Author: Hank Nuwer

Task force to review USU oversight of student groups
Hazing death » Officials want to prevent future tragedies.

By Brian Maffly

The Salt Lake Tribune

Salt Lake Tribune
Updated:01/07/2009 05:38:52 PM MST

In response to criminal hazing charges stemming from a freshman’s death, Utah State University vowed to look inward to determine what could have been done to prevent the tragedy and to improve oversight of fraternities and other campus groups.

President Stan Albrecht on Wednesday announced “the formation of a task force to review university policy relating to the operation of student organizations at all of its campuses.” The task force will include faculty and administrators who will examine measures other schools deploy to thwart hazing and alcohol abuse, then make recommendations.

“We want to turn over every rock to ensure we are doing everything within our power to keep our students safe,” said provost Raymond Coward. “The death of one of our students is more than reason for us to review and examine every aspect of our policies. If there are steps we can take to help us better ensure that we are doing all we can to prevent future tragic losses, we will steadfastly pursue those actions.”

Charges filed Friday against 12 students allege not only that Michael Starks, 18, was hazed, but that the lethal alcohol-fueled event was part of an initiation tradition among local chapters of the Sigma Nu fraternity and Chi Omega sorority. Participants and a past pledge admitted to police that teenage sorority women encourage fresh Sigma Nu initiates to consume toxic quantities of vodka that the women provide.

Among those charged are the sorority and fraternity chapters as organizations and the fraternity chapter’s top officers, Cody Littlewood and Timothy Weber, who were not present at the off-campus home where Starks drank most of a liter bottle of booze. Littlewood declined to be interviewed.

Albrecht’s announcement came two days after USU general counsel Craig Simper told The Tribune that the school was not planning to increase oversight of Greek-letter clubs. The task-force announcement left officials straining to square the two positions.

“That was showing strictly the legal side,” said USU spokesman John DeVilbiss. “There is another side that this is a huge concern. We are all asking if there is something we could do differently.”

Many Greek activities are secret affairs that exclude outsiders. University officials have no way of knowing what goes on during these events, so they can only expect members to honor their national organizations’ ideals and the USU Student Code, which bans hazing and underage drinking, Simper said on Monday.

Accordingly, officials plan to initiate disciplinary proceedings against students identified in the police investigation and keep the Starks family apprised of any action.

Sigma Nu has been the scene of past alcohol infractions, but university officials say they cannot recall disciplining any Greek member for hazing in the past. Before USU suspended Sigma Nu and Chi Omega after Starks’ death, 10 Greek chapters with 308 members were affiliated with the university. These self-governing chapters answer to national offices, which emphasize lofty ideals of community service, scholastic achievement and personal integrity. They also take a hard line against hazing and alcohol abuse.

The world’s largest sorority with 173 chapters and 16,000 undergraduate members, Chi Omega sponsors the Web site hazingprevention.org and a video addressing bystander behavior.

“We do a lot to emphasize our policies on human dignity that take a strong anti-hazing stance,” said the sorority’s Memphis-based executive director, Anne Emmerth, who was unable to respond to the specifics allegations against her Logan chapter.

“We had held off doing our own inquiry until the police completed their investigation,” Emmerth said. “We want to work as quickly as we can to be fair to our members and the chapter, but we also want to have the best possible information.”

bmaffly@sltrib.com

USU has no plans to increase oversight of Greeks
Hazing » Past pledges were encouraged to drink, charges allege

By Brian Maffly

The Salt Lake Tribune

Although prosecutors allege a fatal fraternity initiation prank followed a recurring pattern, Utah State University officials say they have no plans to more closely monitor its affiliated Greek-letter societies.

Hazing charges filed Friday in Logan’s 1st District Court allege that Sigma Nu fraternity pledges have been encouraged to drink at past induction events. That came as a surprise to campus officials, according to USU general counsel Craig Simper.

“These so-called initiations are very private, sometimes secretive. Only members are invited to participate,” Simper said Monday. Any notion that the school can and should track the activities of fraternities and sororities, which count 308 members in 10 chapters at the Logan campus, is misguided, he added.

“That’s a double-edged sword,” Simper said. “Why would we want to assume that kind of responsibility? We don’t act as parents. We impose rules on them and we expect people to follow the student code.”

