Fraternity death leads to ban, harsher rules at Penn State
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Penn State University is “drawing a line” with its troubled Greek system, stiffening rules to combat hazing, alcohol abuse and other problems and permanently banning one fraternity where a student died in February.
A series of new rules announced Thursday range from curbs on the number of allowable alcohol-driven events and how many can attend them, to a new requirement that all fraternities and sororities defer recruiting new members, referred to as “rush,” from fall to spring of the student’s freshman year.
Kegs will be banned, and no more than 10 social events with alcohol can be held a semester per organization, down from 45 that were allowed by the Interfraternity Council. Damon Sims, vice president of student affairs, vowed still harsher rules if necessary.
And the university no longer will cede as much authority for oversight of those organizations to their alumni and national organizations, saying that has contributed to dangerous behavior.
Penn State leaders “no longer believe that vesting so much responsibility in the self-governance of these groups will produce positive outcomes,” Mr. Sims said. “Today, Penn State is drawing a line and imposing critical changes. Enough is enough.”
Among Thursday’s announcements was a permanent withdrawal of recognition of Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
On Feb. 2, Timothy Piazza, 19, a sophomore from Lebanon, N.J., fell down a flight of stairs at the fraternity’s off-campus house. A pledge attending a bid acceptance ceremony who had been drinking, Mr. Piazza was not transported by ambulance for 12 hours and died two days later, State College police said.
The fraternity already faced a criminal investigation and five-year sanction from Penn State over the incident. But a “disturbing” pattern of conduct involving drugs, hazing and other behavior that has since emerged warrants a permanent separation from the university, officials said.
“The serious violations we have found include forced drinking, mandatory hazing and other illegal activity, which combine with a student’s tragic death to lead us to conclude that Beta Theta Pi, despite its notable history at Penn State, merits no continuing place in our community,” Mr. Sims said in a statement.
Pittsburgh attorney Michael Leahey, representing the fraternity, told The Associated Press the decision was a rush to judgment and would be challenged.
Penn State characterized alcohol abuse and other fraternity transgressions as a national problem. It said trouble there, as elsewhere, is tied in part to colleges and universities ceding much responsibility to the organizations, located off campus.
It cited research showing that fraternity and sorority members at Penn State are four times more likely than the general student population to be heavy drinkers. The statement also said sorority women are 50 percent more likely than other female students to be sexually assaulted.
The statement said fraternity men are 62 percent more likely to commit a sexual assault than non-fraternity men.