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Drugs and Alcohol at party blamed for death of Alpha Pi’s Daniel William Michael (Oneonta)

Here is the link to the story.  Here is the important question for reporters. Given deaths at unregulated chapters at Plattsburgh, Albany and Geneseo, what has Oneonta done to try to quash Alpha Pi out of existence?–Moderator Hank Nuwer

Excerpt from NBC

SUNY Oneonta freshman Daniel William Michaels, of Dix Hills, died from cardiac arrest after someone noticed him unconscious on a couch at a house where members of a fraternity lived early on Saturday, according to The Daily Star of Ostego County. School officials say the fraternity, Alpha Pi, isn’t recognized by SUNY Oneonta.

A coroner said preliminary toxicology report indicates that Michaels, who was studying business and economics, had a mix of amphetamines, benzodiazepines and alcohol in his system. A full toxicology report is set to be released in four to six weeks.

According to the newspaper, students called 911 after someone picking up another student saw Michaels on the couch. But before police arrived on scene, someone else drove the unconscious 18-year-old to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

By 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, the Alaska Press Club awarded him first place in the Best Columnist division and Best Humorist, second place.

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 Warsaw, Poland and 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 and in his weekly column "Far from Randolph" in the Winchester Star-Gazette of Randolph County, Indiana.

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