An Ohio freshman died after drinking a bottle of liquor in a frat hazing. Now 8 men face charges.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: Washington Post

Morning Mix

An Ohio freshman died after drinking a bottle of liquor in a frat hazing. Now 8 men face charges.

By Jaclyn Peiser
April 30, 2021 at 5:23 a.m. EDT

On the evening of March 4 at an off-campus house, members of a Bowling Green State University fraternity handed Stone Foltz and his fellow pledges 750-milliliter bottles of liquor and ordered them to finish it all by the end of the night, prosecutors said. ... Foltz, 20, finished the bottle but was so intoxicated that members of the fraternity, including his newly designated “big brother,” escorted him home and left him unconscious. Soon after he was in a hospital bed on life support. By March 7, he was dead.

On Thursday, eight men who were allegedly involved in Foltz’s death were charged with involuntary manslaughter, reckless homicide and evidence tampering. ... “The result of this event was catastrophic,” said Paul A. Dobson, the prosecutor in Wood County, Ohio, at a news conference on Thursday. “… This is the beginning of the criminal process for these men.”

{snip}

The news of Foltz’s death comes amid an ongoing national reckoning with fatal hazing rituals; less than two weeks earlier, Adam Oakes, a 19-year-old freshman at Virginia Commonwealth University, also died in a hazing incident following a Delta Chi fraternity party.

[VCU freshman found dead after fraternity event, his family says, and they are seeking answers]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/public-safety/adam-oakes-vcu-death/2021/03/01/14af5580-7ab8-11eb-a976-c028a4215c78_story.html

Foltz, a freshman business major from Columbus, didn’t want to go to the party at the Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity chapter on March 4. In text messages with his mother, Shari Foltz, he said the event revolved around a “drinking ritual,” she told the Columbus Dispatch last month. His mother told him not to go, but Foltz said that if he didn’t participate, then he wouldn’t be allowed in the fraternity.

{snip}

Jaclyn Peiser Follow https://twitter.com/jackiepeiser
Jaclyn Peiser is a reporter on the Morning Mix team. She previously covered the media industry for the New York Times.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/04/30/bowling-green-fraternity-hazing-death/

[TexasBushwhacker]

1. Just get rid of all social fraternities and sororities PLEASE

A college friend was in a sorority and was a "little sister" for a fraternity. She said it was understood that if you wanted to be a "lil sis" you had to have sex with your "big brother". I was stunned and she said, "It's okay. I like him."

[Martin68]

25. I went to Bates College, which a very long time ago banned all fraternities and sororities. Some

students rented a house off campus and formed bonds similar to those in a fraternity, but there were no hazing rituals of any kind.

[Pas-de-Calais]

32. Buddies and I were members of a frat

GDI’s

God Damn Independents!

[packman]

2. I remember my freshman hazing and still pissed about it

Should be criminal charges in all these type of incidents - assault, battery, intimidation, etc.

[Phoenix61]

3. Every year at least one young man drinks himself to death

Sometimes I think universities should kick the Greek system off campus.

[littlemissmartypants]

37. That we hear about. No doubt, many more than that, whose names we'll never know. nt

[Aristus]

4. I wouldn't want to belong to any fraternity that would have me as a member.

Paraphrasing Groucho Marx.

Seriously though, I wouldn't want to join any organization that makes such mind-bogglingly stupid rituals a condition of membership.

[ProfessorGAC]

26. That Was My Reason

I wasn't going to do stupid stunts for the amusement of others.
I didn't like most of them all that much in the first place.
Having to do stupid or dangerous stuff to prove something to guys I probably wouldn't really hang out with was a showstopper.
As my time in undergrad went on, I was glad I made that decision.

[padfun]

5. So there WAS a Bowling Green massacre!

I knew it!

[greenjar_01]

8. I mean, a young man is dead, but yeah

jokey jokey.

[ironflange]

29. Too soon

[AZLD4Candidate]

6. When I was pledge educator, I told all my pledges in my chapter that if ANYONE tried that

during the pledge to tell me immediately and not do it. One brother did and I was up one side of him and down the other in chapter meeting the following week.

I don't know if they continued that after I graduated, but we never had instances. My "hazing" to get my signature on the paddle was "let's go to dinner and talk and you're buying." And I always ordered something small and cheap. The pledge usually spent 50% more than I did.

[Mr.Bill]

10. I wonder why in the world they don't consider

a community service project as an initiation.

[nuxvomica]

13. I was thinking the same

Why not have them work with the homeless, the aged, the developmentally disabled, etc. There are plenty of ways to challenge people and test their mettle, which is what rites of passage, like hazings, are all about, so why not have them do something that challenges their privilege instead of their livers.