Michael Starks, an 18-year-old freshman from Salt Lake City, was being feted as Sigma Nu’s top pledge when he consumed a lethal dose of vodka during an initiation party at a member’s off-campus home in Logan, charges allege. He was in the company of several teen-age members of the Chi Omega sorority, who “captured” and painted him as a reward. They also gave him a liter of vodka to drink, prosecutors allege.

Court documents indicate that Starks and another pledge, 22-year-old
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Mack Perry, gladly participated in the ritual. Under Utah’s hazing statute, however, a victim’s consent is irrelevant.

“The activity was done in fun and is supposed to build brotherhood among the pledges,” prosecutor Tony Baird wrote in an affidavit supporting the charges. The previous spring, Sigma Nu pledge John Lynn, now a 19-year-old member, was treated in a similar manner.

Lynn was asked to visit the Chi Omega sorority, next door to Sigma Nu, where the young women “kidnapped” him, Lynn told police investigating the Starks matter.

“They bound his hands with duct tape and transported him to an unknown house in Logan,” charging documents state. “Once inside an upstairs room, the girls started to kiss his face, leaving lip marks and used markers to write their names on his arms. With his consent, they shaved the Sigma Nu and Chi Omega logos on the back of his head.”

Before being “rescued” by other Sigma Nu pledges, Lynn became very drunk off a bottle of vodka the women provided, according to the charges. Lynn, who was not charged in the Starks case, was home late on the night of Nov. 20 when Starks and Perry stumbled into the fraternity house after their bout of drinking with sorority women.

He woke up at 4 a.m. with paramedics in the house defibrillating Starks’ unresponsive body. Medical examiners determined his blood alcohol was approaching five times the legal limit for driving when his respiratory system failed.

Prosecutors have charged the two Greek chapters involved and 12 members with hazing in connection with Starks’ death, but no one was charged with hazing Perry or Lynn. Summons will be issued this week and court dates have yet to be set.

“Our lives have been irreparably hurt by what has taken place,” said Starks’ father in a prepared statement. “At the same time we express our heartfelt sorrow for other parents of their own children caught up in this heartbreaking tragedy in a moment of careless actions on their part, resulting in this tragic situation.”

The university and the Greek chapters’ national offices were waiting for Logan police to complete their investigation before moving forward with their own inquiries, officials said.

The university has already indefinitely suspended the two Greek chapters involved, as had Sigma Nu and Chi Omega’s headquarters.

“All we care about is that [the chapters] don’t do anything in relation to this university anymore. I feel confident the university has done all it can legally at this time,” Simper said.

USU officials expect to initiate proceedings against students identified in the criminal case, but the process is not open to the public.

“The university student code has a policy against hazing that mirrors state law,” officials said in a brief prepared statement late Monday. “An administrative student disciplinary process will be carried out against any of our students who may have hazed other USU students or violated other sections of the Student Code.”

bmaffly@sltrib.com

Here is the link

A plea agreement was reached Monday for three men accused in a hazing incident for a fraternity at EKU last year.

Alonzo McGill, 31, Thomas Barnes, 21, and Gabriel McLaren, 22, were all charged with fourth-degree assault after fraternity pledge Brent Whiteside was severely injured and hospitalized with renal failure in March. Police say Whiteside told them he was beaten with a paddle, cane and fists while pledging for EKU’s chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi from January to March.

With the plea deal, all three defendants pleaded guilty to the fourth-degree assault charges, and all were sentenced to home incarceration rather than jail time. McClaren will serve 100 days, McGill 70 and Barnes 40. At the end of 2009, all three can ask for the charges to be dropped against them and their records cleared.

Whiteside said Monday that he accepts the plea deals, but also said that he would have rather the trio serve some of their sentences in jail.

Here is the story link

by Hannah Hoffman | News Reporter |
PUBLISHED ON 1/5/09 IN News

Nick Duletzke, president of Theta Chi, carries boxes as he and his father move from the former fraternity house. The fraternity, which had been on probation, is no longer recognized by the University after it violated conduct standards during a group retreat.
Media Credit: Dave Martinez
Nick Duletzke, president of Theta Chi, carries boxes as he and his father move from the former fraternity house. The fraternity, which had been on probation, is no longer recognized by the University after it violated conduct standards during a group retreat.

