Posted on 01/30/2007 5:43:52 AM PST by ShadowDancer
Hazing Leads To Prison For Fraternity Brothers
POSTED: 2:25 am EST January 30, 2007
UPDATED: 2:32 am EST January 30, 2007
TALLAHASSEE -- A Florida judge said she wanted to send a message with the state's first prosecution under a new felony hazing law.
Circuit Judge Kathleen Dekker gave two Florida A&M fraternity brothers two-year prison terms for paddling a pledge with wooden canes.
Dekker said one year terms might have been sufficient to punish the two Kappa Alpha Psi members but she added the second year to make sure their sentences served as a deterrent.
One of them was accused of paddling the pledge while the other urged the pledge to take the paddling and revived him when he passed out.
Last month, a jury convicted the two under a new law that makes it a felony to take part in hazing that results in serious bodily injury.
At FSU, whenever a fraternity was kicked off, it was only for a certain period of time. They all had the opportunity to come back, when their suspension is over. I don't recall one ever being permanently kicked off, unless their parent organization permanently canceled their charter.
That is the same thing as kicked off in the Greek world.
ATO got booted off campus several times for hazing. And kept coming back.
Pardon me but that's a naive statement. Check this out: StopHazing.org Resources: Fraternity Hazing
Depends on your definition of "serious"." I'm well aware of what would be serious hazing in my book that occurred at fraternities as FSU in the 90s.
On the other hand, in my sorority, we weren't even allowed to use the word pledge.
This just happened at FSU this week: http://www.tallahassee.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070130/FSU01/701300315/1008/FSU
Welts on the bodies? Hmm, sounds serious to me.
38.
Chico State (California)
Pi Kappa Phi
Alcohol death of a pledge
Three members will serve 30-day sentences in the death of a pledge, Adrian Heideman, an actor and popular student on campus.
The death occurred in spite of attempts by the student affairs staff to increase awareness about alcohol deaths. The 911 call is below: http://orion.csuchico.edu/Pages/Vol46issue4/online/911call.html
Three members received jail sentences of 30 days each.
Links to Adrian Heideman 9-1-1 Tape
Excerpt:
In the fall of 2000, Adrian Heideman did indeed make his first foray into adulthood by starting college at Cal State University at Chico. Six weeks later, the 18-year-old returned home in a casket, having died of alcohol poisoning from binge drinking at a fraternity initiation ceremony.
Since her son's death, which prompted the California State University system to implement policies to curb excessive drinking, Heideman has not faded back into the background and dealt privately with her grief.
She has channeled her sorrow into raising awareness of binge drinking on college campuses, where fall semester is just now beginning. She praises Chico State's comprehensive new policy, which, according to Shauna Quinn, manager of the school's Campus Alcohol and Drug Education Center, includes education for all freshmen and special events to promote alcohol-free fun.
Chico's efforts seem to have paid off. Once, the college was perennially on the Princeton Review's list of the nation's top "party schools." This year, it didn't crack the top 20.
"We realize the freshman year is a big time of academic and social adjustment," Quinn said. "That's why now, we make freshmen wait until the second semester to pledge to fraternities or sororities. Since Adrian's death, it's a lot more visible. There are alcohol poisoning warning posters up at the dorms."
Heideman and her husband, Mike, have pushed forward with a liability lawsuit against the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity chapter at Chico State and the national fraternity. It is expected to go to trial Nov. 4.
Already, eight fraternity brothers have settled another suit with the family, agreeing to pay a combined $500,000. Last year, three fraternity leaders served 30 days in Butte County jail after pleading no contest to providing alcohol to Heideman, a minor.
Some friends have told Edie Heideman frankly to move on, to find closure without litigation and "stop obsessing about your son's death."
But Heideman can't bring herself to stop. She says she wants to warn others who may be as naive as she was about the dangers of binge drinking.
"The worst thing that can ever happen to a parent has happened to me," she said. "So I'm going to speak my mind. It's the only thing I can do that makes sense after Adrian's death. I'd like to show every fraternity in the country what Adrian looked like when they found him dead in the frat house basement, covered in vomit and blood. I'd like them to hear the 911 tape. Let them know about the horror and the waste."
Heideman insists she is not vengeful and she volunteers that fraternities can be a positive experience. "But," she added, "they also promote a culture of drinking."
