A fraternity or sorority's values contradict hazing. Three MSU fraternity members face felony charge over Phat Nguyen's Build upon primary university-level prevention programming completed by MSU fraternity and sorority members to explore topics in gender-based violence specific to their experiences. 'type="text/javascript" src="http://js.spotx.tv/easi/v1/85394.js" data-spotx_ad_done_function="myAdDoneFunction" data-spotx_ad_unit="incontent" data-spotx_autoplay="1" data-spotx_ad_volume="0" data-spotx_loop="0" data-spotx_collapse="1" data-spotx_unmute_on_mouse="1"' The "Greeks Take the Lead" Program serves to: MSU Counseling and Psychiatric Services counselors are moving to Akers Hall, Brody Square and Shaw Hall private dining rooms to provide services. The air got really thick. Three of theindividuals received medical care at Sparrow Hospital and werereleased. aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_content_height="342"'); In five years, 19 sexual assaults were reported at fraternity houses in East Lansing, according to East Lansing police reports obtained by The State News through a Freedom of Information Act request. Cao and Pham are implicated throughtheir positions within the fraternity, with prosecutorssaying they knew these actions were taking place and knew the nature of the (crossing)party.". Several universities suspended Greek life after allegations of hazing, sexual assault and alcohol abuse, including the University of Michigan, Indiana University and Florida State University. Collegiate Recovery Community Coordinator: Hazing is illegal in Michigan under the law commonly known as . Michigan State University's Interfraternity Council (IFC) chapters pride themselves on the pillars of exceptional brotherhood, leadership, community involvement, and academic success. "A misdemeanor is not gonna wake them up," Danny's father said. Michigan State University Defines Hazing as: Requiring or encouraging any act, whether or not the act is voluntarily agreed upon, in conjunction with initiation, affiliation with, continued membership, or participation in any group that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm or humiliation. Alleged cases were also reported in January, September, October and November. According to the witnesses, students from other MSU Greek life organizations attended the party as well. It was really gross like you could smell something, and it wasnt even just urine, it was a mix of something just kind of like vomit.. The one thing with the St. Patricks Day timeline, too, is thats generally when we see the weather start to warm up again. There are no anti-hazing laws in Michigan, so it is impossible to prove there is criminal misconduct in these situations," Oates said. Business student Phat Nguyen, 21, died of alcohol intoxication and three other pledges were hospitalized after a Nov. 20, 2021 crossing party hosted by the now-banned Pi Alpha Phi. Three fraternities, Delta Chi, Sigma Alpha Epsilon and Sigma Phi Epsilon, all had two reported. Fraternity & Sorority Life is meant to be a safe, positive, and educational part of the university experience. (function(a){if(/(android|bb\d+|meego).+mobile|avantgo|bada\/|blackberry|blazer|compal|elaine|fennec|hiptop|iemobile|ip(hone|od)|iris|kindle|lge |maemo|midp|mmp|mobile.+firefox|netfront|opera m(ob|in)i|palm( os)?|phone|p(ixi|re)\/|plucker|pocket|psp|series(4|6)0|symbian|treo|up\. When a victim is uncooperative, it limits the leads investigators can follow up on, which in turn means it usually isnt possible for the case to be referred to the prosecutors office, Gonzalez said. function myAdDoneFunction(spotx_ad_found) { if(spotx_ad_found) {} else {}}; Witnesses previously described the disturbing party to the News, saying the pledges in the Asian-American interest frat were passed out in a dank basement with Cheerios cereal scattered on the floor. Ethan Tin Cao, Andrew Hoang Nguyen and Hoang John Huu Pham of the now defunct MSU fraternity Pi Alpha Phi face three misdemeanor charges of hazing causing physical injury and one felony of hazing resulting in death. Requiring or encouraging any act, whether or not the act is voluntarily agreed upon, in conjunction with initiation, affiliation with, continued membership, or participation in any group that causes or creates a substantial risk of causing mental or physical harm or humiliation. Then, he lies still and after 15 minutes another frat member finds him on the floor unresponsive and he lifts Danny back onto the sofa. "He's still not talking or walking. According to court records they have been charged with one count of hazing-death and three counts of hazing-injury. "This is a tough case. "It is unfortunate that situations like these occur in Greek Life, and it is unacceptable for an instance of sexual assault to occur in my chapter," President Evan Woodford said. aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_channel_id="186661"'); Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. DKE will not stand for sexual misconduct in our organization and pledges its full cooperation with MSU and law enforcement. The days ahead will be tough, and we will get through them together. Pham was the fraternity's president and organized the "crossing party," at which attendees were to celebrate four pledges becoming full members of Pi Alpha Phi. "We have never been informed of these allegations or related investigation, charges or adjudication concerning chapter members. Regardless, when