[Mr.Bill]

14. It could actually point someone to a good career path.

The guy who is the Director of our Senior Center began that career by being sentenced to community service there by a judge because he failed to appear in court for traffic tickets. He has an IT degree and now runs classes to help seniors with their computers and smart phones. He says it far more satisfying than working in a cubicle somewhere.

[AZLD4Candidate]

15. I wasn't philanthropy chair, but we did one in my chapter

We put on a kickball tournament for our cause, the Elizabeth Glazer Pediatric AIDS Foundation. The pledges had to organize it.

One of my former Chapter presidents before my time was an Eagle Scout and it was voted on to do a "pledge run Eagle Scout project" as part of their pledging.

[Mr.Bill]

16. That's great! n/t

[AZLD4Candidate]

18. Rush Chair got them in, then they were mine for a term and I ran Pledge Ed like I run my classroom

They had pledge "study hour" with the scholarship chair and me twice a week.
They had a pledge project to do that I needed to approve of, with plans, dates, responsibilities, and results.
They had to assist in a philanthropy project.
They had to be "juniors" on at least to committees (not social, because the social committee was only for actives).
They had to work with the social chair on a date dash with one of the sororities
They had to get to know the actives and earn signatures (if any active did anything question, pledge called me immediately and I had to approve). Mine was either going to have a meal with me or, if they were an athlete, workout with me at the Rec Center).
They had to be with their Big at every fraternity event.
They had to be on time to pledge class and refer to me as "sir" at all times (like I have students call me Mr. (last name) and had to call actives "sir" at all official events.
They had to give me parent contacts so I could introduce myself and answer parent questions.
They had dress requirements on Monday (white shirt, purple tie).

This is what I setup at my chapter. After twenty years, I don't know it's still done.

I did it right in my chapter. I wanted to make good brothers and men, not party animals (except when called for at social events where that was allowed. . .but since I was also the chapter's DJ/EMCEE at events. . .).

From what I've seen of the pledges I educated, they turned into good men.

[Stallion]

20. That's Pretty Common-The Problems Usually Arise Around Initiation Rituals/Hell Week Type Ceremonies

[AZLD4Candidate]

21. I took risk management seriously. We didn't have a Hell week.

And those in fraternities know they cannot go over their fraternity initiation. All I can say about ours is no laws were broken and it was PG at best.

Sucks when your pledge ed has empathy and a conscience and looks at initiation a right of passage rather than a obstacle course of BS.

[Stallion]

22. Yes Sir! No Sir! No Excuse Sir!

[AZLD4Candidate]

23. I viewed them as my students. It was either "sir" or "Mr," same as I ask my students to do

in my classroom as a teacher.

It's called respect. In class, I'm the adult and the teacher. It's Mr. until I say you can call me by my first name.

My parents raised me to call people sir or ma'am or Mr/Ms until I was given permission to call them by their first name.

In pledge ed class, it was the same way. They were my students and they were trying to get into my fraternity. Require "sir" or "Mr." in pledge ed class isn't hazing, just like calling my professors "Dr" or "sir" or "ma'am" (if I did automatically) is not hazing.

I call my middle school student Mr. and Ms. all the time out of habit.

[Claire Oh Nette]

7. Entitled, toxic masculinity

Sanctioned bullying.
Deliberate alcohol poisoning.
Laws don't apply to me mentality.

The dangers of hazing are not new. The dangers of binge drinking are not new. The dangers of bullying are not new.

Bet these guys like roofies and date rape, too. Bet these guys' good old boy brotherhood of privileged white asshole fathers have bailed them out time and again. Bet every one of these psychopaths is a registered GOP voter.

Cruelty is a feature, not a bug.

[srose58089]

9. Stupid is as stupid does

Having graduated in 1972 and being a member of Pi Kappa Alpha I thought this kind of sh*t ended 40 years ago. I remember one of my pledge brothers who weighed in a little over 100 pounds soaking wet ended up in the hospital getting his stomach pumped. Luckily he survived and the Pikes were put on probation.

[RobinA]

40. Agree Completely

and it cuts both ways. I was in a sorority. When it came time for "Hell Night" I said thanks but no thanks. I figured they would be done with me, but I got in anyway. If I hadn't I'd probably have different friends to this day, but I'd have friends. I feel sorry when a young man dies, but frankly, it's a risk you take when you drink a ridiculous amount of alcohol. As people say here frequently, play stupid games, win stupid prizes. I'm no more or less culpable if I die after drinking a gallon of vodka in a frat house than if I die after drinking a gallon of vodka by myself in my dorm room.

I graduated in 1980 after talking down hazing every chance I got and making sure my organization didn't do it when I was the president. It continues to this day and it will only end when pledges say no. Fraternities and sororities live by membership numbers and that's where the change has to occur. An entire pledge class has to say NO. And every pledge class after that has to say No. The message will be gotten pretty damn quick and then there will be no nonsense to say No to.