Last spring, a task force appointed by federal lawmakers released a report showing that 1,400 college students die each year in alcohol-related accidents, among them alcohol poisoning. Heideman nods and reels off more numbers. She adds that alcohol also contributed to 500,000 injuries and more than 70,000 cases of date rape on campuses last year. It's all there in the stack of books and articles on her coffee table.
"I'm becoming an expert on two subjects on which I had hoped I'd know nothing," she said, "pediatric oncology and binge drinking."
According to lawsuit depositions, Adrian soon learned otherwise. On the night of the initiation ceremony, Pi Kappa Phi pledges were picked up at their dorms, blindfolded, driven around and then put in a dorm at the house. After taking the fraternity oath, they drank with their "big brothers." Adrian downed a bottle of blackberry brandy, felt sick, was taken downstairs to sleep it off.
He never awoke.
"I wonder what he was thinking at that last moment of consciousness," his mother said. "Sometimes, my thoughts are just unbearable. But I confront them. It's important to me."
OK - fair enough. Let me be more precise. Very strong efforts were made and continue to be made to stop hazing at white frats. Some still circumvent the rules and continue to do so. Hazing at the black frats has not been addressed to anywhere near the same degree.
Sure, Morton wants to be a "father" to his unborn child. A sadist has no business anywhere near a child.
I don't know if the frat has an on-campus house, but that aside the suspension probably amounts to 'being kicked off campus.' No participation in the Inter-Fraternity Council activities which amounts to no (official) on-campus recruitment of pledges.
Unofficially, the local cops will probably be paying 'special attention' to their parties & other functions. We had a district justice in State College (PA) that who was the type of guy to carry-out those unofficial university vendettas. That's the way it seemed when you were on the receiving-end of unwanted legal attention; now I realize that it was just good practice in keeping the public order.
Kappa Alpha Psi investigated for hazing [Sam Houston State Univ. - TX]
The Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, one of the most prestigious African American fraternities in the country, has been suspended from SHSU campus activities pending an investigation into a hazing incident which took place on February 10th [2002]. The alleged incident resulted in the hospitalization of a pledge after he was paddled and beaten with canes and other objects.
"He suffered severe injuries," said Jason Warren, staff associate of student life, who visited the student in the hospital and is currently investigating the incident. "You could tell he had been assaulted both mentally and physically."
Aggravated assault charges have been filed with the Harris County Sheriff's Department and they are currently investigating the incident.
Warren said four pledges were taken to Houston Sunday night for what they thought to be an initiation. Though he could not comment on exactly what transpired, one of the pledges went to Huntsville Memorial Hospital the next day.
"He had severe bruises on his chest and buttocks," said Warren, "and he was having trouble sitting down."
San Diego State University has suspended Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity for hazing
Kappa Alpha Psi found guilty of hazing violations [Georgia Tech]
According to the letter, the Interfraternity Judicial Board said that “The fact that brothers have therefore conspired to produce a uniform and false front leads the Judicial Board to believe that there might be a more serious form of hazing taking place... it is necessary that future consequences be outlined immediately for any future hazing violations, and that these consequences be severe enough to deter dangerous behavior.”
“The brothers’ statements were consistent between IFC and UJC [Undergraduate Judiciary Cabinet],” said Dean DiSabatino. Taped evidence from hearings in each body is admissible in the other.
The events that led to hazing allegations were not associated with a “pledge period.” Rather, the events occurred outside of the regulated intake process for KAPsi.
