Rider Student Dies After Fraternity Drinking Binge

[exlurker]

Update: Parents' Lawsuit

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wi...,2938898.story

Brief excerpts from the Associated Press article:

"Greek organizations present unique dangers, real dangers, to students on campus. And Rider specifically chose to manage them with less supervision and to give them control over their own activities despite the risk," said . . . [the] lawyer representing the DeVercellys.

A Rider spokesman could not immediately comment on the lawsuit.

Steve Hartman, the national chief executive of Phi Kappa Tau, declined to comment directly about the lawsuit, but said the fraternity has proper policies and procedures in place for its chapters.

"But I do believe that if things weren't clear in our organization and in fraternities in general, I think this situation has raised the bar that this does and can happen," Hartman said.

The lawsuit claims fraternity members urged DeVercelly to drink a bottle of vodka, and then delayed seeking medical attention for DeVercelly when he became ill, even banging the freshman's head on a trash can while trying to get him to vomit. By the time a call was made for emergency medical help, DeVercelly had turned blue and was foaming at the mouth, the suit states.

DeVercelly died the next day at a local hospital. . . .

Interesting assertion by the parents' lawyer about "unique dangers, real dangers" and "less supervision."

[Dksigmapresiden]

when I pledged my fraternity we took a pledge trip. one of our brothers died in a car accident from the car flipping over. it was realyl terrible and still to this day we continue to honor his death on the anniversary of his death. we continue to have al lighting vigile in his honor.

[EE-BO]

This amazes me.

Even some of the articles on this case pointed out there was no forced drinking here- it was a spontaneous act.

This kid spent almost 18 years of his life under the care of Mom and Dad, and a few weeks under the partial influence of a fraternity at a college.

And now the college is responsible?

Logic would dictate it is more likely this kid had fucking losers for parents who contributed to a weak sense of personal responsibility than some sinister influence that suddenly overtook him.

99% of us go off to college and have our fun, but also stay alive and in good stead. This is because we head off to college well-equipped to be adults- and a good 5-6 years older than our great grandparents who were often married with kids and running households at the age of today's college freshmen.

And now Mom and Dad want to sue. How sad. I wonder how they can look themselves in the mirror after trying to profit from the death of their own child whose bad decisions were his own- but most likely influenced by their own inadequacy.

[exlurker]

The Associated Press has an update. See

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5g...rthjwD8VVTT600

Brief excerpts from longer article:

The former president of a fraternity at Rider University has settled a lawsuit with the parents of a pledge who drank himself to death last year . . . .
Michael Torney agreed to pay $150,000 to the family of Gary DeVercelly Jr. and agreed to provide information to help the family with their lawsuit against the university, the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity and others over their son's death.

. . . a lawyer for DeVercelly's parents, said Torney's cooperation "will result in the release of significant evidence establishing the responsibility of Rider University and Phi Kappa Tau fraternity."
Torney still faces criminal charges of aggravated hazing. . . .

[bowsandtoes]

The Gordie Foundation is a great resource to let students learn about the signs and symptoms of alcohol poisoning. Its your responsibility as a friend to know the signs that someone is in a life-threatening situation (cannot be revived, etc.) and to be willing to make the call for help.

http://www.thegordiefoundation.org/E...Poisoning.aspx

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

This amazes me.

Even some of the articles on this case pointed out there was no forced drinking here- it was a spontaneous act.

This kid spent almost 18 years of his life under the care of Mom and Dad, and a few weeks under the partial influence of a fraternity at a college.

And now the college is responsible?

Logic would dictate it is more likely this kid had fucking losers for parents who contributed to a weak sense of personal responsibility than some sinister influence that suddenly overtook him.

99% of us go off to college and have our fun, but also stay alive and in good stead. This is because we head off to college well-equipped to be adults- and a good 5-6 years older than our great grandparents who were often married with kids and running households at the age of today's college freshmen.

And now Mom and Dad want to sue. How sad. I wonder how they can look themselves in the mirror after trying to profit from the death of their own child whose bad decisions were his own- but most likely influenced by their own inadequacy.

I agree and guess we will have to wait for the up-coming law suits to find out.

[baci]

I do see what you are saying and your feeling/beliefs^^, but you must note that it was at a fraternity house on campus and this is why it is a bigger issue.

[jon1856]

Originally Posted by baci

I do see what you are saying and your feeling/beliefs^^, but you must note that it was at a fraternity house on campus and this is why it is a bigger issue.

baci-I have family and friends who live in the area. While I do not know everything about situation, I do know the area.
And my Dad was a litigator-so as I said with more time and as more information comes out, we will know more.

[baci]

I understand^^.

I just wish this did not happen and especially not happen at a fraternity house on campus.

[ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl]

Originally Posted by Laak 315

Actually, I was unaware of what I was doing for the rest of the night...I was told I vomited quite a bit in the bathroom with numerous people in there with me to make sure I didn't "drown" in the toilet, or anything of the sort. Unfortunately, people don't know how serious a condition a person can be in when he/she drinks too much. Why do you think people who drank too much the night before aren't found dead until the next morning? It's because the other people think that person is simply passed out...not brain-dead/poisoned. I don't fault anyone at the party I was at for not taking me to the hospital or calling 911. I'm positive they would have had they been given certain signs (such as me not breathing, blue face, etc..., even though it probably would have been too late...) It would have been nice if they did lol, but I don't blame anyone for not knowing how bad off I was. They probably didn't know how serious of a condition I was in since I was still awake and was very talkative, from what I am told. (I blacked out but that doesn't mean I wasn't still awake and engaging in conversations etc...) The fraternity brothers of the guy in the article probably thought he was simply sleeping/passed out for awhile, before they decided to call 911. Unfortunately, in today's society, I don't think too many people on a college campus are going to call 911 immediately just because they see someone who has been drinking passed out. Maybe they should, but the average college-person's mentality seems to be that they are fine and will wake up the next morning. So, in summary, if you are trying to blame my fraternity brothers for me being in bad shape, I think you're wasting your time. I certainly don't blame them. It wasn't their idea for me to drink so much. I take full responsibility for my actions and had I died that night, it would have been my fault, not theirs. I learned my lesson the hard way, but sometimes that's what it takes for a person to learn a lesson. As sad as it is to hear about the guy in the article dying, no one is really to blame but himself. He's the one who drank so much of his own free will (as I stated, 3/4 a bottle of vodka is ridiculous). To blame his fraternity brothers is ludicrous in my opinion.