University sophomore Adam Lee and three other members of the Theta Chi fraternity spent winter break looking for a place to live. It was a difficult search – most housing was already taken by students. In Lee’s case it was harder because the four men had to accommodate a fifth roommate – their 1-year-old border collie, Steve.

Early last month the University announced the fraternity’s disaffiliation, meaning that “Theta Chi is no longer recognized as a University of Oregon fraternity,” as stated in a memorandum to the University Greek community. The decision came after fall term in which Theta Chi was found guilty of hazing and also incurred $10,000 worth of damages at a resort while on a retreat.

The fraternity’s house also closed, as decided by the local Theta Chi alumni board, said former Theta Chi president and University senior Ken Cruickshank. The decision left at least 30 residents of the house in need of places to live. It also affected freshman pledges who canceled their University housing contracts with the intent to live in the Theta Chi house starting winter term.

The disaffiliation process required action by several administrators, said Theta Chi president and University junior Nick Duletzke. Greek Leadership Advisor Amy Long began the process by contacting Carl Yeh, director of student conduct and community, Duletzke said. Eventually the evidence in support of disaffiliation reached Laura Blake Jones, dean of students, who wrote an official recommendation to disaffiliate, which University President Dave Frohnmayer signed, Duletzke said.

Jones and Yeh could not be reached for comment.

Cruickshank said Theta Chi had been on probation for several years because of poor behavior. On Dec. 2, 2005, Eugene Police Department cited the fraternity as one entity for an alcohol-related infraction, EPD spokeswoman Jenna LaBounty said. A second citation followed in spring 2006.

Cruickshank said that in March 2007 the fraternity neared collapse after another fraternity reported Theta Chi for loading beer kegs into trucks to use for an official function. As a result, Theta Chi “came extraordinarily close to a mandated shutdown,” Cruickshank wrote in an e-mail.

From that time until fall 2008, Theta Chi worked on improving, Cruickshank said, and in spring 2008, it had an average GPA of 3.23, the highest of any fraternity that term. During fall 2008, the recruitment class totalled 34, the most it had in a decade, he said.

“I had never been so proud of our chapter as I was during this fall term,” Cruickshank said.

Lee agreed. He said all the members had felt the group was moving in the right direction.

The University found differently. On the most recent Compliance Review for the Greek system, Theta Chi failed the “Good Conduct” requirement, which encompasses alcohol infractions, judicial sanctions and other behavior issues. It met the standards in all other fields, including academic performance.

Early in the term the University found Theta Chi guilty of hazing, said Lee, who was the assistant rush chair.

Duletzke said the incident was not hazing at all and the University’s verdict was incorrect. He gave the following account:

One night, close to Thanksgiving, a group of Theta Chi brothers and pledges got together to play football at about 9 p.m. Some participants were not wearing shirts. Lee attributed this to it being a “shirts and skins” game. Duletzke said Delta Tau Delta, another fraternity, saw the incident and reported it as hazing.

The dealbreaker, Duletzke said, was Theta Chi’s fall retreat to Odell Lake Resort. At the end of the trip, they were charged with $10,000 in damages. The bill included charges such as $700 for dishwashing and $800 in trash disposal, Cruickshank said.

“The thing got out of hand – there was damage,” Duletzke said. “I don’t think there’s a guy in the house that doesn’t regret it or think it was a mistake. It doesn’t represent the values of our house or the U of O.”

The University did not say that either the hazing or the damages, which were paid off by members of Theta Chi, were the impetus for the closure. According to the Greek community memo, “No one instance or set of recent instances triggered this decision.”

The memo also said, “It is in our community’s best interest to focus on the choices of the members of this organization throughout the last decade as opposed to the decisions of the University in response to those choices.”

Duletzke and Cruickshank say they’re focusing on the University’s response anyway. “There was somewhat of an unfair standard set up,” Duletzke said. “We were held under a microscope.”

“The most disappointing aspect of all of this is the inconsistency in the Greek office’s enforcement,” Cruickshank said.

Duletzke and Cruickshank said they felt the Greek Life office and the University administration held the Theta Chi fraternity to a different standard of conduct than other fraternities. Duletzke said other fraternities’ retreats were not investigated the same way theirs was.