“African-American Greek processes differ than the other Greek chapters in a few ways, and one of those is that there is a very limited period of time that they’re interacting as prospective members; there’s not really a ‘pledgeship’ period,” stated DiSabatino. “Students conduct an informational meeting quite often... this group goes specifically goes straight from an application phase to an interview, and then after the interview, they go to a day-long event with alumni present, and then they’re brothers. There’s no pledge period. These things happened outside of that.” Dean Barnes’ letter also stated that “Georgia Tech has an obligation to the parents of our students, the citizens of our state, and most of all to the men and women that have worked so hard to be part of our campus community. Our obligation is to do all we can, to insure that activities associated with the Georgia Tech experience are beneficial and supportive of success." By Jennifer Hinkel News Editor The Lambda Delta chapter of Kappa Alpha Psi (KAPsi) has been placed on a minimum three-year suspension after being found guilty of violating sections of both the Fraternity Conduct Code and the Interfraternity Council (IFC) Hazing Policy. The sentence has been suspended and will be enacted only if KAPsi violates the IFC hazing policy again. “If any other violation of the [IFC Hazing] policy occurs over the span of the next two years, a three year suspension will occur immediately following due process, and that’s a minimum,” said Gail DiSabatino, Dean of Students. “It could be more, depending on what it [the violation] is, but that’s any violation of the intake processes.” Charges were based on alleged actions of brothers during the intake process. Brothers were charged with violating six sections of the IFC Hazing Policy and were found responsible for violating three of those sections. Sections regarding hitting or physical threats, creation of fatigue or forced participation in calisthenics, and “any other activity which is not consistent with fraternal law, ritual, or policy and regulations of Georgia Tech” were among the proven violations. “There was an allegation of a hit. The IFC Judicial Board found that the lowest level of that occurred. They said that it was maybe meant to create mild intimidation at the most. That’s what they established evidence of.... They had established that coerced calisthenics had occurred.... They [KAPsi] were irresponsible in doing what their intake process required.... The group was found to be interacting in ways they weren’t supposed to be,” said Dean DiSabatino. Allegations the fraternity was not held responsible for include the following from the IFC policy: “late work sessions... that interfere with scholastic activities,” “deprivation of normal sleep,” and “any dangerous activity,” which includes “physically threatening activities” such as “long swims, jumping from high places, and blindfolding.” KAPsi brothers were also found guilty of a Fraternity Conduct Code infraction. The violated section of the code states “I will challenge all my fraternity members to abide by these fraternity expectations and will confront and/or report those who violate them.” Other sanctions that immediately affect the fraternity will require attendance of all enrolled brothers at the Fall 2000 IFC hazing seminar and co-sponsorship of hazing related educational programs during each of the Fall 2000 and Spring 2001 Semesters. The chapter also must designate a Membership Intake Coordinator each semester, who will be responsible for planning intake, establishing guidelines, and creating intake timelines jointly with the Greek Affairs Coordinator. “Kappa Alpha Psi intake process guidelines, Executive Orders, Georgia Tech and IFC policies, must be followed to the letter in any future intake processes,” stated a letter from Assistant Dean of Students Bill Barnes to the Polemarch of the chapter. “Given the history of the chapter with intake/hazing issues, any future violation will demonstrate a lack of ability and/or intent to follow the rules that have been established for intake.”
According to the letter, the Interfraternity Judicial Board said that “The fact that brothers have therefore conspired to produce a uniform and false front leads the Judicial Board to believe that there might be a more serious form of hazing taking place... it is necessary that future consequences be outlined immediately for any future hazing violations, and that these consequences be severe enough to deter dangerous behavior.”
“The brothers’ statements were consistent between IFC and UJC [Undergraduate Judiciary Cabinet],” said Dean DiSabatino. Taped evidence from hearings in each body is admissible in the other.
The events that led to hazing allegations were not associated with a “pledge period.” Rather, the events occurred outside of the regulated intake process for KAPsi.
“African-American Greek processes differ than the other Greek chapters in a few ways, and one of those is that there is a very limited period of time that they’re interacting as prospective members; there’s not really a ‘pledgeship’ period,” stated DiSabatino. “Students conduct an informational meeting quite often... this group goes specifically goes straight from an application phase to an interview, and then after the interview, they go to a day-long event with alumni present, and then they’re brothers. There’s no pledge period. These things happened outside of that.”
U. of South Alabama punishes Kappa Alpha Psi for hazing (Jan. 2006)
Three indicted in Kappa Alpha Psi hazing incident [Univ. of South Alabama] - Sep. 2006
Former Kappa Alpha Psi house to be demolished [Univ. of South Alabama] - Jan. 2006
Prosecution Rests in Hazing Trial - 09.30.06
Prosecutors rested their case in the Kappa Alpha Psi hazing trial Friday, while defense attorneys will begin questioning their witnesses on Oct. 9.
The trial is being delayed one week because of Yom Kippur on Monday and a separate schedule conflict for Judge Kathleen Dekker and some jury members. The key witness, Marcus Jones, 20, a former sophomore at Florida A&M University, testified in court for the better part of the morning. He identified Michael Morton, 23; Brian Bowman, 23; Cory Gray, 22; Marcus Hughes, 21 as the men who beat him with canes and punched him on Feb. 26 and 27. Jones said Jason Harris, 25, also was present at that time, but he didn't hit anyone.
