DA refiles manslaughter charges against Penn State fraternity members…from cnn
http://www.cnn.com/2017/10/27/us/penn-state-pledge-death-case/index.html
Two more Penn State frats disciplined…
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/two-more-penn-state-frats-disciplined-20171030.html
“Two more Pennsylvania State University fraternities were sanctioned Saturday for alcohol-related violations, including an event called “Fifth and a Friend,” designed to encourage consumption, the school announced.”
New Penn State fraternity facing criminal charges…
http://www.centredaily.com/news/local/crime/article181987681.html
Well, at least it looks like Penn State is making good on its vow to enforce its policy, and that fraternities there have been so used to doing whatever they wanted they can’t believe they’ll get caught, or get caught and punished. Or maybe they just can’t help themselves.
I agree. It is a step in the right direction and will help to change the culture.
Florida State suspends all the greeks…that is the type of leadership I expected from PSU. Florida State is showing the nation that it will not be tolerated and they are leading the way.
Florida State suspends fraternities, sororities in wake of pledge’s death
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2017/11/06/florida-state-suspends-fraternities-sororities-in-wake-of-pledges-death/?utm_term=.a90bfe64e1e6
Florida State suspends Greek life after alcohol death
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory/florida-state-suspends-greek-life-alcohol-death-50970295
Florida State University Indefinitely Suspends All Greek Activities
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hazing-in-america/florida-state-university-indefinitely-suspends-all-greek-activities-n818066
Good for them!! That is how you change a culture — bold action and accountability. Although at the rate PSU is suspending frats, they may have a similar net result by spring.
FSU’s approach of levying sanctions on ALL recognized student organizations is much better than what we have seen from PSU. It is an acknowledgement that the dangerous binge drinking is not owned by fraternities and sororities, but instead it is a campus wide problem. If PSU really wanted to address the issues, they would have not only done the same but they would have done so across all campuses instead of making UP’s IFC and NPC chapters the sacrificial lambs.
Penn State hands down punishments related to frat pledge death…
http://www.philly.com/philly/education/penn-state-punishments-piazza-frat-pledge-death-20171107.html
Seven Penn State Students Disciplined for Fraternity Pledge’s Death
https://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/hazing-in-america/seven-penn-state-students-disciplined-fraternity-pledge-s-death-n818626
Penn State says it punished 7 in Penn State frat death
http://www.startribune.com/penn-state-says-it-punished-7-in-penn-state-frat-death/455917033/
Prosecutor in Penn State hazing death to reveal new details about deleted basement footage…
http://www.pennlive.com/news/2017/11/penn_state_beta_theta_pi_basem.html
‘The decision to hold a news conference is a strong indication that police were successful in retrieving images from deleted footage. The news release also expressly referenced activities caught on the basement video, further indicating police have gained new insight.’
Probe Into Camera Erasure In Penn State Frat Death Completed…
http://pittsburgh.cbslocal.com/2017/11/09/penn-state-frat-death-video-erased-investigation/
http://abcnews.go.com/US/charges-penn-state-hazing-death/story?id=51112120
[quote] The charges -- which include involuntary manslaughter, aggravated assault and hazing -- are the result of an investigation into deleted surveillance video from the Beta Theta Pi fraternity house basement
Today Parks Miller said five of the individuals already facing charges will now face new charges, and she also announced charges against 12 new defendants.
[/quote]
Seems these charges are the result of recovering the surveillance video deleted by a fraternity member(s).
It’s an old truism but applies here, that the cover-up is often worse than the original crime. They let this boy die, slowly and agonizingly, while thinking only of trying to avoid the consequences for their illegal hazing, instead of getting him prompt medical help. Then they deleted the camera footage, lied to the authorities in claiming it was damaged. These are all conscious acts. Whatever feeble excuses they had in terms of being drunk or not realizing the extent of his injuries that night, they have zero excuse for the cover-up.
My guess is that the adult will be charged. There’s no way he was in the house and didn’t know what was going on.
Everyone (or almost everyone) involved was an adult.
As my kids turned 18, in the midst of celebrations my husband would shake her hand and say, “Congratulations. You can now commit a felony.” It was to impress upon them that in the eyes of the law they are no longer a kid.
Carleton College had a hazing incident last year. It ended up in 13 students being suspended. Yay!
Boo! All but one suspension were overturned quietly over the summer.
edited because I was waffling over which verb to use
My H pledged a fraternity at Ohio Wesleyan his freshman year. He de-pledged before the semester was over.
He told me that one of the events that caused him to de-pledge was this: the pledges were required to kidnap an older member of the house and take him to the Phi Delt house at U Mich. In the process of doing so, they had to carry him to another floor, and they dropped him and he hit his head! He says no one checked to see if the guy was okay. Luckily for them, the guy was not injured.
That plus a few other things led him to quickly decide that this wasn’t an organization he wanted to be part of.
Recovered video leads to new charges in Penn State fraternity death…
http://www.cnn.com/2017/11/13/us/penn-state-fraternity-hazing-death/index.html
Penn State Student Given 18 Drinks In 82 Minutes Before Hazing Death, Prosecutors Say…
https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/11/13/563840154/penn-state-student-given-18-drinks-in-82-minutes-before-hazing-death-prosecutors
"Piazza received “at least 18 drinks in over 1 hour and 22 minutes,” Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller said at a news conference Monday, and he “never once obtained any of those drinks for himself. Brothers [in the fraternity] were coming up to him and giving him those drinks.”
This is just getting worse and yes they are adults. Centre County tried to make it go away…
Yet there is still abundance of 18 year old men who are eager to pledge to fraternities.
It seems to me that the members had to know that giving a pledge 18 drinks in 1 hour and 22 minutes is very dangerous. They should have worked out a plea deal when they had a chance.