obvious and alarming signs of distress from this injured student, and NOBODY, not one of the 18 stepped outside the gang mentality to seek help? Not one had the heart to not step over him or sit on him or slap him, but to get some real assistance? This isn’t normal behavior.
I personally think that forcing pledges to over drink to the degree that it results in death is mansslaughter. While death was not the intent it was the result of their actions and negligence. How different is this than being over the legal limit and hitting someone with your car and killing them? Charging young men with man slaughter in these cases would likely put an end to it.
Secretive group of young men without any supervision, living on their own, access to drugs, alcohol…often commiting crime unchecked , frequently in trouble with the law, recruiting others via initiation rituals that also involve questionable activities, all in the name of solidarity and social status.
If the young men are white and suburban, it’s a frat. If they aren’t it’s a gang.
Didn’t go to PSU, but at my school (and maybe at others?) the frat/sorority system isn’t composed of the kids who are leaders and independent thinkers. It was composed of kids who very much wanted to fit in and did what they had to do to be accepted by a house – whether that was the right clothes; the right major; drinking as much as needed; laughing along when you were hazed or all of the above. People at my school pejoratively referred to the greek system as buying friends – bc you’d be paying significant dues and doing what you were told but it ensured that you had people to eat with, hang out with etc.
It’s such a group think environment that it explains why no one had the balls to step outside the house or into another room to call 911. Frankly you’d think one of the victim’s pledge brothers would have done it – they had NOTHING to lose – bc they couldn’t be blamed for it bc they were also forced to drink etc, but they didn’t set up these activities. At 7 am a pledge bro came and sat down next to the victim for a while and noticed how pale he had gotten overnight and the breathing, saw him holding his head in his hands rocking back and forth – so he proceeds to make a snapchat video of him and then a few min later left the house and went on his merry way. He could snapchat but he couldn’t call 911 as he walked back to his dorm?!
As long as there is a frat system kids will participate - so if it isn’t gotten rid of - I really wish ALL the adults from university officials to parents to everyone - would constantly hammer home the message of - if you want to pledge, great, but it is OKAY if you change your mind AT ANY POINT. It’s fine if you’re half way through the process or on the last night of the process or accepting your bid and you’re asked to do something that doesn’t feel right – it’s ok to walk away. If the guys make fun of you - just walk out of the house, call an uber and go home. Real brothers don’t make you do stuff you don’t want to do to test you. In a school of 40k undergrads – you WILL find other friends; and they won’t be ones who make fun of you if you say no to doing something . . . .
The parents wouldn’t sue Penn State but rather the Fraternity’s national Organization as well as the adult staffer. In addition, I’m not a lawyer so I may be wrong, restitution isn’t necessarily financial, right?
The parents will most definitely sue Penn State - in addition to the national org and the guys individually. I realize that PSU will argue - independent org on independent property, not our problem. But the reality is - this is terrible PR for the school. Plus universities have duties of care for their students; so if PSU wants to argue about it, it opens up all these arguments about - it’s a private house but on a university campus; it’s housing university students with a university employed athletic director who you knew was living there; and then you get into arguments into how far the duty of care extends; what does Penn State know re what goes on in those houses; what has the IFC told the administration and when etc. And given this administration’s propensity to cover stuff up and have it come out in document discovery later – I think they avoid this negative PR by settling with the parents for a few millions to get themselves dropped from the case and then the parents can litigate against the national org. or not.
Restitution can be non monetary I suppose but its purpose is to make the victim whole. Impossible to make this family whole ever but money is the “easiest” way to compensate - though I suppose they could also seek some rules changes; dropping the greek system etc. but that doesn’t compensate them so much as help PSU families generally.
I keep seeing the word brotherhood throughout this thread and in general coverage regarding frats. The men in this frat seem to think they are brothers unless helping one of them would be inconvenient or helping one of them would potentially expose rule breaking.
So it isn’t a brotherhood amongst these men, it’s just group of selfish followers who wear common letters. No leader or free thinker among them.
So terrible for this poor family.
After Bon Jovi’s daughter almost died at college from a drug overdose NJ signed a bill that gives people immunity from arrest if they call 911 to report an overdose, even if they also had used drugs at the time. Wether it’s alcohol or drugs-- no questions asked. It’s a Good Samaritan Law that saves lives. See if this law is in your state ?!?
Victims are often intent on making sure what happened to them/their loved ones doesn’t happen to others. I dont know how it’d work, here, but I would imagine some sort of guarantee would be as important as money. Money can’t bring their son back but you can know what you saved some other kids’ lives. I don’t know if it’s feasible, if it’s a path a family could choose.
Bon Jovi’s D was a student at Hamilton in NYS, which now has a Good Samaritan Law. I don’t know if Pennsylvania has one but I think all states should have one.
Affluenza - I don’t know. Apparently, the pledge master is from Ronkonkoma, a lower to middle class area in Suffolk County on Long Island, not an overall bastion of wealth.
That’s part of the problem. They think everyone thinks the way they do. And it’s just not true.
I mentioned on another thread – in a tangential conversation that has since been deleted – that a couple weeks ago I was sitting at a lunch table and two girls sat down next to me. They were talking about the sanctions on Greek life and said that Piazza’s death had ruined their year because now they couldn’t drink.
Not everyone values alcohol so much that it’s more important than the lives of their friends and peers. But the people who do think that everyone else does too.
I don’t know that “enjoy” is the correct word. I would be horrified if my children went to college or chose their school so that they could enjoy 4 years of partying.
My D managed to find plenty of volunteer opportunities at her college even without being part of Greek life. In fact, she actually was hired to work as the volunteer coordinator at her school and was very successful without attending frat parties - she went to one freshman year and refused to attend another.
^it was sarcastic, @techmom99… I was fairly disgusted by that letter.
There are SO MANY ways to have fun at large universities that don’t involve getting oblitarated at a frat party… even if you drink and occasionally get drunk, college should not be summarized as drinking. The restrictions mentioned authorized about one party a week per frat. I am guessing most college students will get drunk but most don’t consider it the central part of their college experience. In addition, the advantages that Greek life provides could be provided without alcohol, or without frats for that. The student writer pretty much says, if you close frats, no one will want to attend Penn State because frat parties are their main motivation. It’s quite possible a majority of students would not attend college without the option of getting drunk, but then maybe these students shouldn’t be attending college if their main goal is to get drunk.