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Text of another article on the situation above:

The Herald-Times
Bloomington,IN
September 21, 2001

IU's efforts to curb drinking criticized
Father of student who died three years ago wants stronger response

By John Meunier,
Herald-Times Staff Writer

Gary Bisanz wasn't surprised to learn of another Indiana University student having a dangerous bout with drinking.

His son, Joe, died in 1998 after a party at the Pi Kappa Alpha
fraternity house where he was a member.

On Monday, another IU sophomore was rushed to the hospital after drinking a large quantity of whiskey at Pi Kappa Alpha, 1012 E. Third St. His stomach was pumped and he survived.

The chapter was suspended by IU Dean of Students Richard McKaig on Wednesday and it is being investigated by its national organization and its local housing corporation.

While IU has taken steps in recent years to crack down on problem drinking among its students, this week's incident makes clear that some students still don't get the message.

In this case, Gary Bisanz doesn't believe IU will take strong enough action to keep more problems from happening.

After his son died, the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter was suspended and some students were kicked out of the fraternity, but the house was allowed to remain on campus.

"They treat these young adults as children and they slap them on the wrist," Gary Bisanz said. "These are serious, life-threatening
conditions, so I think the response should be at a level that is
comparable to the offense."

He said the police, not the IU dean of students office, should
investigate such matters.

IU police were not notified of the incident or the chapter's
suspension by IU until the department received a news release sent out by IU Wednesday. The department has not been asked to look into the matter.

Bisanz accused McKaig and IU President Myles Brand of failing to
protect the health and welfare of IU students.

"Their lack of immediate and long-lasting provisions just encourages further hazing and alcohol abuse on their campus," he said. "If they were serious about making their campus safer, my son, Joseph, and his classmate Seth Korona would not be dead."

Korona was an IU freshman who died in February after sustaining a fatal head injury at a party at Theta Chi fraternity.

That fraternity chapter was closed down by its national organization and all the fraternity members were evicted from the house.

"I understand a parent's grief," McKaig said. "I think the university deals as forthrightly as it can with violations of its rules.

"I presume he believes the closing of the Pi Kappa Alpha chapter
should be the result of this process. We will see what happens as that process has 14 days before it concludes."

McKaig believes the university took the right action after Joe Bisanz died.

He believes the members of the fraternity who remained were serious about turning around the chapter and bringing it into line with the ideals of the national fraternity.

He doesn't yet know exactly what happened at the chapter house Sunday night.

After talking with the student - whose name he would not reveal out of concerns for his privacy - and the student's mother, McKaig
offered the following version of the events that night.

At a ceremony, each potential new member was paired with an active member, who would become that new member's dad.

The new members are traditionally called pledges but Pi Kappa Alpha prefers the term "associate member."

The sophomore student and his new dad went to a room in the chapter house after this ceremony. Another dad and son pair may have been there as well.

The student was given a bottle of whiskey and according to him was not pressured to drink it. He was told he didn't need to finish it if he didn't want to.

McKaig said the student was told by his dad that his "family" drinks Jim Beam.

The student told McKaig he didn't like the taste of whiskey so he
drank it as fast as he could.

He wasn't sure how much he drank.

Sometime early Monday morning he was taken by one or more fraternity members to Bloomington Hospital where his stomach was pumped.

In the discussion with McKaig, the student or his mother told McKaig that the student's blood alcohol level had reached .375.

To reach a blood alcohol level that high, a 180 pound man would have to drink 18 to 20 shots of whiskey over an hour's time.

At much more than a .40 blood alcohol level people can fall into
comas and the risk of death rises as the level climbs.

McKaig said the student insisted that he was solely responsible for his own conduct.

His mother, however, made it clear that the blame goes farther than that, McKaig said.

"She told him, 'You need to know that if you died, I would be holding someone responsible for manslaughter,' and then she looked at me," McKaig said.

The fraternity chapter released a statement Thursday saying the
student's blood alcohol level was not .375. The statement did not say whether that number was too high or too low.

The chapter's statement said two fraternity members have been
suspended from the chapter, seven students have been fined and placed on probation and three students are still under judicial review. The statement did not say how the sanctioned students were connected to the incident.

McKaig said the chapter's actions would be considered as part of the IU judicial process.

He admitted to frustration over the difficulty in changing student
behavior. Closing down a fraternity doesn't stop drinking, but he
hopes messages are getting through to the next generation of students even if some of the current ones don't appear to listen.

"We know the extent of abuse of alcohol among students across the country is pervasive," he said. "We know this issue isn't going to turn around overnight. And we know it's not going to be addressed with a single prong."


A couple of personal observations:

One. The IU Dean, even after two deaths and several other problems did not simply jump to any conclusions and expell the chapter outright. He seems committed to the University judicial policy. He says that he believes alcohol education can be successful, although expressing frustration at the lack of quicker progress.

Two. The young pledge's mom's implication made it clear in her quote that she would have held the University responsible in any lawsuit had her son died. That's one reason administrations are becoming much more proactive in these cases. They don't want the liability. Welcome back to In Loco Parentis. You could reasonably assume that the National and possibly the house corporation and advisors might also be named.

Three. Along the same lines, Nationals and, in this case, local house corporations are becoming quicker to close or suspend chapters -- even before the university. Same issues. A couple of major lawsuits can bankrupt a national fraternity.

Four. This chapter had a previous death.

Finally. How is it that on a campus that has lost four chapters over the past year and a half, the message hasn't gotten through?

A lot of us keep sleeping through the wake up calls.

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