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Fraternity members face charges, after pledge dies from injuries during hazing ritual

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D

Dram

Member
http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2013/12/12/baruch-college-freshman-died-at-unsanctioned-fraternity-event/
Charges will be filed in the death of a Baruch College student who was blindfolded and forced to run a gauntlet with a heavy weight on his back as part of a fraternity ritual, a Pennsylvania prosecutor said Thursday.

Monroe County District Attorney David Christine said he won’t decide on which charges to file until the police investigation into Chun Hsien “Michael” Deng’s death is finished.

The 19-year-old freshman and pledge at Pi Delta Psi died Monday while at a weekend retreat with about 30 fraternity members at a rented house in the Poconos.

Authorities said Deng suffered major brain trauma while “partaking in a ritual in the yard” of the house in Tunkhannock Township.

Deng, one of four pledges, was injured during an initiation game called the ”glass ceiling,” in which pledges are blindfolded and a bowling ball-type weight is put into a bag and tied to their backs, CBS 2’s Kathryn Brown reported.

They are then forced to run a gauntlet while others try to tackle them. Police sources told Brown Deng was knocked down several times during the game, causing his injuries.

But instead of calling 911 immediately, they brought him into the house and “after some time,” drove him to an emergency room 30 miles away, authorities said.

According to authorities, Deng was surrounded by his frat brothers when he was hurt. He was unconscious and unresponsive when fraternity members carried him into the house, according to the affidavit.

Deng’s clothes were changed and all fraternity memorabilia was thrown away as some fraternity members searched the Internet for information on Deng’s injuries, the affidavit said.

A source told CBS 2 that an hour and a half to two hours went by before Deng was taken to the hospital.

Doctors put Deng on life support, but he died hours later. Doctors said Deng was brain dead when he arrived at the hospital, CBS 2′s Don Champion reported Thursday evening.

The fraternity’s national website reads: “The primary mission of Pi Delta Psi has been to spread Asian American Cultural awareness in an effort to empower the entire Asian American community.”

Baruch College administrators said the school had no knowledge of the weekend retreat or even that Pi Delta Psi was rushing a pledge class.

On Thursday, the school said all rights and privileges of the fraternity on Baruch’s campus have been suspended.
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C

Camp Lo

Banned
... They tackle a kid whose blindfolded with a fucking bowling ball strapped to his back running through a makeshift gauntlet.

I'll be damned.
 
P

PaulloDEC

Member
I'll never, ever understand the whole "Greek" college subculture. All this ritual hazing crap just seems insane to me, like something more fit for primary school kids than young adults at university.

Terrible to lose someone over something so senseless and idiotic.
 
J

Jado

Banned
This is very unusual. Baruch is not like a party school out in the Midwest or the South -- it's a commuter school with very weak campus life and fraternities/sororities that are practically invisible to most students who don't care about that stuff.

I'm kinda surprised a kid from Bronx Sci would go there ( McCaulay honors college? But not mentioned anywhere). Baruch kinda sucks. Not surprised he, as a Chinese student, joined a frat. The school has a huge Chinese population that's very cliquish. The frat, like most of the others, was likely 99% Chinese, which brings social pressures of joining for inclusion.

.GqueB. said:
Didn't even realize baruch had fraternities. Such a waste.
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Yup, see bolded.
 
G

GoldenEye 007

Member
People like this give fraternities and the Greek system a bad name. Absolutely pointless.

Hazing is fucking dumb, useless and dangerously.
 
V

vas_a_morir

Banned
Remember the hazing death that happened in FAMU? I remember Outside the Lines talking about it. I wonder what happened with that?
 
A

Aylinato

Member
levious said:
It would be hard to argue intent.
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What other intent is there when you tackle someone while coercing them to carry a heavy weight while blindfolded? Intent is not hard to prove in this case. Murder is murder, it's what charge of murder they get is the question.
 
C

Cheesecakebobby

Banned
Fucking hell. Sounds like he wasn't the only one brain dead. Not the first time I've heard one of these horror stories, young men and women putting themselves at risk to be accepted into a group of fucking morons. So glad I only went to university in countries where social groups are formed on the basis of common interests and not a desperate longing to be part of a group of binge drinkers.
 