Cruickshank agreed. He said, “Amy (Long) even called the resort during our stay, without any permission, to ‘check on us.'”

Duletzke feels that Greek Life doesn’t support houses in a positive way or help them improve. Instead, he said, they look for houses to break the rules and then issue punishment.

In the coming terms, Theta Chi members “plan on continuing our traditions and maintaining our integrity as a chapter,” Cruickshank said.

Meanwhile, Lee and the other Theta Chi men will adapt to living outside of the house. Although living in the house was more expensive, he said he will miss it. “There was never a dull moment in our house. It was worth all the money we paid.”

Student Hospitalized After Possible Frat Hazing Incident
E
Authorities say hazing may have led to hypothermia case; UCSC student still recovering in hospital after beach incident
By J.M. BROWN – Sentinel staff writer
Posted: 12/31/2008 05:18:48 PM PST

A top California State Parks official confirmed Wednesday that authorities are investigating a severe hypothermia case at Bonny Doon Beach as a possible fraternity hazing incident.

Warren Fung, a 20-year-old sophomore at UC Santa Cruz, remains hospitalized at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center-Fremont, but medical officials and relatives have declined to discuss his condition.

Kirk Lingenfelter, a State Parks supervisor overseeing the Santa Cruz County coastline, said Fung has regained consciousness and spoken with family and friends. UCSC police and the District Attorney’s Office are still working with park rangers to determine whether a crime was committed during the Dec. 15 incident.

“I am certainly not going to speculate what charges could be brought to bear,” Lingenfelter said. Under the state’s hazing law, which was revised in 2006, anyone found guilty of causing serious bodily harm can be charged with a felony and serve up to a year in jail or prison if convicted.

Lingenfelter said he did not expect to know what happened to Fung until more students can be interviewed after returning from winter break next week. Investigators also need to take a statement directly from Fung, who was transferred to the hospital after friends took him to a 24-hour medical clinic in Santa Cruz after he became unconscious at the beach.

Lingenfelter said it’s unclear how long Fung, who has been described as slight of build, was in the water or on the
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beach, where up to 50 young people had gathered as early as 7 a.m. Investigators are trying to determine if the crowd had gathered the night before and stayed through the morning, which would violate state park rules.

Witnesses told park rangers they were stargazing, but authorities became suspicious that hazing was involved after a birdwatcher standing on a bluff above the beach that morning told UCSC police he saw several things indicating a fraternity event. Lingenfelter said he could not elaborate on the man’s statement because he had not read it.

The birdwatcher gave authorities a brief video clip he took at the beach, which is a mile south of Davenport. But Lingenfelter said the video did not provide any conclusive evidence of a hazing incident.

He said its remains unclear which fraternity, if any, was involved. There are at least 20 fraternity and sororities represented on campus.

UCSC is awaiting the outcome of the State Parks investigation before looking into any potential student involvement in the event, a campus spokesman said.

Isaac Ruelas, the youth minister for Christian Cathedral, an Oakland church connected to the private high school where Fung graduated, said he heard that Fung “was contemplating joining a fraternity and that they invited him out to some kind of hazing” that involved swimming in the ocean.

Ruelas said Fung weighs about 98 pounds and is about 5 feet 4 inches tall. State Parks records indicate the water temperature that morning was about 52 degrees and the air temperature was about 40.

Ruelas described Fung as “very motivated” and a “good kid for the most part.” Fung represents UCSC’s College Ten on the Student Fee Advisory Committee, and a campus official said Fung is well-liked among peers on that panel.

Several of Fung’s friends on the online social network site Facebook are members of the Pi Alpha Phi chapter at UCSC. But the chapter’s president, Ronald Chan, said Fung is not a member and that the group does not permit hazing practices.

“We don’t do any extremes,” Chan said, though he declined to discuss what pledges do to seek membership.

Chan said he was not present at the Dec. 15 beach gathering but was unsure whether other members of his fraternity were. UCSC’s winter break began the day before, so he said he expected many of the members were out of town.

Anyone with information about the case may call State Parks at 429-2850 or UCSC police at 459-2231.

Contact J.M. Brown at 429-2410 or jbrown@santacruzsentinel.com.