Student on Life Support: Alcohol (Rider U. Phi Kappa Tau Event)
 

A CBS station in Pennsylvania reports:

http://cbs3.com/topstories/local_story_088154610.html

The 18-year-old student "allegedly consumed a large quantity of alcohol during 'hazing' at the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity early Thursday morning.

College officials said a second 'very intoxicated' student was also rushed to the hospital to receive emergency room care."

NOTE: The following article quotes a university spokesperson as saying that the activity was probably NOT 'hazing."
http://blog.nj.com/ledgerupdates/200...cal_after.html

Reports I read was that it was not a hazing situation.

Best we wait and see.

Update March 30, 2007
WCBS reports that the young man has died. My condolences to his family and friends.

http://wcbstv.com/topstories/local_story_089140457.html

Excerpts from WCBS story:

Gary Devercelly, 18, of Long Beach, Calif. died at about 10:50 a.m. at Capital Health System's Fuld Campus in Trenton, said Don MacNeill, a hospital spokesman. Devercelly had been in critical condition at the hospital. . . .

Lawrence Township police were dispatched to the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house at 1:52 a.m. Thursday on a report of a student vomiting from drinking alcohol.

Devercelly and a second student, who was also intoxicated, were taken to Fuld for treatment of alcohol poisoning.

Devercelly was admitted to the intensive care unit.

The second student, whose name was not released, was treated in the emergency room and released. . . .

Edited to add: Rider University announcements about Mr. Devercelly’s death and the schedule for a memorial service at the school:

http://www.rider.edu/139_10026.htm

http://www.rider.edu/139_10031.htm

Well, reports to come!

I hope it is in the negative!

But only time will tell!:o

Keep it and us updated.

Just reported that this young man died!:(

Phi Tau reaction
 

So the headquarters in Ohio finds out about the young man going to the hospital and they WAIT to see what happens before they step in? Good grief! You immediately step in, close down current operations and get a hold on things BEFORE more bad news happens or the university is forced to act. You tell members to cooperate but to make no statements and immediately send a staff person to help. Maybe they did some of this, but it was not reported like that. God bless that young man and his family, but--even without hazing, they supplied alcohol to a minor on their property, most likely involved him in drinking games--and did not register a party. Some--or all of those--might have invalidated their risk management insurance coverage. What part of those infractions does their headquarters think might take a "wait and see" approach. Now, whatever they do is REACTIONARY instead of PROACTIONARY.

I really wish more people acknowledged the dangers of binge drinking.

But I don't recall ever hearing of someone being on life support and eventually dying from binge drinking (other than alcohol poisoning). Did the articles state how much he drank?

A friend of mine works at Riders and was on the scene....He and his co-workers did everything they could to save this kid's life.

What is so senseless about this death is that after the kid vomited and passed out and they couldn't wake him up, they waited another 30 minutes to call my friends (Campus Cop and EMT) to help out. My friend made a telling statement saying that if this happened at a different fraternity house, they would have waited until morning to do something....

A truly senseless death, a sidenote if the wasn't reported, the parents live in the LBC and turn off their phone, the LBCPD had to go to their house and break the news about their son.

Rider Student Dies After Fraternity Drinking Binge

(CBS/AP) LAWRENCE, N.J. A Rider University freshman died Friday after excessive drinking at a fraternity house on the university's campus, a hospital spokesman said.

Gary Devercelly, 18, of Long Beach, Calif. died at about 10:50 a.m. at Capital Health System's Fuld Campus in Trenton, said Don MacNeill, a hospital spokesman. Devercelly had been in critical condition at the hospital.
http://wcbstv.com/local/local_story_089140457.html

http://news.aol.com/topnews/articles...30195409990035

Wilson graduate dies after binge drinking at fraternity
Teen enrolled at N.J. college for a change of atmosphere.
By Kevin Butler, Staff writer
http://www.presstelegram.com/news/ci_5562988

Freshman at Rider dies after drinking

Gary DeVercelly became comatose after a party at a frat house. Authorities look to see if hazing was a factor.

By Chris Newmarker

Associated Press
http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20..._drinking.html

Party Turns Deadly for College Freshman


Memorial Service Saturday

http://a.abclocal.go.com/graphics/v3...pvi_byline.gif By Nora Muchanic

LAWRENCE TWP., N.J. - March 30, 2007 - Rider University students are stunned by the news that 18-year-old freshman Gary DeVercelly of Long Beach, California died Friday morning as a result of alcohol poisoning.
http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/story?se...cal&id=5165974

A dream on hold

Rider freshman caught up in moment, friends say
Friday, March 30, 2007 BY LISA CORYELL

LAWRENCE -- Gary DeVer celly, a laid-back, fun-loving California kid, has dreams of making it big in sports and academics on a small college campus.
But the Rider University freshman, comatose yesterday after a night of binge drinking, may have lost himself in the excitement of pledging a fraternity, friends say.
http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.s...260.xml&coll=5