we have a sexual assault case we will work all of the leads, if you will, that we can, even if the victim does not want to follow through or is uncooperative with our investigators. The national headquarters of Alpha Gamma Rho, Delta Chi, Delta Kappa Epsilon, Phi Kappa Psi, Pi Kappa Alpha, Sigma Alpha Epsilon, Theta Chi and Triangle did not respond to request for comment. For more information, clickhere. Fraternity & Sorority Life at Michigan State University has taken a stand against sexual assault. When he arrived at the hospital, he was in cardiac arrest and not breathing. The removal takes effect immediately, a ZBT spokesperson told ABC News. Amid national attention on allegations of misconduct throughout Greek life on college campuses, a State News analysis found nearly 20 alleged sexual assaults were reported at fraternity houses in East Lansing since 2012, though none resulted in criminal charges or convictions. "At the end of the day, it's still Danny. 0:36. These hazing activities fall into three categories: intimidation, harassment, and violence. Prosecutors have charged one fraternity member with two misdemeanors for supplying alcohol to a minor. Chief Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Mike Cheltenham said in June that he believes it was the first time the Ingham County Prosecutor's Office has sought the felony charges of hazing resulting in death. The suspect said there was no penetration and the victim never said no. "They were given their family bottle of alcohol and then they drank from it and they took them upstairs and for the next two hours, they drank and drink and drink," David Bianchi, the family's attorney, told "Good Morning America. Needless to say, the individual involved in such an incident on October 8, 2015, is no longer associated with our organization. Theres a lot of different facets of why alcohol or drugs are involved in a case, but it is a trend that we see, that a lot of these cases do have some type of a correlation with alcohol or drug use.. These actions led to the hospitalization of (three) crossing members and the death of (one).. We always are conscientious of the facts and circumstances surrounding a case, and namelyhere, we have a young person who died. Cao and Andrew Nguyen face up to 15 years in prison and/or $10,000 on the felony charge, while the misdemeanors each carry 93 days in jail and/or $1,000. The witness recount and students reports. An MSU fraternity, Pi Alpha Phi, was suspended after Nguyen was found to have died in a hazing incident. Minutes before 11 p.m., Danny Santulli can be seen losing his balance and falling backward. Phat Nguyen and Andrew Nguyen are not related. MSU is an affirmative-action, equal-opportunity employer. The four were allegedly found unconscious and reeking of urine in a dirty basement, wearing nothing but shorts, reports said. His mother said doctors told them he'll need care for life. But I am in no position (to say) that my client was in any way, shape or form, the cause of death, Zeineh said. Fraternities affiliated with University of Michigan fall from 27 to 19 between school years Of 27 fraternities who were in good standing with the University of Michigan's Interfraternity. These actions led to the hospitalization of (three) crossing members and the death of (one)., More:MSU community gathers to honor the life of Phat Nguyen at a candlelight vigil, More:MSU's Pi Alpha Phi fraternity chapter suspended after death of student off campus. Laying on two of the bare twin-sized mattresses, placed on either side of the room, were three out of the four Pi Alpha Phi fall 2021 newly initiated brothers. Michigan State Fraternity Death, Injuries Rock Campus - The Doan Law ", Tom Santulli, his father, added, "We will get through it. In spring 2014, Theta Chi was stripped of its charter, and then operated with former members living in the house under a new organization called Beta Zeta, according to a previous State News article. Brody Square (CAPS services) 219 S. Harrison Road, East Lansing. Of the 19 reported alleged assaults, seven of them occurred on or near St. Patricks Day. Cao, the fraternitys fall 2021 pledge master, refused to be interviewed. Phat. "We also have not had any incidents since that time or since I have been president.". Cao was the fraternitys pledge master, AndrewNguyen was the pledge dad and Pham was the organizations president, the affidavits said. Ethan Tin Cao, Andrew Hoang Nguyen and Hoang John Huu Pham each has been charged withone felony count of hazing resulting in death and three misdemeanor counts of hazing resulting in physical injury. Hazing is contradictory to the values held by fraternities and sororities. Only one of the 19 cases details a male allegedly accused of assaulting another male. The three other individuals found passed out in the residence, listed as the Pi Alpha Phi fraternity house, were taken to Sparrow Hospital in Lansing, where they were treated and released. At MSU, the highest number of reported assaults occurred at Delta Kappa Epsilon. As a result of the incident, MSU and the Pi Alpha Phi National Board placed the MSU chapter under interim suspension. Support student media! Alcohol consumption being investigated in the off-campus tragedy. 