Lehigh Fraternity President accused of risking woman's life

[shadokat]

This is not good....

Subject: Lehigh fraternity leader accused of risking woman's life

The Morning Call
March 18, 2004

Frat leader accused of risking woman's life
Police: Lehigh student lied to cover up party while teen was passed out with 0.30 blood-alcohol ratio.

By Manuel Gamiz Jr.
Of The Morning Call

The president of a Lehigh University fraternity faces charges that he lied to police about a party where a 19-year-old student passed out from drinking alcohol. He is accused of trying to cover up the incident and delaying medical care for the student, a woman.

Theta Delta Chi President Edward F. Cilli, whose fraternity is on
probation for alcohol violations, told a university police officer driving past the fraternity early Feb. 27 that there was no party, police say. Thinking everything was fine, the officer left.

Inside the fraternity house at 107 Hill Drive in Bethlehem, university police say, the 19-year-old was passed out with a blood-alcohol ratio of more than 0.30 percent. She was taken to St. Luke's Hospital, Fountain Hill, by several frantic students and remained in the hospital for a day, police said.

Lehigh Police Chief Edward Shupp said police found out later that Cilli lied to them about the party, and in doing so endangered the life of the woman, whose name was not released, by delaying her emergency care. Cilli, 19, of Asbury, N.J., was charged Monday with reckless endangerment, making false reports to police and selling or furnishing alcohol to minors. Two other fraternity members also were charged. Like Cilli, Cheng Wang,
21, of Beaverton, Ore., was charged with reckless endangerment, making false reports and selling alcohol to minors. Police said he was tending bar at the party.

Mete Kahyagil, 20, no address given, who told police he found the woman walking along the street and was only trying to help her, was charged with reckless endangerment, making false reports and unsworn falsification. All were released on $25,000 unsecured bail. Shupp said the investigation is continuing and others might be charged.

University officials said they are investigating the three students and the actions of Theta Delti Chi, which has been on disciplinary probation since last spring for serving alcohol to underage students.

The latest incident might lead to further discipline and possibly lead to its suspension from campus activities, officials said Wednesday. ''Because of last spring's violation, they were not allowed to have social events or have any alcohol inside the house,'' said John Smeaton, vice provost for student affairs. ''Based on the information we have, it looks bad.''

The case will go through the university's discipline process, Smeaton said. It will also go before District Justice Nancy Matos-Gonzalez, who will preside over a hearing for the three students March 25.

''We will look both at the individuals as well as the entire group,''
Smeaton said. ''The issue that someone's health was put at risk is very serious, and that will be taken into account.''

No one at Phi Delta Theta fraternity house, which overlooks Bethlehem from atop the campus, would comment Wednesday.

Other Lehigh fraternities that have seen disciplinary action include Sigma Nu, which recently had its university recognition withdrawn for hazing, Smeaton said. In December 2001, the national Phi Delta Theta fraternity withdrew its recognition from the Lehigh chapter after an extremely drunk student fell from the balcony. According to the national chapter's Web site, the Lehigh chapter is inactive.

In March 2000, Lehigh banned Zeta Psi for four years because members violated school policy by bringing a beer keg into their house. At the time, Zeta Psi was on disciplinary probation for an earlier alcohol offense and had been ordered to be alcohol-free for the rest of the school year. Earlier, Lehigh had suspended Theta Delta Chi for four years after a 1992 hazing incident.

University police have gone to the fraternity house in the past, Shupp said. ''We're called to all fraternities at one time or another. Sometimes it's something minor, sometimes not.''

Shupp said an investigation, which included interviews with several people at the party, revealed that Theta Delta Chi planned a party on Feb. 26 with the Chi Omega sorority house. The hospitalized student was not a member of the sorority, Shupp said.

The university officer went to the brick Theta Delta Chi fraternity
house at 2:52 a.m. Feb. 27 on routine patrol and spoke to Cilli.

Shupp said the officer had no reason to go inside the house because he had no knowledge that there were more than 50 people inside, including the student who had passed out.

University police were called to St. Luke's Hospital by Fountain Hill
police concerning a disturbance call to the hospital caused by the
Lehigh students trying to get help for the student, Shupp said.

[DeltAlum]

You read a lot of dumb things in this thread, but this takes first prize for stupid.

[ZTAngel]

You would think they would try to be on their best behavior considering that they're already on probation for serving alcohol to minors.

