3 students leave WVU after injury at fraternity

West Virginia University said Tuesday that three students “have agreed to permanent separation” from the university following an investigation into a November fraternity house fall that critically injured an undergraduate from Uniontown.

In addition, about 15 students, not all of whom belong to the fraternity, have agreed to various disciplinary actions, ranging from “deferred suspension to probation, stemming from related Student Conduct Code violations, including aiding and abetting as well as endangerment,” campus officials said.

The sanctions stem from a Nov. 10 incident at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity house near the Morgantown campus — the latest in a string of misconduct involving the university’s Greek system that prompted a crackdown by WVU and escalated into what amounted to a revolt by some of those organizations this past summer and fall.

David Rusko, 22, a senior finance major from Uniontown, fell down stairs inside the house where he was visiting with fellow fraternity brothers after the Texas Christian University football game, officials said.

“He was rendered unconscious and has remained hospitalized ever since,” according to a university statement Tuesday. “During the investigation, it was discovered that two hours elapsed between his fall and medical help being sought.”

Initially, he was taken to Ruby Memorial Hospital in Morgantown, where officials stopped providing condition updates at the family’s request. Later, he was transferred to Shepherd Center, a private not-forprofit hospital in Atlanta whose specializations include spinal cord and brain injuries.

“We’re doing the best we can under the circumstances,” his father, Dave Rusko, said Tuesday night. “It’s been very difficult. We’re taking it one day at a time, putting it in God’s hands, and we’re praying for a good outcome.”

Mr. Rusko said his son is being treated for traumatic brain injury but would prefer that Shepherd Center provide an update on his son’s condition. He said he would ask the staff there to do so.

University officials said the sanctions they have imposed are separate from any criminal charges that might arise from an investigation being conducted by Morgantown police. Meanwhile, the fraternity with 52 members remains on interim suspension.