S

SugarDaddy

Member
What happened to good ole days when fraternity hazing just meant you'd have to blow a few frat brothers... Maybeee take 1 or two for the team, not running a guantlet with a bowling ball on your back and fucking dying...
 
C

Conor_Fool

Banned
SugarDaddy said:
What happened to good ole days when fraternity hazing just meant you'd have to blow a few frat brothers... Maybeee take 1 or two for the team, not running a guantlet with a bowling ball on your back and fucking dying...
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Please god tell me this isn't why my Dad refuses to tell me what his fraternity did to haze the pledges..
 
L

levious

That throwing stick stunt of yours has boomeranged on us.
Aylinato said:
What other intent is there when you tackle someone while coercing them to carry a heavy weight while blindfolded? Intent is not hard to prove in this case. Murder is murder, it's what charge of murder they get is the question.
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Oh. When I think murder I think of whatever the top charge of homicide is in that particlular jurisdiction. As in like first degree homicide.

I would think something like negligent homicide would fit here.
 
E

Ether_Snake

安安安安安安安安安安安安安安安
"I was humiliated before so there's no way others will get glowing careers without being humiliated first too!"
 
C

Camp Lo

Banned
Aylinato said:
What other intent is there when you tackle someone while coercing them to carry a heavy weight while blindfolded? Intent is not hard to prove in this case. Murder is murder, it's what charge of murder they get is the question.
Click to expand...

Involuntary manslaughter seems more probable. Whatever the hazing kids got in the FAMU band incident
 
C

CornBurrito

Member
GoldenEye 007 said:
Hazing is fucking dumb, useless and dangerously.
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It is most of those things, but not entirely useless. Hazing rituals actually seem fairly common in exclusive social groups. Gangs, military, sports teams, etc... It obviously serves some sort of social function. That said, it is fucking stupid and dangerous and shouldn't be done.
 
G

.GqueB.

Banned
Jado said:
Yup, see bolded.
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Yea I went to sva and they were next door to us pretty much. It had such a "high school the sequel" vibe which is why this surprises me. Sucks this kid had to die over nothing. Such stupidity. Just make them go down on you like Conors' dad had to do.
 
C

Conor_Fool

Banned
.GqueB. said:
Sorry Conor...
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Lloyd-Christmas-Cry-and-Gag-Dumb-and-Dumber.gif


Not being homophobic, just the thought of...well, I'll leave it at that
 
A

Avixph

Member
Jado said:
This is very unusual. Baruch is not like a party school out in the Midwest or the South -- it's a commuter school with very weak campus life and fraternities/sororities that are practically invisible to most students who don't care about that stuff.

I'm kinda surprised a kid from Bronx Sci would go there ( McCaulay honors college? But not mentioned anywhere). Baruch kinda sucks. Not surprised he, as a Chinese student, joined a frat. The school has a huge Chinese population that's very cliquish. The frat, like most of the others, was likely 99% Chinese, which brings social pressures of joining for inclusion.
Click to expand...

Hey Baruch college doesn't suck.
 
V

velociraptor

Junior Member
Why are fraternities so popular in America? Maybe it's because I'm from the UK, but why? These hazing rituals... lol, they sound fucking ridiculous.
 
J

JzeroT1437

Member
Guys in a fraternity--an institution where people pay money to have friends--did something socially idiotic and physically harmful?

I'm shocked.
 
A

Aylinato

Member
levious said:
Oh. When I think murder I think of whatever the top charge of homicide is in that particlular jurisdiction. As in like first degree homicide.

I would think something like negligent homicide would fit here.
Click to expand...

Holy Crap said:
Involuntary manslaughter seems more probable. Whatever the hazing kids got in the FAMU band incident
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I don't know what definitions Pennsylvania uses so either of you could be correct.
 
T

Talon

Member
For some reason, the Asian frat was the only one at Northwestern with a reputation for hazing. Apparently made pledges do fist push ups on salt rock.

No thanks.
 
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