Hell Week: Chi Tau at Chico

[hoosier]

Surviving pledge tells of ordeal
7 will be tried in fatal Chico hazing

Cecilia Vega, Chronicle Staff Writer
Saturday, June 4, 2005

Oroville, Butte County -- "Hell Week" was just that for Michael Quintana.

The Chico State University student who survived the bizarre hazing ritual that killed his friend testified Friday that during the final days of rushing Chi Tau, their would-be fraternity brothers controlled what they ate (such as raw onions and garlic), whom they spoke to (no women), what clothes they wore (matching pledge uniforms) and even what they looked at (only other fraternity members' shoes).

Quintana, 20, testified for seven hours during a preliminary hearing, detailing publicly for the first time the alleged humiliation he and 21-year-old Matthew Carrington of Pleasant Hill endured in their effort to become members of the rogue fraternity.

In the end, Butte County Superior Court Judge Stephen Vincent ruled there was sufficient evidence to make four fraternity members stand trial for felony involuntary manslaughter and misdemeanor hazing and three other members for misdemeanor hazing. All have pleaded not guilty.

"They ordered us to work out, what clothes to wear, where to look, where not to look. ... (They) made us roll around in beer on the floor, and do many, many, many push-ups," Quintana testified. "Pretty much activities that you were never meant to accomplish, but to fail."

Quintana and Carrington were the only two pledges rushing the fraternity, which had been expelled from Chico State in 2002 for repeated incidents of violence and alcohol violations. Fraternity members allegedly forced the two young men to stand on one foot atop a bench in the dank basement while drinking and dousing themselves with almost 30 gallons of water during the night of Feb. 1 as fans blasted them with cold air.

"If we spilled the water, they yelled at us, or if we weren't drinking long enough, they yelled at us," Quintana said. "Pretty much they were always looking for something to yell at us about."

The initiation was known as "Hell Week," which others in Chi Tau boasted they had survived and promised Carrington and Quintana they would too. Carrington, however, suffered from hypothermia and collapsed, later dying of water intoxication that forced his brain stem to swell.

Quintana said he wanted to throw in the towel several times during the evening and tried to get Carrington to leave with him but stuck it out when Carrington refused.

"The reason I was still going through it is because I didn't want Matt to be the only one there," he testified. "I knew he wouldn't quit. He wasn't a quitter."

On trial for manslaughter, which carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison, are Jerry Ming Lim, 25; Gabriel John Maestretti, 22; Carlos Abrille, 22; and John Paul Fickes, 19.

Charged with misdemeanor hazing, which carries a maximum of one year in county jail and a $5,000 fine, are Richard Joseph Hirth, 22; Michael Fernandez, 19; and Trent Stiefvater, 20.

It was not clear Friday how many of the men are students at Chico State University.

Chi Tau had operated as Delta Sigma Phi until 2002, when the house was expelled from Chico State and the Interfraternity Council for serving alcohol to minors. Alcohol was not a factor in Carrington's death.

On Friday, the defendants were dressed in suits and flanked by their lawyers and parents.

"There is no other evidence that any of these people knew that this was a dangerous situation," said Clyde Blackmon, Lim's attorney. The defendants did not know that "drinking water, even copious amounts of water, could lead to the death of a human being."

Carrington's parents -- who have filed a wrongful-death lawsuit against the fraternity and 10 members, as well as the fraternity's national chapter, Delta Sigma Phi -- audibly sobbed in the courtroom as Quintana detailed the last hours of their son's life.

"My son was just out of it," Carrington's father, Michael, said. "Matt suffered from hypothermia. Hypothermia completely disorients you."

Carrington's hazing began in October, his mother has said, with innocuous stunts such as sending pledges to the beach to trade their shirts with homeless people. Fraternity brothers also videotaped pledges dressed up like prostitutes walking down a street in Southern California, she said.

Quintana said that when Lim, whom authorities identified as the mastermind behind "Hell Week," was kind enough to let him and Carrington sleep in his room one night during the week's initiation -- instead of in concrete holes in the freezing basement of the fraternity house -- he was harassed for being too nice.

At one point the two pledges were forced to do push-ups in raw sewage when the pipes in the fraternity house backed up, Quintana said. Chi Tau members doused them with water as they were forced to lie on their backs, feet in the air, and sing a song called "I'm a Little Cockroach," he recalled.

The two also were forced to eat what fraternity members called a "pledge apple" (a raw onion) and "pledge candy" (raw garlic cloves), Quintana testified.

On the night they were allegedly forced to drink water from five-gallon jugs, the two pledges asked permission to urinate on themselves; when that happened, Quintana said, "we would have to say, 'Sir is peeing.'

"During that week, they pretty much ran every part of your life," Quintana said.

[DolphinChicaDDD]

The only thing i don't get is how the parents are suing Delta Sigma Phi. From what I understand from the article, Delta Sigma Phi was expelled in 2002, and this was an unrecognized group of men, acting like a fraterninty, called Chi Tau. If the nationals as well as the school pulled recognition, how can the nationals be held responsible? Has this ever happend before- when a group left but was still sued?

