Penn State hazing: Long Island man's guilty plea a reminder of dangers of unchecked fraternities

Two former Penn State University students, one from Long Island, agreed last week to plead guilty to misdemeanor charges for their roles in a fraternity hazing incident seven years ago that left a sophomore pledge dead.

It was a stark reminder of the worst-case scenarios feared by students, parents and administrators when it comes to the conduct of fraternities and sororities.

Amid new rules, regulations and even legal statutes aimed at cutting down on infractions, and crimes, at least one national survey shows there's still work to be done.

The National Fraternity and Sorority Scorecard, produced by the Piazza Center at Penn State, found that for the 2020-21 academic year, the most recent available, of 99 participating campuses reflecting 1,593 fraternity, 1,285 sorority and 58 coed organization chapters, 15.3% of chapters at private, nonprofit schools reported conduct violations, while 16.9% — or 242 chapters — reported violations at public institutions.

Though no breakdown was immediately available, the executive summary for the scorecard said violations included alcohol, hazing and "organizational activity that led to sexual misconduct, and other organizational misconduct such as physical altercations."

Before being renamed and moved, the center operated at Indiana University from 1976-2019.

It is now named for Timothy J. Piazza, who died in February 2017 as the result of pledging activities at the now permanently banned Beta Theta Pi chapter at Penn State. 

Authorities said that after consuming a large amount of alcohol, Piazza, 19, of Lebanon, New Jersey, fell down a flight of stairs, sustaining severe head and abdominal injuries.

On Tuesday, Daniel Casey, 27, of Ronkonkoma, who was vice president and pledge master of Beta Theta Pi, as well as then-fraternity president Brendan Young, 28, both pleaded guilty to hazing and reckless endangerment — misdemeanor charges — in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Sentencing is in October.

The Pennsylvania attorney representing Casey, Steven P. Trialonas, did not return calls seeking comment last week.

But local colleges said the incident is a reminder compliance is a must for all campus-associated fraternal organizations — and that when it comes to enforcement, diligence remains a must, too.

Statistics show nationally, between 2000 and 2015, at least 57 fraternity members died, most while being hazed.

It was just four years ago that three fraternities at Stony Brook were suspended after reports were filed with the university of sexual assault and hazing.

Stony Brook now has 36 recognized fraternity and sorority chapters on campus.

Sixto Arias, director of fraternity and sorority life at Stony Brook, said,  "hazing is not tolerated at Stony Brook University. We have implemented robust policies and procedures to prevent hazing, including a comprehensive prevention program and various educational initiatives."

The university said all students are "reminded of policies and resources" related to hazing at the start of each semester, while all fraternities, sororities and other campus organizations are required to submit "detailed new member education programs," which help administrators identify "problematic behaviors before they occur."

These and other mandates, officials said, are aimed at "reducing the risk" associated with off-campus events — and also serve as a continuing refresher on risk management and anti-hazing policies that includes all new members to complete what is known as Red Watch Band training, a nationally recognized "toxic drinking prevention and outreach program."

Violations include conduct proceedings, imposition of sanctions, a corrective action plan and even a potential change in organizational status.

Hofstra has 17 recognized fraternities and sororities, and all members are required to attend workshops related to hazing prevention and bystander intervention, a school spokesman said in a statement.

"Hofstra will remove chapters for failure to comply with university policies and expectations and take appropriate action with any individuals who violate the policy," the statement said.

Administrators and law enforcement also rely on New York State Penal Law to provide for the pursuit of remedies. Under state law, a person can be charged with first-degree hazing, a misdemeanor, if they "intentionally or recklessly engages in conduct" involving physical injury, sexual conduct, restraint and intimidation related to hazing. A person can be charged with second-degree hazing, a violation, if conduct creates a substantial risk involving those offenses.

Of course, depending on the severity of any violation, other legal avenues are available as well.

A 2021 analysis of hazing laws in states nationwide conducted by the SUNY Student Conduct Institute found two men had died from hazing-related incidents in the first months of that year, while "other deaths" were under investigation.

That study found while 46 states have some type of hazing law, experts remained "concerned" the COVID-19 pandemic brought an increase in situations "where there are significantly fewer watchful eyes to keep young people safe from hazing activities" — making it important schools monitor and adjust policies designed to address hazing and keep students safe.

Officials at Adelphi University, which has seven sororities, five fraternities, eight multicultural organizations and two social fellowships active on campus, said each must abide by specific rules outlined in its Chapter Accreditation Program and Greek Organization Manual.

Sloane Somerstein, senior coordinator for Adelphi's Center for Student and Community Engagement, said organization leaders are required to participate in Student Leadership Week programs, hosted before the fall and spring semesters — training that includes SafeZone (LGBTQ+ rights awareness), Title IX (gender and sex discrimination), Green Dot (violence prevention) and CORE (leadership skills) seminars. Organizations whose leaders don't comply with training lose accreditation, Somerstein said.

To further steer organizations from those old college fraternity and sorority stereotypes, Somerstein said Adelphi places "a large emphasis" on service work — something, he said, is "echoed through all of our student organizations." These include student members going to underserved communities as part of outreach programs.

"We continue to stress the importance of service work through our different leadership weeks, and we have seen most of our Greek and Social Fellowship community members participating in events like clothing drives and toy drives as a way to give back to the local communities in need."

By John Valenti

john.valenti@newsday.com

John Valenti, a reporter at Newsday since 1981, has been honored nationally by the Associated Press and Society of the Silurians for investigative, enterprise and breaking news reporting, as well as column writing, and is the author of “Swee'pea,” a book about former New York playground basketball star Lloyd Daniels. Valenti is featured in the Emmy Award-winning ESPN 30-for-30 film “Big Shot.”