Hazing = Criminally Negligent Homicide?

[MacVittie]

The big news story at my college has been the death of 19-year old Arman Partamian while he was pledging a non-affiliated fraternity known as The Pigs. Basically, this frat was asked by the college to disband after a number of underage drinking incidents (above and beyond what is accepted here by the typical sorority/fraternity). The organization continued to operate off campus, and during pledging this year, a student became very sick from drinking, was put in a bed, and never woke up. Today, 2 students and one non-student were charged with criminally negligent homicide, a felony. Reports have also stated Partamian was taken upstairs when the police arrived after a noise complaint that night and that his fraternity shirt was removed before the EMTS arrived. One student received an additional charge of criminal tampering. The medical examiner reported a BAC as high as 0.55, seven times the legal driving limit in New York.

I'm not sure how much I think the frat and the three arrested should be held accountable. On one hand, the kid is an adult and should be able to control his own drinking and have enough self confidence to not crumble to peer pressure. On the other, SUNY Geneseo has gotten a reputation for excessive drinking and its more common than not to see people falling down in the streets or semi-conscious at a party. The DA will likely want to make an example out of these guys and show that while providing booze to underage kids is common, its still a crime and consequences can come with that. I'm not sure how I feel about the whole "making and example out of someone" sentence.

Should this just be looked at as a tragic accident and really poor judgment or are these guys criminals who will finally have to answer for their actions?

http://www.whec.com/article/stories/S811462.shtml

http://www.whec.com/article/stories/S813215.shtml

http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S857645.shtml

[drusilla]

i don't think there is anything wrong with the charge. giving alcohol to minors is illegal & unfortunately it lead to death. people need to know that this is a serious problem & what they were doing was wrong. of course this stuff is happening all across the country & it's probably not going to stop, but people need to know the consequences of their actions are very serios.

[PapaBear]

In addition to the underage serving of alcohol, in some places, hazing is illegal. If that's the case there, then the charges are justified. A death that results from the commission of a crime is, at the very least, criminally negligent homicide.

[sailor]

at least they didn't write on anyone's face.

[jafter]

They should put those idiots in jail and I hope the kids parents sue the fuck out of everyone involved including the Frat, the brothers, and the college. Then let the ones who fed him the alcohol go to jail for a long time, and the leaders of the frat if not directly involved but knew of the hazing do 5 years each. Then they will really think wow this is great we can fuck with some young punks making them pull bananas out of the toilet and make them eat it, while getting fucked up the ass in prison.

I hope these punks don't skate on these charges.

[ToiletCrusher]

This is far too often becoming common place.

A few years ago, there was a a 18 year old who was drinking simply at a house party outside of Buffalo. He died from his consumption. The parents of the kid who threw the party were charged as well as the kid who held it.

I think there is a responsibility that needs to be placed on the individuals who hold these events. College kids might be assholes but simply put, they aren't just stupid. They know what the effects of alcohol are.

It's just a shame that some poor sap felt so compelled to make friends and join an organization that they would go to such extremes. But, when faced with stronger than usual peer pressure, people will do almost anything.

I went to one rush event when I was an undergrad and witnessed a pledge being held down on a ping pong table and the brothers were force feeding him a funnel which had a mixture of beer and whiskey. The kid's eyes were practically rolling back in his head and he was coughing because he couldn't keep up.

I left and never looked back. That just isn't my style. But even then, as a dumb college kid, I knew that that was fucking crazy and even thought that someone will die from this someday and all this "fun" will come to an end.

I say charge them. Some family lost a child to a group of arrogant people.

[Tallman388]

On one hand, the kid was there voluntarily and probably knew what he was getting in to. On the other hand, there are always a couple of assholes who go too far with hazing. They also knew enough to hide what was going on when the cops showed up for the noise complaint. Do they deserve a homicide charge? probably not, but they should be charged with something, a kid died because of a moronic ritual, and I say that having pledged a fraternity.

[earthbrown]

Suny Geneseo has about 5000 students, and the EMS gets 200 or so calls per year for people who are too intoxicated to function.

I lived right up the road, and we use to go there and dring when we were 16 and 17, these parties were typical college parties, obviously people were underage.

Problem is this stupid hazing shit, has gone away from the stupid, humiliating, harmless stuff, to trying to drink and puke 8 times.

