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Parker Patierno in coma after fall from Cal Poly balcony after alleged fraternity partying

Parker Patierno
Parker Patierno’s Twitter photo

Moderator: I am waiting for news reports to confirm or to provide another explanation for the fall.

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Frightening moments for a group of Cal Poly students early Friday morning, as one of their friends fell from a second story balcony.

LINK: Carson Stuckey hazing death at Cal Poly

His friends tell us he’s in serious condition and in a coma. They tell us his name is Parker Patierno. We’re told he had have brain surgery Friday and is expected to have another surgery.

Friends who we spoke to were pretty shaken up – many of them preffering not to talk on camera.

“Yea he lives in our building.. he actually has a thing with one of my good girlfriends right now,” Cal Poly student Lauren Robertson said.

Ruby Tincup and Lauren Robertson told us that they had to break the news to that good girlfriend that Patierno fell from a second story student housing building on campus.

“It’s sad because apparently he was drinking with guys in his frat.. and that could be anyone,” Cal Poly student Ruby Tincup said.

Friends showed us a picture of Patierno and his twin brother.

“Like imagine being the mom getting that call.. that could literally be my brother,” Tincup said.

Students are taking the incident hard.

“My friend who lives near me is in his pledge class and everyone is just destroyed by it,” Robertson said.

“Parker is just so sweet, I’ve gone over.. he’s super cute.. big blue eyes, super nice, friendly, always holding the door open for you,” Tincup said. “It’s always the best people who have the worst things happen to them and it’s just really sad.”

Students told us everyone is rooting for him to recover.

“Everyone hopes he’s going to be ok, everyone hopes this stops happening, the hazing stuff,” Tincup said.

“We’ve heard that they were getting back from hazing and that’s when he fell off,” Robertson said.

“We’re just hoping he pulls through because that’s all we can ask for at this point,” Tincup said.

Sebastian Froman was just in class with Patierno on Thursday.

“It’s really tough because we just did a presentation together so it’s really hard to hear,” Cal Poly student Sebastian Froman said.

Froman, like everyone is pulling for a speedy recovery.

“I just hope his twin brother is doing alright.. his family.. I just really hope they’re there supporting him.. and that he wakes up soon and gets alright,” Froman said.

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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