Death of a Pi Kappa Alpha Pledge

SigmaJoy · #1 10-11-2002, 01:45 PM

UNR freshman drowns in Manzanita Lake

Steve Timko
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
10/10/2002 11:57 pm

An 18-year-old University of Nevada, Reno freshman drowned early Thursday while swimming in a campus lake with other fraternity pledges, authorities said.

The circumstances of Albert Jerome Refuerzo Santos’ death were under investigation, authorities said.

The Las Vegas resident was with a group of pledges to the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity, when he went into the southeast end of Manzanita Lake between 1:15 a.m. and 1:30 a.m., authorities said.

Police are examining whether the death was the result of hazing or fraternity initiation, university police Lt. Todd Renwick said.

“We’re not going to comment on that until we rebuild what happened before, during and after that incident,” Renwick said. “We have numerous witnesses involved (whom) we’re still interviewing.”

Emergency dispatchers got a call about 2:05 a.m. that Santos was missing. The Reno Fire Department responded, and university police were called at 2:11 a.m. Washoe County Sheriff’s Office divers recovered Santos’ body about 4 a.m.

Renwick said indications were that other members of the group had been in the lake, but he did not know how many. Temperatures were in the mid-50s.

He said witness interviews were expected to continue through today and possibly into Saturday.

The investigation is not being handled as a criminal case, Renwick said. He expects within five to 10 days to receive toxicology reports showing whether alcohol was involved.

“It is a tragedy,” Shannon Ellis, vice president for student services, said in a written statement. “We are cooperating with police and offering support to the family and students touched by this incident.”

Santos is a biology major who lived off-campus. The university released no further details about him.

Pi Kappa Alpha was established on campus in 1986 and does not have a fraternity house, said UNR spokesman John Trent.

“As far as we know, they’ve never had any major violations,” Trent said.

Josh Wenner, Interfraternity Council president, said Pi Kappa Alpha won an award last week for its community service, and one of its members was named scholar of the year.

“They’ve been one of our best fraternities on campus,” Wenner said. “They do a lot of community service.”

Nationally prominent Pi Kappa Alpha alumni include Donald Regan, chief of staff under President Ronald Reagan, newscaster Ted Koppel, actor Fess Parker and Pro Football Hall of Famer Lance Alworth, according to the fraternity’s Web site.

In October 1975, initiation rites resulted in the death of Sundowner pledge, UNR football player John Davies, 23.

To join Sundowners, Davies went on a drinking binge that included guzzling 190-proof Everclear grain alcohol. Davies died of acute blood alcohol poisoning when his blood-alcohol content reached .421 percent.

In 1999, the Nevada Legislature made hazing illegal in high school and college.

Wenner said the Sundowner incident and movies like “Animal House” put an image of fraternities in the public’s mind that is not accurate today.

“It’s very hard for us as a whole Greek system to change that image in the community,” Wenner said. “It’s not like it used to be when Sundowners were around.

“As of right now, it is an accident. I think we have been doing a good job of repairing our system.”

He described the university and its students as being in shock.

“We are a very tight student body as well as a very tight Greek system,” Wenner said. “We’re going to be there for each other, as well as other students who are not Greeks.”

#2 10-11-2002, 01:56 PM

I'm pretty sure hazing is against every national fraternities and sorrorities charter. What does it accomplish other than gettin' a bad rap in the papers? I mean, I don't respect anyone more just 'cause they get off on tryin' a beet me.

My Fraternity doesn't haze, an' we're proud of this fact. Even though I jest that there are some people who NEED to get hazed just to calm them down. Nor do I agree with many of the hazing laws that are being put out. Like calling them "Pledges" can be considered hazing, or forcing them to do anything they don't want with no lower limit (so asking someone to do you a favor like gettin' somethin' while you're busy etc.)

I'm really glad that this article however pointed out some of the good things that the fraternity has done on campus, pointing out their prominent alumni, and their community service etc. I hope the police investigation doesn't put them in hot water. And if they WERE hazing, I hope that they, and everyone reading this, learns a lesson.

sigmagrrl · #3 10-11-2002, 03:05 PM

I don't know if hazing was involved here or not, BUT I know that acting without thinking probably was. That's what I hate! I'm not blaming the fraternity, I think this could have happened to anyone

madmax · #4 10-11-2002, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by hendrixski
I'm pretty sure hazing is against every national fraternities and sorrorities charter. What does it accomplish other than gettin' a bad rap in the papers? I mean, I don't respect anyone more just 'cause they get off on tryin' a beet me.

My Fraternity doesn't haze, an' we're proud of this fact. Even though I jest that there are some people who NEED to get hazed just to calm them down. Nor do I agree with many of the hazing laws that are being put out. Like calling them "Pledges" can be considered hazing, or forcing them to do anything they don't want with no lower limit (so asking someone to do you a favor like gettin' somethin' while you're busy etc.)

I'm really glad that this article however pointed out some of the good things that the fraternity has done on campus, pointing out their prominent alumni, and their community service etc. I hope the police investigation doesn't put them in hot water. And if they WERE hazing, I hope that they, and everyone reading this, learns a lesson.

hendrix.

You are worried about the investigation putting them in hot water?

A pledge is dead. He was swimming in a lake at 2 in the morning. You do the math. If he was forced to swim in the lake by members of the fraternity then they should be charged with murder.

SigKapQueen · #5 10-11-2002, 05:42 PM

since i live in vegas, the word spread quickly. i am so shocked to hear that this happen to a pledge. the news came and filmed at our intramural football game so they could here our reaction. one of the greeks said that hazing does not happen at our school and was sorry for what had happen, a lot of my good friends are pikes and they are devastated to hear what happpen to one of their chapters. my heart goes out to his loved ones.

Eupolis · #6 10-11-2002, 07:38 PM

I suggest that we take the approach of the officers who are investigating this incident and not jump to conclusions about whether or not it was hazing.

If they were forced (pressured) to swim in a dangerous, unlit lake in the middle of the night, when the dangers should have been obvious, then there would be grounds for charges of hazing, reckless homicide (manslaughter or third degree murder), and maybe even homicide by wanton disregard for the value of human life (second degree murder, assuming Nevada's codified the "depraved heart murder" rule).

But it's also entirely possible that these guys just decided to go down to the lake and fool around for fun, because sometimes groups of people decide to do crazy things in the middle of the night. I don't know where the lake is in relation to campus, so maybe that idea seems less likely to people who know the area. However, it's a possibility we shouldn't throw out just because a fraternity is involved. If we discard that possibility and jump to the conclusion that it was hazing because of the fraternity connection, we're making the same kind of jump to conclusions that we loathe when the general, uninformed public makes it.

A clearer picture will form with time, and then we'll have a better idea of whether this was some sort of hazing event.

PiKA2001 · #7 10-12-2002, 03:22 AM

Hey guys. I recieved a e-mail about what happened. No one knows for sure if what happened was to do with hazing or not, I think it's wrong to assume that fact from the start. It's sad to hear, but people do some very stupid things when they are drinking. Pi Kappa Alpha is very strongly against hazing. I know of several chapters that international HQ closed because of hazing incidents. Like some of you said before, it is too early to say what really happened, but we should mourn this young mans death instead of blaming a chapter at this time.