By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bowling Green State University has settled a civil lawsuit brought by the family of Stone Foltz, who died from alcohol poisoning in March 2021 related to hazing.
The university will pay $2.9 million to the iamstonefoltz Foundation.
The most important part of the agreement, though the family attorney Rex Elliott said, is BGSU’s promise to partner with the Foltz family to end hazing.
Foltz’s parents Cory and Shari Foltz along with Elliott and fellow attorney Sean Alto, of Cooper Elliott, held a news conference in the law firm’s Columbus office. The event was livestreamed.
[RELATED: Foltz family sues BGSU over son’s hazing death]
A joint statement from the family and BGSU was issued this morning:
“The Foltz family and Bowling Green State University are forever impacted by the tragic death of Stone Foltz. This resolution keeps the Foltz family and BGSU community from reliving the tragedy for years to come in the courtroom and allows us to focus on furthering our shared mission of eradicating hazing in Ohio and across the nation. Leading these efforts in our communities is the real work that honors Stone.”
Those efforts, Elliott said, “will make Bowling Green State University on of the safest campuses in this country.”
He praised BGSU President Rodney Rogers and the university’s general counsel Natalie Jackson for their efforts. They were in the law firm’s office a few days after Stone Foltz’s death.
“These are two people who understand the problem, the epidemic of hazing in this country, and I believe they are committed to partnering with us to put a stop to hazing, certainly at Bowling Green and other campuses in Ohio and beyond,” he said.
“From day one we’ve wanted the same thing as Bowling Green – to eradicate hazing across the country,” said Stone’s father Cory Foltz. Now with the settlement they can move forward together.
Elliott called for an end to the pledge process. That’s where the hazing occurs. That action needs to be taken now at a time when pledging is occurring on campus.
No one at the table, he said, wanted to end the Greek system. They do teach valuable lessons and contribute to their community with philanthropic work. But the hazing and pledge system “are a thing of the past,” he said. And if they are not eliminated, then the Greek system will cease.
Addressing an issue brought up in the trial of those accused in the death of Stone Foltz, he said, this was not a matter of personal responsibility on the part pledges. “Active members have something the pledges want and the pledges will do almost anything they’re told to do to get it,” Elliott said.
He’s asked the state’s Inter-University Council to take action to end hazing. If public universities take that step, other institutions will follow suit.
Stone Foltz died March 7 from alcohol poisoning after drinking a lethal amount of whiskey at an off-campus Pi Kappa Alpha Big Little event. Two Pike members Troy Henricksen and Jacob Krinn were sentenced to jail time after being convicted of misdemeanor crimes related to the incident.
This settlement is more important than the court proceedings. Those the family had no control over.
It was a no-win situation for the family and for Krinn and Hendricksen who now have criminal records.
This settlement will help the family through the foundation keep the promise they made to their son on his death bed to work to end hazing, Stone’s mother Shari Foltz said.
But neither the court verdict nor this settlement will bring closure for the family, Shari Foltz said. “Nothing is ever going to bring Stone back. So that piece of our hearts will never be filled again. Closure is never going to be there for us.”
Cory Foltz said he believes that their son would be proud of the actions they are taking. “He’d be happy to hear we’re caring for other parents’ children as well.”
“He was always about giving to others,” his mother said.
The foundation provides education about the dangers of hazing and alcohol consumption.
Elliott said some question the value of that education. They claim students just don’t listen.
But they do, he said. It’s visible in their eyes. The problem is that “they think it would not happen to him.”
That was true for Krinn who attended a presentation by the mothers of two hazing victims. Four months later he was participating in the event that resulted in the death of Stone Foltz.
It can happen to them, he said. They can end up injured or dead or facing criminal charges as Krinn did.
This is the most significant settlement to come out of the family’s civil suit.
Most of the other plaintiffs have already settled, including the international PIKE fraternity. The others were the local chapter and members of the fraternity.
Those settlements have amounted to $7 million.
[RELATED: Family of Stone Foltz files civil suit against fraternity & members]
According to Elliott the BGSU settlement is the largest in a hazing case paid by an Ohio school.
The payment will be made by the university’s insurance company.