[Warpy]

11. I went to one frat party, supposedly "dry"

and after 10 minutes or so of some guy trying to pour alcohol down my throat I told my roommate I'd wait upstairs until she wanted to leave. I ended up playing pinochle with the house mother and a guy who said he was security until 1 AM.

To say I was unimpressed is an understatement.

At the very least, those assholes need to be educated on alcohol poisoning. Alcohol is like any other drug, too much is lethal.

(FWIW, I was an enthusiastic drunk at 13, I was just WAY over it by college)

[ewcordon]

12. Hazing!

How the heck is hazing still a thing?

[RobinA]

41. Hazing Started When

we left the caves and will probably continue until we return to them. It happens everywhere, not just in frats. The military, medicine, law, college in general, sports, some high schools, you name it.

[Midnight Writer]

17. Hazers should be required to use pot instead of alcohol.

[redstatebluegirl]

19. These frat boys will never learn.

We had a young man die at a frat house on our campus. Afterward they found out that the rich kids called their daddies before they called an ambulance for the young man. None of them were found guilty of anything.

[Auggie]

24. How can this still be happening? It's not like it's the first time.

No orientation? Stern lecture? Scare-the-crap-out-of-someone warning?

[2naSalit]

27. Greek system needs to be killed.

[Mad Lib]

28. Make hazing a felony

Make hazing a felony; if someone dies, regardless of intent, felony murder.

[Evolve Dammit]

30. Thsat does seem the way we need to go. So tragic, and so totally abusive. Sick of this frat shit. nt

[roamer65]

38. I agree.

[YoshidaYui]

31. They should have used WEED...

No one has ever died from smoking weed. Just sayin....
I am an admitted Stoner.

[peggysue2]

33. This is how my youngest son nearly died

Also during a notorious Pike (Pi Kappa Alpha) hazing/drinking ritual. To this day, we don't know the full details of what happened. Only that my 19-year old son was one of the lucky ones and survived. Brain-injured but ultimately functional after months and months of rehabilitation and jaw surgery. The frat house was closed for one term, and then . . . back to rock and roll and chugging your brains out.

In this case, the frat brothers involved in the Ohio incident are being held responsible. That's good. But they need to find a way to go after the national organizations because it's alumni frat 'boys' who fund and protect these ongoing catastrophes--death, maiming and psychological injury.

The national fraternal organizations have built a legal wall around themselves. Untouchable, they say. It's well past time they were held accountable. Nothing like hitting these outfits and long-in-the-tooth 'boys' in the pocketbook to make them pay attention. Until then, we'll be reading of other preventable deaths and injury.

Happens year in, year out.

[Bluepinky]

35. I'm glad your son survived.

These hazing stories are so sad; the families of the victims are devastated, and the other young people involved in the incidents must be haunted by what they did (or didn’t) do. Lives are changed forever.

[peggysue2]

36. Thanks

. . . and the other young people involved in the incidents must be haunted by what they did (or didn’t) do. Lives are changed forever.

Too true! My son ran into one of the brothers a few years ago. Turns out my son and the former friend worked for the same company but in different state offices. My son said when the guy saw him, realized who he was, his expression was one of shock and fear.

So yes, you carry these events (and your involvement) with you.

Certainly, the personal responsibility of these tragic incidents are with the brothers who carry them out. Often the rituals are reckless, sometimes even barbaric. But in all honesty, 19 to early 20-somethings are not fully cooked; alcohol makes everything worse. That's why in the larger picture, the schools and the national fraternal organizations need to condemn hazing across the board.

Otherwise, the time will come when the frats are disbanded altogether and/or the schools will decide having the organizations on campus is not worth the financial risk and/or PR exposure.

Speaking as a parent, I know membership is definitely not worth the medical liability.

[jmowreader]

34. I wonder what happened to the rest of the pledges

My “hazing that wasn’t”: before I got on the bus to go to spy school, my drill sergeant gave me some fatherly advice: at Fort Devens they like to play games with you the first night you’re there. Don’t fall for it.”

Twelve hours later, the bus dropped me off in Ayer, MA, and a van to take me to the base was waiting. It was snowing extremely hard that night. I walk into the barracks and was told to go upstairs and change into snow shoveling clothes. Following my drill sergeant’s instructions I blew it off. Five minutes later there was a knock on the door: “SFC Cloud was your drill sergeant, right?” How’d you know? “He tells everyone they’re going to get fucked with when they get here...which is usually true, but tonight the weather is so bad everyone, including you, are shoveling snow in relays.”

[róisín_dubh]

39. I'm a professor at a major university.

We've had a couple of these incidents. A documentary about one student, Nolan Burch, came out fairly recently.

It's horrendous and these stupid, dangerous organisations need to be banned.