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Author: Hank Nuwer
Journalist Hank Nuwer tracks hazing deaths in fraternities and schools. Nuwer is the Alaska author of Hazing: Destroying Young Lives; Broken Pledges: The Deadly Rite of Hazing, High School Hazing, Wrongs of Passage and The Hazing Reader. In April of 2024 and April 2025 , the Alaska Press Club awarded him first place in the Best Columnist division.
He has written articles or columns on hazing for the Sunday Times of India, Toronto Globe & Mail, Harper's Magazine, Orlando Sentinel, The Chronicle of Higher Education and the New York Times Sunday Magazine. His current book is Hazing: Destroying Young Lives from Indiana University Press. He is married to Malgorzata Wroblewska Nuwer of Fairbanks, Alaska. Nuwer is a former columnist for the Greenville (Ohio)Early Bird and former managing editor of the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner in Alaska.
Nuwer was named the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists columnist of the year in 2021 for his “After Darke” column in the Early Bird. He also won third place for the column in 2022 from the Indiana chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He and his wife Gosia, recently of Union City, Ind., have owned 20 acres in Alaska for many years. “The move is a sort-of coming home for us,” said Nuwer. As a journalist, he’s written about the Alaskan Iditarod sled-dog race and other Alaska topics. Read his musings in his blog at Real Alaska Daily--http://realalaskadaily.com
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Article: Prosecutors Taking Tougher Stance in Fraternity Hazing Deaths
Before Reading
Read through this list of annual deaths in the United States because of hazing, compiled by the journalism professor and anti-hazing advocate Hank Nuwer. Pick out a few stories on the list, which starts in 1838 and goes through the present day.
What are some of the common stories? What stories stand out on the list, and why? What are your impressions after reading through the list and seeing the photos?
Questions for Comprehension and Analysis
1. What happened to a 19-year-old sophomore at Penn State University during a fraternity hazing? What did prosecutors do to 18 fellow students that demonstrates the harder line prosecutors have begun to take against death from initiation rituals?
2. What did David LaBahn, president of the Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, have to say about the case? What have universities and colleges done to take a tougher stance against hazing after reports of sexual assault and binge drinking?
News from the PSU Collegian
Beta Theta Pi corporation was charged with one count of Involuntary Manslaughter, 50 counts of Hazing and 48 counts of Furnishing Alcohol to Minors and Unlawful Acts Relative to Liquor. No bail was set against the fraternity. Involuntary Manslaughter carries a maximum penalty of five years.
Michael Angelo Schiavone, the Vice president of Risk Management was charged with 14 counts of recklessly endangering another person and 14 counts of hazing. He also received 12 counts of furnishing alcohol to minors and 12 counts of unlawful acts relative to liquor.
Michael Angelo Schiavone, charged with 14 counts of reckless endangerment, is shielded away from the camera by his mother.
Lars Kenyon received 14 counts of recklessly endangering another person and 14 counts of hazing. He also received 12 counts of furnishing alcohol to minors and 12 counts of unlawful acts relative to liquor.
Kordel Davis, who was dismissed by fellow brothers after telling them to call 911 the night of Piazza’s fall, appeared on Good Morning America Monday recounting the night’s events.
Kenyon texted Davis that “No one likes him,” according to Parks Miller, who asked that behavior end now.
Lars Kenyon, who received 14 counts of recklessly endangering another person, 14 counts of hazing among other charges, leaves the courthouse
Ryan McCann, Lucas Rockwell, Braxton Becker, Ryan Foster and Fraternity Vice President Ed Gilmartin, all received individual tampering with evidence charges.
Each received charges for cleaning up after the Feb. 2 party, deleting text messages or attempting to dress Piazza.
Tampering with evidence carries a two year maximum penalty.
Joseph Ems received one count of recklessly endangering another person.
His lawyer, William J. Brennan: “He’s presumed innocent.”
Joseph Ems received a reckless engagement charge for allegedly striking Piazza in the abdomen, possibly injuring his spleen further, according to court documents.
From Phiily.com: a close look at the lives of the eight students offers few hints of the selfishness and stupidity that is depicted in the grand jury report.
Young, the president of Beta Theta Pi chapter and a Malvern resident, describes himself on LinkedIn as a junior who is majoring in enterprise risk management and finance.According to the account, he is going to be a summer intern at JPMorgan Chase & Co. in an operations analyst development program, and briefly served as a member of a Navy ROTC program in State College. On Twitter, his biographical information is limited to one line: “It pays to be a winner.”
Reached by phone on Friday, Young’s mother declined to comment.
Casey, the fraternity’s pledge master, is from Ronkonkoma, a hamlet on Long Island. He graduated from Connetquot High School in 2015. His family didn’t respond to a voice message, and his Facebook account — which featured a sweeping photo from inside the iconic Beaver Stadium — was deleted hours after the criminal charges were filed.
DiBileo is the namesake son of a prominent Penn State graduate, Lackawanna County Controller Gary DiBileo Sr., a successful Scranton businessman for nearly 30 years.
The grand jury presentment showed Young once hassled DiBileo through a series of text messages, after DiBileo threatened to drop out as a fraternity pledge in September 2016. “Bad idea,” Young wrote. “Talk to me in the morning. … Alcohol creates blurry lines.”
DiBileo Sr. could not be reached for comment.
Visser, of Encinitas, Calif., describes himself on Facebook as a 2016 graduate of La Costa Canyon High School and a valet at Park Hyatt Aviara Resort. His account features a photograph of a young, blond man — presumably Visser — with his arms around the waists of two women who appear to be cheerleaders for the University of California, Los Angeles. A comment beneath the photo reads: “Visser is a … stud.”
Kubera graduated from high school in Downingtown last year. In December, he posted an Instagram photo from Beta Theta Pi with 29 young men and the caption “29 degenerates.” Facebook photos from last year show Kubera standing on a roof deck with the Philadelphia skyline behind him. His family declined to comment Friday.
Neuman, a Nashville native, graduated in 2015 from Battle Ground Academy, a private college prep school. He is an intramural wrestler at Penn State, and was a medalist in a state wrestling championship while in high school in 2014.
Sala, reached by phone in his Erie home, said he had no comment, citing the “ongoing investigation.” Relatives of Bonatucci’s, a native of Woodstock, Ga., could not be reached for comment.