[DeltAlum]

Besides the obvious tragedy involved, there is something else here that every undergraduate fraternity and sorority member needs to look at very carefully:

Individual fraternity members were sued -- and lost. Are you ready to take a chance on going into your adult life heavily in debt? They might have chosen to sue the men's families. Are you prepared to put your parents at risk?

That's beside the obvious targets, the Nationals and the university.

Think!

Below are three articles from Fraternal News pertaining to this story:

Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 10:47:52 -0700
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
Subject: Chico State fraternity settles fatal hazing lawsuit

Associated Press
July 15, 2002

Chico State fraternity settles fatal hazing lawsuit

OROVILLE, Calif. --Eight fraternity brothers have agreed to pay a
combined $500,000 settlement in the drinking-related death of a Chico
State University freshman after a fraternity initiation ceremony.

A judge will now decide whether both the national and local chapter
of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity will go on trial Aug. 19 in the
lawsuit filed by the parents of Adrian Heideman.

Attorneys for the East Coast-based fraternity, which has asked the
judge to dismiss the case, said Heideman alone is to blame for his
death, and that the fraternal organization cannot be expected to
supervise day-to-day activities of a frat house 3,000 miles away. The
local Pi Kappa Phi chapter, which was dissolved after Heideman's
death, argues it can't be sued because it no longer exists.

Lawyers for Heideman's parents maintain there is 'ample evidence from
which a jury could conclude that Pi Kappa Phi was fully aware of the
risks to Adrian and had the legal power to prevent those risks ...
(but) made a conscious decision not to do so."

Heideman, 18, of Palo Alto, died after apparently choking on his own
vomit after a night of alleged hazing at the fraternity on Oct. 6,
2000.

The suit alleges that he was forced to drink beer and blackberry
brandy and that when he passed out, he was left to die in a basement
room while his fraternity brothers were upstairs, watching hired
strippers.

Local Pi Kappa Phi fraternity officers Brandon Bettar, Richard DeLuna
and Samuel Dobbyn drew 30-day jail terms after pleading "no contest"
to criminal charges related to Heideman's death.

They and three other fraternity members, Mark Bates, Nicholas Sutton
and Theodore Bloemendaal, have agreed to pay the Heideman family
$75,000 each in return for being dropped from the suit. Two other Pi
Kappa Phi members, Daniel Santos and Benjamin Hopfer, settled for
$25,000 apiece.

Butte County Superior Court Judge Roger Gilbert is hearing the case.

(c) 2002 The Associated Press.


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Message: 2
Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 10:52:23 -0700
From: Fraternity/Sorority Newsclips <doug.case@sdsu.edu>
Subject: Heideman's family wants gruesome picture posted

Chico Enterprise Record
May 22, 2002

Heideman's family wants gruesome picture posted

By ROGER H. AYLWORTH - Staff Writer

It's a disturbing image: a young man lying on his back with blood and
vomit on his face and chest. But it's a picture the mother of this
man wants every freshman at Chico State University to see - and
remember.

Edie Heideman of Palo Alto, mother of 18-year-old Chico State
freshman Adrian Heideman - who choked to death on his own vomit
following a drinking binge Oct. 7, 2002, at the Pi Kappa Phi
fraternity house - wants to make sure what happened to her son is not
forgotten.

In a broadcast interview with a San Francisco Bay Area television
station and later through her attorney, Alex K. Grab of San
Francisco, Mrs. Heideman said she wants the police photos taken of
Adrian after his death in a basement room in the fraternity house
enlarged and posted around the Chico State campus during freshman
orientation.

"We hadn't even been told at freshman orientation that you could die
from drinking too much, die from alcohol poisoning," Mrs. Heideman
told the television reporter.

Grab said no formal contacts have been made with the university but
he is trying to set up meetings to discuss the possibility of posting
the photos.

The attorney, who is currently suing both the local chapter of Pi
Kappa Phi and its national organization over Adrian's death, said the
university has been cooperative with the family on other issues.

But officials at Chico State aren't exactly thrilled with this proposal.

"I suppose she can post things on campus like everybody else does,"
said Shauna Quinn, director of the Campus Alcohol and Drug Education
Center at Chico State.

"We certainly wouldn't think of that as proactive educational
material," said Quinn, whose office is largely responsible for
alcohol and drug education programs at the university.

"Seeing him in a pool of vomit doesn't seem like a valuable poster,"
she continued.

"Actually it's not what I would do," said Paul Moore, campus vice
president for university advancement and student affairs.

"What we want to do is talk to the students, not scare them. I'd be
reluctant to make this the centerpiece of orientation," said Moore.

Not long after Adrian died, the national headquarters of Pi Kappa Phi
sponsored series of roadside billboards in the area, featuring a
photo of the smiling blond-haired freshman with the words, "Passing
out may be a sign of alcohol poisoning - save a life, call 9-1-1."
Under Adrian's pictures are the dates 1982-2000, the teen's birth and
death dates.

Quinn called the billboard campaign "valuable."

Moore said he has yet to be formally approached by the Heideman
family or its representatives about the police photo proposal.

"We don't want to argue with them, but I don't think this is the way
to go," said the vice president.

The civil case against the fraternity and the national organization
is set to go to trial in August in Butte County Superior Court, just
about the same time as freshman orientation at Chico State.

-------------------------
Chico Enterprise Record
May 24, 2002

Disturbing photo should be posted

In the fall of 2000, many on the Chico State University campus swore
they would not forget Adrian Heideman. People said his death would
always serve as a reminder about the danger of binge drinking.

Billboards with the college freshman's smiling face were placed
around town and fliers were posted on campus with the message that
drinking to excess can kill. That's what happened to Heideman. He
drank too much brandy at a fraternity party, passed out downstairs
and never awoke. He choked on his own vomit and died.

In the aftermath of that unfortunate death, the most vivid reminder
of Heideman isn't the smiling picture. It's the 9-1-1 tape of the
call from the fraternity as distraught friends struggled to revive
him. If ever there's a cautionary tale about the dangers of excessive
drinking, it's that tape. No college student can listen to it without
it having a lasting effect.

It's harsh. It's cruel. But it's unforgettable.

Heideman's family wants to take it one step further. Edie Heideman of
Palo Alto wants photos of her dead son posted on campus, but not the
smiling mug shot. Instead, she wants to display a photo that was
taken by police. The photo was snapped shortly after Heideman was
declared dead at the scene. He's fully clothed, lying in a twin bed
in the basement, on his back. He's ashen. There's blood and vomit on
his face and chest. His pants are wet.

Edie Heideman hopes all Chico State freshmen and their parents can be
confronted with that image when they come to enroll their children in
the summer for freshman orientation. The image-conscious university
doesn't want to batter parents with that gruesome scene. The
university would prefer to deliver the message that binge drinking is
dangerous - but without hammering them over the head, which is
exactly what the dead-body photo would do.

We admire the Heideman family for suggesting the idea. Given the
choice, how many parents would want such a photo of their dead son
posted on campus? Probably very few.

It's a delicate issue for the university, but it's not a difficult
choice. The disturbing photo might repel some people, but they'll
remember the message. We're not convinced that people are getting the
message now. The Heideman family's brave stance would ensure that a
university education extends beyond the classroom.