But another witness, Kappa pledge and FAMU student contradicted Jones' statements. Melvin Hitchens, 20, said he didn't see the defendants at the initiation sessions where Jones was beaten and punched. He also said he was harassed by an assistant state attorney and a Leon County Sheriff's investigator during the initial investigation in April.
Defendants' family, friends and some Kappas lined courtroom benches in the morning. The case has drawn a lot of attention as the first trial since the Legislature passed the hazing bill in 2005.
So far, prosecutors have tried to prove that the defendants were present at the initiation sessions and that four of them beat Jones with canes.
Defense attorneys are focusing on pointing out contradictions in witness statements. They also are questioning the seriousness of the injuries Jones suffered and are trying to prove his family had a financial motive to press charges. Mark Jones, his father, denied these claims Thursday.
At the trial, Marcus Jones walked in the courtroom carrying a cushion, which he placed on a chair before sitting in the witness box. He was one of 27 men pledging the Alpha Xi chapter of the fraternity when they were taken to a warehouse as part of that process.
He described the beatings he suffered on Feb. 23 and 24 at a house in Tallahassee. At that time, he said, he couldn't see who was beating and punching him as the room was dark.
At the warehouse on Feb. 26, Jones said, he was caned around 90 times while blindfolded. After about two hours, the initiates removed their blindfolds and the defendants introduced themselves, he said. There was one more person, he said, who called himself "Grandfather X" or "Exodus". He wasn't an undergraduate, Jones said.
Before the blindfolds came off, Jones said, "Everything kinda stopped." He heard people say "bye" and "we will see you all later." But Jones said the defendants "seemed to be in charge of everything". The pledges were caned once again that night.
On Feb. 27, he said, he was caned about 60 times. Except this time the blindfolds came off right away.
Jones said he fainted that night. That's when Harris offered him water and "encouraged" him to get back into the line.
"It was the worst pain I ever felt," he said. "I never felt pain like that. Every time I think about it, I can't describe it."
Jones told the court that Harris gave pledges bananas. One banana would go 27 ways, he said. If one of them took a big bite, he would be punched and called "greedy," Jones said.
Responding to the defense's questions, Jones said, he lost his hearing during the beatings on Feb. 23 and 24. He also said he couldn't remember talking to FAMU police investigator John Cotton. Cotton testified Wednesday that Jones was unable to identify the people beating him.
Hitchens, however, testified that he didn't see any of the defendants on the nights Jones was beaten. "I wasn't looking. I was worried about myself," he said in court. He was looking at the ceiling and not making eye contact, as instructed, he said.
He also said he was harassed by assistant state attorney Neill Wade and LCSO detective Brice Google as he was being questioned in Wade's office in April. The terms one used to describe him made him feel "belittled." One of them also said Hitchens could face perjury charges.
Google, in his testimony, admitted he may have used an offensive term to describe some pledges, or "foolish" as far as the decisions they were making.
According to an article on that website, the same fraternity paid a $2.25 million judgment for another hazing incident in 1997.
The exact years I was in school there.
It's a shame about the race baiters down there. But that just shows me much hasn't changed.
It's clear from reading the articles that the "seriousness" of the hazing differed between the Kapppa Alpha Psi and the Sig Ep incidents. But that doesn't excuse what the Sig Eps allegedly did. The potential for serious injury was there.
Just out of curiousity, I'll have to go look up the new law and see how they differientiate between what qualifies for a felony and misdemeanor.
The Nu Mu chapter of the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity has been suspended from the University of South Alabama campus pending an investigation into hazing allegations. Sources indicate a student sustained a ruptured spleen that could be related to the hazing incident and recently has undergone surgery in Birmingham because of this injury.
According to a press release issued by the University Friday afternoon, the suspension came after fraternity members reported that physical abuse was being perpetrated on newer members of the group by some older members, which is in violation of USA's anti-hazing policies. The TKE national organization has also suspended the chapter.
Details of TKE hazing incident surface
University of South Alabama police are remaining tight-lipped when it comes to the investigation of the Nu Mu chapter of Tau Kappa Epsilon (TKE) and the hazing activities in which that fraternity allegedly engaged.