I'm always on the fence on this one. The fact is that some people "pass out" because they're tired and drunk and it definitely wouldn't be appropriate to take them to the ER...but how do you tell if it's more than that?

I say better safe than sorry.

I also say that much alcohol in that small amount of time is a good indication that trouble may be ahead. I've stayed up all night with people watching them more than once, just to make sure they didn't keep throwing up and choke (try keeping a drunk person on their side...they don't listen) or have trouble breathing, if I thought it was a borderline situation. I have to say I've never been in a situation where someone had enough alcohol to do either of those things while asleep, but I can see it happening easily and if no one is paying attention, it's easy for them to die.

But here's the thing, .426? They should have known in this case. If even one person knew he drank that much, that's a problem. Taking a few shots in an hour or two and passing out later and taking almost a whole bottle of Absolut in minutes and passing out are different situations.

In the end we're all responsible for our own actions...it's pure stupidity to drink that much that fast...it's like going 100 down a highway with your eyes closed. But at the same time, just as FRIENDS, it's important to care enough to pay attention to friends.

[ΑΓΔSquirrelGirl]

Originally Posted by EE-BO

This amazes me.

Even some of the articles on this case pointed out there was no forced drinking here- it was a spontaneous act.

This kid spent almost 18 years of his life under the care of Mom and Dad, and a few weeks under the partial influence of a fraternity at a college.

And now the college is responsible?

Logic would dictate it is more likely this kid had fucking losers for parents who contributed to a weak sense of personal responsibility than some sinister influence that suddenly overtook him.

99% of us go off to college and have our fun, but also stay alive and in good stead. This is because we head off to college well-equipped to be adults- and a good 5-6 years older than our great grandparents who were often married with kids and running households at the age of today's college freshmen.

And now Mom and Dad want to sue. How sad. I wonder how they can look themselves in the mirror after trying to profit from the death of their own child whose bad decisions were his own- but most likely influenced by their own inadequacy.

Yes and no. Personally, given the fact pattern we have, I don't think the university is responsible, but in today's world, it only matters what the legal system thinks, not us.

It's important to know what you're legally responsible for as well when you get into situations like this. Have an apartment with underage drinkers? If they have been drinking and you have alcohol in the apartment it doesn't matter if they got it there or not, you can be taken to jail. If someone at the party dies, you can be sued. No one seems to think about these issues either. If someone dies from drinking in your presence, like now, you and your organization can be sued. It's one of the reasons I don't have apartment parties, personally, and I volunteer to be the one to make sure my drunk friends aren't TOO drunk. It keeps both them and YOU safe.

I doubt they are trying to profit from their son's death so much as trying to punish people that they hold responsible. Having no children, much less having never lost children this way (I'm just assuming you haven't either but please correct me if I am wrong about that), I don't know what I'd do and don't personally find it appropriate to judge someone in a position I hope to never ever be in. But I'm sure it's hard to place blame only on their son and to accept that he caused his own death, stupidly. The only person I would feel like suing, I think, given the fact pattern, is whoever supplied the alcohol. Even then, I feel it's shaky. But who knows what they are going through.

In the end, though, I think holding everyone else responsible in a situation like this is like holding someone responsible for a truth or dare gone wrong. If you decide to DO it, it's on your shoulders. That's my take on it, anyway. I hold myself responsible for all of the stupid things I've done, whether or not someone "urged" me to do it. I always had the option of saying no.

[jon1856]

While doing an unrelated search, found this news update:
AP NewsBreak: Rider administrators warned about hazing?

By CHRIS NEWMARKER,
AP
Posted: 2008-06-04 14:42:50
TRENTON, N.J. (AP) - The parents of a dead Rider University student are now claiming that school administrators were personally warned about dangerous hazing at a fraternity chapter blamed for their son's death last year.

Lawyers for Gary DeVercelly Jr.'s parents filed a motion last week to expand their lawsuit against the university to include two school administrators, Ada Badgley and Cassie Iacovelli.

The lawyers say the administrators were told of excessive drinking during pledge season but did nothing to stop it at the on-campus Phi Kappa Tau house........
http://news.aol.com/story/_a/ap-news...04144209990042

[exlurker]

Update October 17, 2008

An individual settles . . . and looks like a "lesser charge" is agreed to:

http://abclocal.go.com/wabc/story?se...cal&id=6454913

[exlurker]

Update December 16, 2008:

Probation with certain conditions for one of the members of the fraternity:

http://www.nj.com/mercer/index.ssf/2..._for_ride.html

[Charms31]

I went to Rider. I was there for this situation, but it was a horrible thing for everyone on campus. I know this is an older topic, but I just wanted to pop in and say something.

It was a rough night. And it was a horrible time for Rider Students (not just Greeks).
I actually think I spazzed out on a reporter who followed me from my house to class (my house is two down from where they're house was).