[tunatartare]

That's what I thought too when I first read it. The only other similar incident I can think of is from last year or two summers ago (I'm not sure exactly when) when a girl drowned pledging an underground chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. I think her family tried to sue AKA but couldn't because the chapter that the girl was pledging wasn't a recognized chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha. (I think that's what happened, not 100% positive, so correct me if I'm wrong.)

[mmcat]

How terribly sad....for all those involved

[AGDee]

You can sue anybody you want, you just don't always win. If Delta Sigma Phi is held accountable, then a very dangerous precedent will be set and we, collectively, will be in a no-win situation. We can't do anything more than close a chapter that doesn't follow the rules. Hopefully a judge and jury will see that.

[gpb1874]

if i remember correctly, i believe one of the articles i read about this said that the house they lived in was owned by a Delta Sig alum or may have even been the old Delta Sig house, still owned by the alum association. i just can't remember which.

[PsychTau2]

Originally posted by hoosier
Quintana testified. "Pretty much activities that you were never meant to accomplish, but to fail."

You know, we ask ourselves "What is the purpose of these hazing activities?" and there's always someone who likes hazing and defends it by saying (for example): "It builds unity, it builds a bond..."

What do humans learn from being put into situations that they "were never meant to accomplish"? If you were in a situation that you knew was designed specifically for you to feel or be told that you failed in some way, what lesson would you take from that?

PsychTau

[33girl]

Originally posted by PsychTau2
You know, we ask ourselves "What is the purpose of these hazing activities?" and there's always someone who likes hazing and defends it by saying (for example): "It builds unity, it builds a bond..."

What do humans learn from being put into situations that they "were never meant to accomplish"? If you were in a situation that you knew was designed specifically for you to feel or be told that you failed in some way, what lesson would you take from that?

PsychTau

it depends on what the outcome is when you fail. If you fail and are still accepted by the group, it is a beautiful lesson in acceptance and support. Much like the Odd Couple episode where Felix and Oscar failed their penance but were still allowed to stay at the monastery.

[hoosier]

I saw something the other day - forgotten where - but it's true from my days as a pledge and from my observations as an alum:

"The members most involved as hazers and demanding respect and servitude are usually the brothers least likely to be respected and admired by the pledges when they become members."

[AlphaPhiBubbles]

Don't quote me, because I am no official source...but I believe the Carringtons have a case against Delta Sig because 1) they own the Chi Tau house and 2) they supported Chi Tau because they were trying to (although meagerly) to gain national recognition again. Many of the reasons we couldn't get those boys to go away is because of their alumni support.

[Zillini]

Originally posted by hoosier
"The members most involved as hazers and demanding respect and servitude are usually the brothers least likely to be respected and admired by the pledges when they become members."

That is probably the truest statement I've ever read in regards to hazers and the best explanation as to why some people continue to haze. I'm going to pass it on to my chapter.

I'm a firm believer that hazing in any form serves no purpose and for the life of me cannot understand why some people perpetuate it. How does hazing make someone a stronger member? How does being demeaning, hurtful, dangerous, intimidating, fill in the blank make the bond to the organization stronger? But let's be honest here, I rarely hear hazing actives defend themselves by saying it makes for a stronger brother/sisterhood. More times than not, it's a case of turn about is fair play. They did it to me, now it's my turn to do it to someone else.

[Tom Earp]

All one has to do is to check the New Florida Hazing Law that looks like it will be signed by Gov. Jeb Bush!

So, My Question is, Who caused all of this?

One Guess!

[Tex1899]

Delta Sigma Phi National does not own the house. Either a group of alumni from the dormant (Delta Alpha) chapter or the DA alumni corporation board owns the house. Not sure if the ACB is incorporated.

Chi Tau tried to get their charter back but was not succesful. Good thing, too.

AGDee is right; if Delta Sig is held liable, then any national that closes a chapter can still get in trouble if the closed chapter reverts to a local or operates underground. A scary thought.

[AGDee]

And, I don't believe there is a previous precedent for landlords (the fraternity house corp) being held liable for the actions of their tenants. I suppose they would have some responsibility to report criminal activity if they know it's happening on their property. At Eastern Michigan, a large number of fraternity and sorority houses are rented from the same company, but that doesn't mean that the company would be held liable if one of those groups haze. I can't imagine them continuing to rent to GLOs if that was the case.

Not being familiar with the campus or the organizations involved, it would be tough to ferret out which alumni who are supporting the group are actually Delta Sigma Phis and which are Chi Tau alumni, I would imagine. However, I can definitely say that there are times that the alumni are more of a problem than the collegians, because they want to continue past, dangerous "traditions" and are of the mentality that they went through it so others should also.

This case is showing that rogue chapters can really threaten our existence, even though we have no control over them. What happened to that young man is horrific. The consequences for all GLOs could be frightening. It's very frustrating, when we're working so hard to try to eliminate this type of thing.

Dee

[exlurker]

"Every time I breathed into him, the more blood would come out" -- this and further details of testimony related to the hazing death are in an article in the Chico local newspaper.

http://www.chicoer.com/Stories/0,141...909829,00.html