Drinking culture plagues colleges across the nation


Friday, March 30, 2007 BY ANDREW KITCHENMAN

Heavy beats spinning from a disc jockey in the corner. Students dancing in a basement, sipping on beers from dozens of 30-packs. The games begin: beer pong, flip cup and "who can funnel the most beer, the quickest?"
That scene is a typical Wednesday night at the Phi Kappa Tau house at Rider University, according to several students yesterday, who described the fraternity members as some of the biggest, and most fun, drinkers on the Lawrence campus.
http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.s...260.xml&coll=5
Alcohol poisoning kills Rider freshman

Friends say student knew night of drinking was ahead
Saturday, March 31, 2007 BY DARRYL R. ISHERWOOD

LAWRENCE -- Gary DeVercelly knew when he walked into the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house Wednesday night that he was going to drink heavily.
A hometown friend told The Times that the Rider University freshman confided to his girlfriend that he would be drinking Absolut Citron -- an entire bottle. The lemon-flavored vodka is his fraternity "family's" drink of choice, he told her, and he and his "big brother" would be drinking together.
http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.s...160.xml&coll=5
College mourns loss of a 'sweet kid'

Many express hope his death will spur others to drink responsibly
Saturday, March 31, 2007 BY ANDREW KITCHENMAN

LAWRENCE -- The mood was somber across the Rider University campus yesterday as students began the grieving process for fellow student and friend Gary DeVercelly, even as they struggled to make sense of his death.
Resident assistant Dhwani Shelat said she knew DeVercelly from his frequent visits to the floor of the dorm where she lives. She said she didn't believe that anyone forced him to drink the large quantity of alcohol that led to his death. Like others, she saw his death as a heartbreaking loss.
http://www.nj.com/news/times/index.s...160.xml&coll=5
Rider U. freshman who drank too much at a frat party dies


Saturday, March 31, 2007 BY TOM HESTER AND MARY JO PATTERSON
Star-Ledger Staff
An 18-year-old Rider University freshman who collapsed after drinking to excess at a fraternity house party on campus died yesterday, one day after being rushed to a Trenton hospital.
Gary DeVercelly of Long Beach, Calif., died at 10:50 a.m. on Capital Health System's Fuld campus, said Casey DeBlasio, spokeswoman for Mercer County Prosecutor James Bocchini, whose office is investigating whether hazing played a role in DeVercelly's death. DeVercelly was a pledge of Phi Kappa Tau fraternity.
DeBlasio said an autopsy will be performed to establish the cause of death, but suggested binge drinking was to blame. The Rider college newspaper, quoting an unnamed university official, has reported DeVercelly drank three-quarters of a bottle of Absolut vodka in 15 minutes.
http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/index....380.xml&coll=1

Thoughts and prayers with Phi Taus everywhere

Truly a loss to all.
Best wishes and thoughts to all of his family, Brothers, friends and class mates.

Three-quarters of a bottle of vodka in about 15 minutes !?!? That's sad and scary, if true. I wish someone at the event had intervened to encourage or if necessary enforce a more responsible drinking pace. (Leaving aside for the moment the fact that the young man was not legally old enough to be drinking at all.)

No one knows the extent to which an incident like this angers me. I have no sympathy for anyone involved.

First off, I don't generally get down on other fraternities, but that chapter is toast. They should be closed down and prosecuted. Why should I pity an organization that gives us all a black eye?

The parents are not faultless either. They obviously did not teach their son how to drink in moderation - just sent him off to college.

The 21-year-old drinking age is not working. I can't recall even one instance like this happening when I was in school in the '70s when the age was 18. Now it seems to happen regularly.

The Darwin Award, of course, goes to the kid himself. I don't even sympathize with him. How does one get into college (with a scholarship?) and still be stupid enough to drink that much alcohol?

To quote the Times of Trenton, "Brittney Coates said she knows that Gary made his own decisions, but like her brother she is finding it hard not to place blame.

There is one thing she does know, however. If she or any of DeVercelly's other hometown friends had been with him Wednesday night, he would still be alive. 'Honestly, if any of his true friends had been there with him this wouldn't have happened,' she said. 'He just needed a good friend to be there and there wasn't."

You can say that again!

I agree with most of this, except for the fraternity thing. They'll probably get closed down, just because thats how HQ's respond to events like this. However, other than the specific individuals (if any) that purchased the alcohol or provided it to the kid, I don't think they should be prosecuted. I hope the parents don't sue the school or national fraternity, although that seems likely. I hate when people blame others for something they had an equal role in. Of course, I don't blame the parents entirely. They may have been fantastic people who raised a good kid, but that kid just acted irresponsibly.

As for the drinking age, that may or may not make a difference. While it may be true that kids didn't do this when the drinking age was 18, it was also a different breed of kid. We are at the lowest point in this country's history for self-responsibility. My parents generation was more mature and responsible at 18 than mine is at 22.

Yeah, i'm like Shinerbock. I agree with you for the most part.....except for the part about prosecuting the fraternity.