YES, that was the point of this hazing, to DRINK enough to PUKE 8 times.

Stupid for the pledge, stupid for the hazers.

I see 1 dead retard and 3 retards that will do some time.

A prediction, black dude gets more time than the others...it is livingston county, racist assholes.

K

[topless_mike]

This is far too often becoming common place.

A few years ago, there was a a 18 year old who was drinking simply at a house party outside of Buffalo. He died from his consumption. The parents of the kid who threw the party were charged as well as the kid who held it.

I think there is a responsibility that needs to be placed on the individuals who hold these events. College kids might be assholes but simply put, they aren't just stupid. They know what the effects of alcohol are.

The 18 year old, as an adult, could have said.... no

just saying. there needs to be more responsibility on those partaking in the event, rather than just those throwing the event. serving to minors is a crime, and those hosting should be charged as such. nothing more though.

[MacVittie]

I think a lot of it will depend on the statements of witnesses, but since most of them are "brothers" and girlfriends of brothers, I doubt we'll get the real story about what went down. I read all the depositions and everyone pretty much said that alcohol was made available to these kids, but no one was encouraged or forced to drink. Which is bullshit. I get that a 19 year old is an adult and can make his own decisions, but at the same time you are a teenager and have that mindset. If a bunch of upperclassmen tell you that you have to drink to be part of their club, you're going to do it.

[TheGameHHH]

at least they didn't write on anyone's face.

and thank god! worst thing you can do to a man. only then would i be outraged

[drjoek]

a non-affiliated fraternity known as The Pigs. Basically, this frat was asked by the college to disband after a number of underage drinking incidents

[boosterp]

I am going to delve into a place in my memory that causes some of my PTSD.

The Army was no different than college when it came to shit like this. I can not even begin to tell you how many calls as a paramedic I got to respond to kids that had over consumed and were either dead or near death. Or, how many I saw in the ER. At one point I was near to being a victim of this stupid crime and is the reason I do not touch tequila today.

That's as far as I can go mentally. Sorry about the lack of detail.

Yes, people should be prosecuted.

[Furtherman]

Fraternities are ghey.

[Gvac]

Fraternities are ghey.

Agreed. I could never understand the attraction. I don't get "hazing" in general.

Why anyone would allow themselves to be humiliated for any reason makes no sense to me. I guess to each his or her own, but I'll never understand it for the life of me.

[MacVittie]

maybe a mod could make this a poll with options like "hazing is a crime" and "hazing is a part of college life" or something to that effect. it seems like quite a few people on this board think these guys should get the book thrown at them, while the consensus i gather from students at the college is that the kids should skate. maybe its because most people here have been in that situation and were lucky enough to not have it happen to them. I also read this in a Buffalo paper:

Investigators said Partamian had been drinking heavily for two days at the Pig
House social club, which was banned by the college in 1996 after two students were
hospitalized for excessive drinking, and at another location where some club members
live.

On the third day, Feb. 28, he started drinking beer, champagne and vodka in the afternoon
before going to a Saturday, Feb. 28, party at the Pig House, where he and two other
pledges, one of them a minor, were seen jumping around a bonfire in an obviously
intoxicated state.

Students at the party noticed that the three, all under the legal drinking age, were forced
to continue drinking more alcohol by Pig House members.

The witnesses told a resident assistant at a college dormitory, who in turn called 911 that
night. “The Pigs were forcing these individuals to drink entire bottles of alcohol around
the fire, and they were, like falling over and vomiting and just, extreme, like hazing,” the
resident assistant told a 911 dispatcher.

The same students who informed the resident assistant are believed to have also sent text
messages to the people at the Pig party to let them know the police had been called. By
the time a Geneseo village police officer arrived at the party, it had been cleared.
Partamian was found in an upstairs room in the Pig House at about 11 a. m. the next day.
He was dead when paramedics arrived.

I wonder if charges will be brought against the students who sent the text to tell them that cops were on the way so that they could hide the passed-out kids.

[jauble]

The lack of rules and regulation associated with a local/underground fraternity is what really makes them extra dangerous. I was in a national one at my school and eventually was the president. There was a lot of pressure on me to steer the ship dancing between the rules and what people want to do. A year or so after I was done with the leadership role one of the members died at a secret society party which he was joining and it was one of the most terrible things I've dealt with. We never made anyone drink, however there was usually some booze readily available.