Timothy Piazza, a sophomore at Penn State, died while attending a pledge party at the Beta Theta Pi fraternity.
The Beta Theta Pi fraternity’s national website says “(e)very member will live Beta Theta Pi’s values”; and that Beta Theta Pi members “choose to act responsibly, weighing the consequences of their actions on themselves and those around them”; they display integrity when “Betas choose to act responsibly, weighing the consequences of their actions on themselves and those around them.”
But 18 fraternity brothers at Penn State allegedly failed to do anything close to that and now face criminal charges of involuntary manslaughter, aggravated and simple assault, evidence tampering and hazing after Timothy Piazza, a sophomore engineering student from Lebanon, New Jersey who pledged the fraternity, died after attending a pledge ceremony party.
At that party, prosecutors say pledges were egged on to down vodka, beer and wine.
“It was called a ‘gauntlet’ and they made the pledges, soon to be brothers, run from station to station and drink enormous amounts of alcohol in different phases,” said District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller, according to a report by CBS 2 in New York.
Prosecutors contend that Piazza fell down a flight of stairs to the basement head first. They say he also fell several other times, injuring his head. But the brothers failed to call 911 to get him treatment until the next morning. Instead, they tried to awaken him on their own.
“These brothers gathered around Timothy where some of them described that he looked dead and they waited over 40 minutes before they called for help while some of them Googled things like, ‘What to do with a head injury?’” Miller said.
Prosecutors say they relied on video footage at the fraternity house to put together a timeline of the incident that happened on Feb. 4. The footage, they say, contradicted witness testimony.
On March 30, Penn State permanently banned Beta Theta Pi from campus, accusing it of a “persistent pattern” of excessive bad behaviors.
“Penn State took action. But the public will wonder and they will need to address why it took this death for the university to shut down the chapter whether there was an apparent history,” says Glenn Selig, chief strategist at the national PR firm, The Publicity Agency.
And then there’s the fraternity itself, which has chapters on college campuses across the U.S.
“The early findings of that investigation indicated that the behavior of several undergraduate members was in direct contradiction of the International Fraternity’s expectations and risk management policies, as well as the International Fraternity’s reputation and commitment to character development. Beta Theta Pi International Fraternity has clearly and consistently expressed its position that it does not tolerate hazing or alcohol abuse in any form by its members,” the Beta Theta Pi national fraternity said in statement on May 5.
It’s another public relations blow to Penn State, which is still recovering from how it handled the child abuse sex scandal involving former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky. And it’s a reputational hit to the Beta Theta Pi national fraternity.
“And though Beta Theta Pi issued a statement, it may not be enough given what happened,” says Selig. “Both the fraternity and the university must be mindful of how the alleged behavior of these undergrads impacts them and take steps accordingly.”
STATEMENT FROM THE BETA THETA PI FRATERNITY:
Beta Theta Pi International Fraternity has learned of charges levied by the Centre County District Attorney’s Office against its former chapter at Penn State University and several former members after the death of new member Tim Piazza. The nature of those charges are incredibly disheartening as the organization and its membership continue to grieve Tim’s passing and the pain experienced by his family.
Since the incident in early February, the International Fraternity has cooperated fully with local officials in their investigation. The early findings of that investigation indicated that the behavior of several undergraduate members was in direct contradiction of the International Fraternity’s expectations and risk management policies, as well as the International Fraternity’s reputation and commitment to character development. Beta Theta Pi International Fraternity has clearly and consistently expressed its position that it does not tolerate hazing or alcohol abuse in any form by its members. The former undergraduate members were well educated by the International Fraternity and Penn State on these policies; however, they are entitled to the presumption of innocence as they face these charges.
As such, and despite the number of accolades bestowed upon the former chapter by the university in recent years, the International Fraternity stands by its decision to suspend and disband the former chapter on February 17, 2017. The International Fraternity’s policy that prohibited alcohol in the Penn State chapter house, along with the extensive annual investment in risk management, leadership and character-development programs that teach young men the importance of integrity and caring for others, underscored the International Fraternity’s expectations of all of its members.
SOURCE: The Publicity Agency
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