Johnny Noel, a detective with the USA police force, told The Vanguard that the investigation could be a "months-long" process. A Jan. 10 campus police report indicated that TKE brothers used a wooden paddle and fists to beat Christopher Mims, a pledge, so badly that it ruptured Mims' spleen. According to the report, the injury was sustained after repeated blows to his midsection area.
University officials have conducted an investigation to find the true nature of the incident, and some officials feel that the allegations are completely out of character for this particular fraternity.
USA Vice President of Student Affairs Dale Adams told the Press-Register that TKE is the "goody-two-shoes" fraternity on campus, and USA Greek Adviser Emily Ulmer pointed out that TKE maintains the highest grade point average of any other fraternity on campus.
But that's where the discussion of the incident ends. USA Police Chief Normand Gamache refused to comment on the investigation for fear of tainting it, only saying that it will take so long because they want to be "very thorough." Noel also refused to comment any further on the matter.
That's exactly how they do it...unlike the days of slavery when white folks treated blacks like cattle....
Where is the NAACP when they're needed?! Hmmmmmmm.....
Last updated by Hank Nuwer on February 12, 2006.
2005
Chico State University (California)
Chi Tau (college-banned chapter)
Hazing death
Eight men were charged with crimes in the death of pledge Matthew Carrington, 21. Convictions included one felony count for a sentence of one year in prison.
2005
Lambda Phi Epsilon
University of California Irvine
Pledge death under investigation
Pledge Kenny Luong of Cal Poly Pomona died in August after competing in a football game with other pledges against members of the Irvine chapter. There were many more members than pledges in the roughly played game. The death is under investigation.
2005
University of Texas
Lambda Phi Epsilon
Alcohol death of a pledge
Phanta “Jack” Phoummarath died of acute alcohol intoxication during a fraternity event. Toxicology ruling came January 2006.
Sigma Tau Gamma
Eastern Michigan University
Ecstasy and Alcohol Death
Keith Cholette went into convulsions and died at a house party.
UC San Diego
Delta Sigma Phi
Acidental death (alcohol and possibly drugs)
The dead youth was Daniel Ashenazy.
University of Florida
Kappa Sigma and Fellowship of Christian Athletes
Drunk Driving death
The dead youth was Christopher James Small.
University of Florida
Theta Chi
Power Hour (21st birthday)
Kyle Fredrik Schuemann died in a celebration for his 22nd birthday.
Kenyon College
Delta Phi
Off-campus party
The dead youth was Colin Boyarski, 19.
University of Texas
Lambda Phi Epsilon
Alcohol death of a pledge
Phanta “Jack” Phoummarath died of acute alcohol intoxication during a fraternity event.
(03-04) 04:00 PST Chico -- The last room Matthew Carrington ever walked into was the cold, dank cellar of the Chi Tau fraternity house, where a message etched into the wall read, "In the basement, no one can hear you scream."
It was the night of Feb. 2, and for five hours the 21-year-old Pleasant Hill man and a friend pledging the Chico fraternity were allegedly humiliated and doused with gallons of cold water in the basement while being blasted with ice-cold air from giant fans.
They were made to do calisthenics while standing on one foot atop a bench, prosecutors said. Denied the opportunity to use the bathroom, they had to request permission to wet themselves.
Through it all, prosecutors said, fraternity members forced Carrington and his friend to drink gallon after gallon of water until Carrington collapsed as hypothermia set in and his brain stem swelled from the water intoxication that killed him.
On Thursday, police arrested five Chi Tau fraternity members who prosecutors said were involved in the sadistic ritual. They were released after posting bail. Three other fraternity members are being sought in the crime, which has so horrified this town that the president of California State University Chico said he may abolish the Greek system altogether.
"There won't be another time," President Paul Zingg said Thursday. "This is the last straw."
Of the eight suspects, four face charges of involuntary manslaughter, a felony that carries a maximum sentence of four years in prison. The others face misdemeanor charges of hazing, which carries a maximum sentence of one year in jail and a $5,000 fine.
Just four of the fraternity members charged in the case are students at Cal State Chico. The remainder attend a local community college or aren't college students at all, just hangers-on who never left Chi Tau.
Carrington's death was the latest, and most severe, case of outrageous behavior at the Chi Tau house, authorities and students said. The fraternity has long had a tainted reputation and has in the past faced accusations of sexual assault and violence. Fed up, university officials expelled the fraternity from campus in 2002 after members served alcohol to minors.