[33girl]

Haven't they had a lot of problems with the students not going to the hospital because they grill them about where they were and try to get the fraternities in trouble?

I'm not saying that what they did is right, but if a policy is interfering with students' lives they need to take a second look.

[WCUgirl]

Originally posted by 33girl
Haven't they had a lot of problems with the students not going to the hospital because they grill them about where they were and try to get the fraternities in trouble?

I'm not saying that what they did is right, but if a policy is interfering with students' lives they need to take a second look.

I agree - by giving them the 3rd degree when they come in for emergency treatments, the hospitals are encouraging students to NOT take action in these situations.

[DeltAlum]

Doesn't matter at all. The young woman could have died. You have to put human life above the Chapter. You just have to.

[James]

Yes, but that assumes you know the woman is more than just passed out from drinking.

It looks bad on paper, but I doubt the Chapter president was even thinking about the passed out girl when he made that statement to the pasing patrolman.

Also, its a big if that even breaking up the party, which is what the cop would have done, would have gotten the girl treatment earlier. Chances are she would have just stayed asleep wherever she was.

[aephi alum]

:: shakes head ::

We had a similar problem at my alma mater, with students being afraid to seek medical attention for themselves or others in situations like this. For a while, it was the formal policy of the campus med center that if someone came in with, say, alcohol poisoning, they would involve the campus police, who would charge everyone in sight, especially if the individual were a minor. So people just wouldn't seek medical attention for themselves or their friends, even if they really needed it. It's not right or mature to put someone's life in danger because you're afraid of having to pay a fine, but it happens.

[DeltAlum]

Originally posted by James
It looks bad on paper, but I doubt the Chapter president was even thinking about the passed out girl when he made that statement to the pasing patrolman.

And therein lies a big part of the problem.

When you're the person in charge, you should consider all of the alternatives, including the worst case. It's not like alcohol poisoning and deaths are unusual.

The guy screwed up.

[IvySpice]

When you're the person in charge, you should consider all of the alternatives, including the worst case. It's not like alcohol poisoning and deaths are unusual.

This is a really good point. Passing out, like a hangover headache, is just considered par for the partying course. It shouldn't be. It's normal for moderate amounts of alcohol to make a person sleepy. In contrast, passing out is NOT normal, even though it is common. If you pass out -- that is, if you look like you're sleeping, but people can't wake you up -- then you're in danger. That's not sleep; it is a COMA.

If people are falling asleep at your party, you better be trying to wake them up, and if they don't wake up, you better be calling 911.

[James]

He may not have even known at the time he said something to the police that she was passed out. Chapter presidents are not the first to know those things.

Also. At any party over 50 people it gets really hard to keep up with who might be where and doing what.

And alcohol poisoning that is truly life threatening is extremely rare. In fact by virtue of us being on this site we are probably more sensitive to it than anybody else in the country.

The lesson here is something more simple than these people screwing up. The lesson is that in todays legal climate where we send people to jail for years for getting high on a weekend and sue everyone in sight for any shallow pretext, if someone gets hurt at an event you are connected with you will suffer.

This could have happened at any party of any chapter including ones that follow all the rules. You are not going to escape.

There was a case posted on here years ago about a Kappa Sigma chapter that played by the rules, had third party vendors, had paid security, and when strangers broke into the party and hurt their guests they were still sued and held accountable.

Originally posted by DeltAlum
And therein lies a big part of the problem.

When you're the person in charge, you should consider all of the alternatives, including the worst case. It's not like alcohol poisoning and deaths are unusual.

The guy screwed up.

[exlurker]

From the March 25 Brown and White:

http://www.bw.lehigh.edu/story.asp?ID=17395

Interesting update! Story includes statements from the alleged bartender, who says he wasn't the only one tending bar that night, and that he drove the young woman to the hospital.

The story also says that the event was a "big-little" party for Chi Omega.

Some admissions of lying about what happened, in order to protect the two GLOs, are also included. And there's an implication that the bartender has been singled out as the only bartender because he is easily identifiable (because he is Asian-American).

[exlurker]

Lehigh's student paper reports that AOII will be moving into the Theta Delta Chi house next year. It __implies__ that Theta Delta Chi may not be on campus, although the story notes that no official announcement has been made.

http://www.bw.lehigh.edu/story.asp?ID=17566

Chi Omega will also be moving to a different location.