My Opinion: Disgraced Beta Theta Pi must triple its anti-hazing efforts. Beta adviser Tim Bream needs to resign as athletic trainer

Moderator. The great untold story in hazing is how many scrupulous, fair-minded chapter advisers kept the houses hazing free. The other untold one is how many chapter “mothers” and advisers hid in their rooms or left the premises when they knew a hazing event was due that night. PSU’s Beta Theta Pi adviser adviser Tim Bream, an athletic trainer, obtained a permit for alcohol at the event that killed Piazza during a booze-filled gauntlet. Insteads of watching like a hawk, he languished in his own room as the debacle and debauchery unfolded.

Editorial: First, investigating police need to subpoena Tim Bream’s cellphone records to clear him entirely or to see what and where he was situated as some evidence in a possible homicide was done away with. Did he think the brothers were going to serve milk ‘n’ cookies to Tim Piazza that night? One stern word from him could have restored order and saved a life.

Moreover, in my opinion, Bream should not be working with young adults in any capacity as adviser or athletic trainer. He should show the decency to resign. He chose to sleep in his room as a noisy, raucous hazing ordeal took place BEFORE HIS VERY EARS. He escaped having some of his post-tragedy handling of events under scrutiny at trial. Why? Because investigating officers erred on the side of caution and did not confiscate his cell phone as they had confiscated those mobile phones of the chapter’s fraternity members.

My second opinion is that the national Beta Theta Pi has suffered the same loss of reputation over hazing that befell Sigma Alpha Epsilon. SAE responded by instituting notable reforms.

It must be Beta Theta Pi national’s determination to do no less to regain its honor.

Some years ago the Beta Theta Pi national invited me to be a sort-of co-counselor working with incredibly impressive undergraduate members at a summer conclave in Oxford, Ohio.

It was one of the highlights of my writing about hazing death issues since I started in 1978.

My previous experiences make me hope Beta Theta Pi will do all the right things–especially re-evaluating its mission, Men of Principle program, hazing policies and each and every active chapter.

My sincerest and deepest condolences to the parents of Timothy Piazza.

The parents of Tim Piazza did not deserve the tragedy that befell them due to the abdication of responsibility of Tim Bream and the senseless lack of judgment and decency shown by chapter presidentBrendan Young, 21, of Malvern, Pennsylvania; Daniel Casey, 19, of Ronkonkoma, New York;  Jonah Neuman, 19, of Nashville, Tennessee; Nicholas Kubera, 19, Downingtown, Pennsylvania; Michael Bonatucci, 19, of Woodstock, Georgia; Gary Dibileo, 21, of Scranton, Pennsylvania;  Luke Visser, 19, of Encinitas, California;  Joseph Sala, 19, of Erie, Pennsylvania; Michael Schiavone, 21, of Yardley, Pennsylvania;  Parker Yochim, 19, of Waterford, Pennsylvania: Reckless endangerment, hazing, alcohol-related charges;Joseph Ems Jr., 20, of Philadelphia.