In a news conference Thursday, Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey reconstructed Carrington's final days, painting a picture of a torture-filled "Hell Week" concocted by a 25-year-old named Jerry Ming Lim. Carrington would have never been allowed to join Chi Tau had he tried to walk away from the abuse he endured simply because his friend, Mike Quintana, did not want to rush the fraternity alone.
"This incident has obviously outraged the community, a community that is tired of 'Animal House' behavior," Ramsey said, flanked by giant photos of the Chi Tau house and its cavernous basement, parts of which were covered with spray-painted graffiti.
Investigators said Lim masterminded the ritual. They do not know if he is a college student, but said he served as the "pledge general" by mapping out the ritual. Lim, who is charged with hazing and involuntary manslaughter, turned himself in Thursday.
Of five pledges who had hoped to join the fraternity, only Carrington and Quintana made it through "Hell Week" and into the basement.
At the beginning of the week -- Jan. 30 -- pledges were told they would spend their nights sleeping in concrete bunkerlike holes, where the windows have no glass, it was so cold they could see their breath and graffiti on the walls told them they were less than men if they quit, Ramsey said.
Each night's hazing had a theme. Jan. 30 was "active night," where Carrington and Quintana were considered the property of the fraternity's newest members and had to perform exercises at their whim, Ramsey said. The pipes in the house backed up that night, sending between 2 and 3 inches of raw sewage onto the basement's concrete floor. Carrington and Quintana were made to exercise in it.
The next night was "pledge Olympics" and brought strenuous exercise that lasted until 6 a.m. It was so cold in the basement that fraternity members "actually felt sorry" for the pledges, Ramsey said, and invited the pair to sleep upstairs in the house.
Carrington's last night alive -- into the wee hours of Feb. 2 -- was "movie night," when fraternity members watched the baseball comedy "Mr. 3000" and played cards while Carrington and Quintana stood atop a bench and consumed gallons of water.
The two young men passed a 5-gallon jug back and forth, drinking and performing push-ups each time they incorrectly answered trivia questions posed by Chi Tau members.
Over and over the fraternity members told them "to take one for the homies," Ramsey said, saying it was their cue to pour the jug of water over their already dripping wet bodies.
The jug was filled five times that night, Ramsey said.
Carrington's mother wept as the district attorney described her son's final hours. His father said he is eager to see those accused of killing his son go to jail.
"I believe when my son went downstairs in that basement with those people," Michael Carrington said, "he knew that it would be rough, but it would be OK because they would not take it too far."
Though the stunt was supposed to conclude at the end of the movie, three fraternity members returned home from a bar drunk; they included Gabriel John Maestretti, 22, who allegedly insisted that the pledges keep going for at least another hour, Ramsey said.
Carrington was in the middle of a push-up when he collapsed around 4 a.m. He died about two hours later at Enloe Medical Center. Quintana -- who attempted to resuscitate Carrington -- survived, and was seen removing possessions from the fraternity house Thursday. He did not return a phone call seeking comment.
Authorities charged Maestretti, who is not a college student, with involuntary manslaughter and hazing. Also facing those charges are Carlos James Devilla Abrille, 22, who also is not a college student, and John Paul Fickes, 19, a Chico State student. The three turned themselves in to authorities Thursday.
Stella Maestretti, the aunt of Maestretti's father, said Thursday, "I never thought he would do anything like that. He just doesn't seem to be that type of a kid."
Chico attorney Kevin Sears waited in the Police Department lobby for his client, Fickes, to be released and said, "The only thing I know so far is he feels awful about Matthew's death."
The remaining defendants and their attorneys either did not wish to comment or could not be reached.
The four charged with misdemeanor hazing are Richard Joseph Hirth, 22; Michael Fernandez, 19; Rex Edward Garnett, 20; and Trent Stiefvater, 20. Chi Tau members seen moving mattresses and other furniture out of the fraternity house on Thursday refused to comment. Garnett turned himself in Thursday and Hirth, Fernandez and Stiefvater were being sought by police.
Chico State officials are looking into expelling the four students who attend the university and were involved in the alleged crime. Zingg said he will decide this spring whether fraternities and sororities at the school, known for its wild parties, will be allowed to remain -- something some fraternity and sorority members resent.
Heidi Hedberg, a sophomore who lives in a sorority house across the street from Chi Tau, said the fraternity "screwed up the entire Chico State Greek system for the rest of us."
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