750.411(t). It was a really dirty old room, no furniture, nothing, one witness said. In a statement to ABC News, the fraternity said, "Danny should not have been put in such a situation" and the "fraternity prohibits hazing" and giving alcohol to minors. We as the Fraternity & Sorority Life staff send loving thoughts to all in the Fraternity and Sorority Life community here at Michigan State University. var check = false; aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_content_width="300"'); I wouldnt say its unusual to see a case like that, we do take them, but we take less of those types of cases than we do the other.. And we're gonna love Danny forever, and we'll always be by his side, no matter what," his brother said. "Danny was always a good kid. Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? The bros made sure to say to us that everything is voluntary and that we couldve said no to anything that night of the party. Hazing is illegal in Michigan under Garret's Law. Alpha Sigma Phi fraternity shut down by the University amid hazing concerns Pledge master Ethan Cao, pledge dad Andrew Nguyen and frat president Hoang Pham are facing charges of hazing resulting in death and hazing resulting in physical injury, the State News reported Thursday. Brian Morley, Andrew Nguyen's attorney, said there were a "variety of factors" in his client waiving the preliminary exam. { If any members are found responsible for sexual misconduct, DKE will immediately use its judicial process to hold members accountable for their actions.". I think especially more than ever its really important.. The national headquarters of Zeta Beta Tau declined to comment on the specific case, but did explain the steps it is taking to educate its members. It is a huge commitment that our campus is working towards, to educate, IFC fraternities specifically.. So its hard to establish independently with a blood test or even first person observations of the officer whether or not that accused had been using drugs or alcohol as well.. On Nov. 19, the MSU chapter of Pi Alpha Phi held a crossing party to welcome four new members into their fraternity. The University of Missouri has since revoked the fraternity's charter and proposed sanctions against 13 of its members. } function mobileAndTabletcheck() { The question becomes whether or not this is hazing, or and this is where I am not minimizing anything was this drinking at a college party, which occurs right, wrong, or indifferent all day, every day throughout the county, Brian Morley, attorney for Andrew Nguyen, told the Journal. Early that Friday morning, the Asian American interest fraternity made a Facebook post welcoming four pledges into their fall 2021 class, including Nguyen. Employee Assistance Program counseling is moving to the Akers Hall private dining room.Location information: Akers Hall (CAPS and EAP services) 908 Akers Road, East Lansing. Any group or individual responsible for hazing may be subject to disciplinary action, criminal prosecution, and/or civil prosecution. Now, more than seven months later, he's back home in Minnesota with his family. Now that the difficulty of establishing whether or not the accused had used drugs or alcohol when the assault occurred, comes with when the report comes into us, Gonzalez said. Police affidavits in the case say that the event was a crossing party that celebrated the four pledges becoming full members of the fraternity. We were actually encouraged to drop, Jeon wrote in an Instagram direct message. if (bMobile) Three fraternity brothers charged over student's hazing death at Michigan State University is committed to providing a safe environment in which all students have the right to belong to student organizations without undergoing hazing as a right of entry. Danny Santulli, 19, was forced to drink a bottle of Titos vodka and force-fed beer at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house during the Pledge Dad Reveal Night in October 2021, in video obtained by Good Morning Ameria. While the pledge on the left mattress was left alone, a group of girls were surrounding the mattresses on the right side taking videos and getting really up close" in the faces of the unconscious pledges. https://ossa.msu.edu/hazing-information-and-resources. There are two alleged assaults at the house, on Jan. 1, 2013 and Oct. 2, 2016. aScriptAttributes.push('data-spotx_content_width="608"'); The charge became law in 2004 with Michigans passage of Senate Bill 0783, which prohibited the hazing of an individual by someone affiliated with an educational institution. All chapter presidents and risk managers(or another leadership member, if your chapter does not have a risk manager) participate in leadership-based interactive training, and all general members are required to choose a workshop focused on a specialized topic. "Its really dehumanizing to those guys, you dont want anyone to see you like that.. It just happened to be that people would go down there, I guess take photos, go back up, dance, party, get bored, go back down there.. Ethan Cao and Andrew Nguyen who both face the same four charges will be arraigned in 30th Circuit Court later this month after waiving their right to a preliminary examination before District Court Judge MollyHennesseyGreenwalt. Michigan State University student's death leads to hazing charges - WILX There are no words we can say that would effectively detail the heartache we are all feeling. According to the police documents, officials observed video of AndrewNguyen pouring alcohol into the pledges' mouths. and Panhellenic Association (PHA) play a pivotal role within the Grand Valley State University (GVSU) Fraternity & Sorority Life Community.
