By DAVID DUPONT
BG Independent News
Bowling Green State University has charged the local chapter of Phi Kappa Alpha with six violations of the Code of Student Conduct in relation to the death of sophomore Stone Foltz in early March.
Foltz was found unconscious at his residence after attending an off-campus fraternity party on March 4. He died on March 7 at a Toledo hospital. His organs and tissue were donated.
The university met with national and local fraternity leaders earlier this morning to inform them of the violations. According to a letter sent to the chapter president, he did not attend.
“The University worked with special counsel David DeVillers, a former U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio at the firm of Barnes & Thornburg, to pursue a thorough and fair investigation to seek the truth and facts regarding the alleged hazing activity on March 4,” according to a statement released by university spokesperson Alex Solis.
The six charges include four related to hazing, one related to “harm to others” and another related to serving alcohol to underaged persons.
The letter to the fraternity provides some details of what happened on March 4 based on information from chapter members.
The details include:
- Members of the organization provided individual bottles of alcohol to new members and encouraged the new members to consume the entirety of the contents of the bottle. One new member died following this event, and other new members were severely intoxicated to the point of vomiting.
- Members of the organization had the new members wear blindfolds and led them into a basement area while being yelled at and pushed in an effort to disorient them.
- New members were instructed multiple times prior to the event on March 4 that they would need to inform faculty members of their likely absence from classes on March 5.
- Alcohol was provided to new members of the organization, and only one new member was of legal age to possess/consume alcohol.
Another hazing charge is based on “the totality of the information collected coupled with the fact that hazing and underage possession and consumption of alcohol are against university policy and state law.”
The fraternity has two business days to reply. The adjudication process is scheduled for completion by April 13. Investigations into individual students are ongoing.
Attorneys Rex Elliott and Sean Alto, of the law firm Cooper Elliott, which is representing the Foltz family issued a statement in response to BGSU’s action.
It believes the charges merit expulsion of Phi Kappa Alpha. (See full statement below.)
While saying the university’s actions are encouraging, the family continues to insist on universities taking a zero tolerance toward hazing. Even one incident should result in the permanent expulsion of a Greek organization. The onus rests with the university president.
The statement from Solis maintains: “Hazing is absolutely intolerable.”
The university is working with local law enforcement, which is leading the investigation.
“While these University charges don’t bring back student Stone Foltz, our goal is to hold those accountable who are responsible for this tragedy,” Solis stated.
The university has also suspended all Greek organization activities as it addresses the issues of hazing. This affects all four councils on campus – the Interfraternity Council, Multicultural Greek Council, National Pan-Hellenic Council and College Panhellenic Conference.
Rogers stated that the Interfraternity Council, which represents the 17 Greek chapter on campus, voted to defer the new member process until the fall semester.
In an email to the community, President Rodney Rogers stated that the administration is continuing to work with student leaders “to address the short- and long-term future of fraternity and sorority life” and is formulating a policy to allow chapters to resume operations. This would include zero tolerance for hazing.
Statement from Cooper Elliott
“Stone Foltz died as a result of a senseless hazing ritual. While he wasn’t the first to suffer dire consequences at the hands of a fraternity, we are determined to make him the last. We are encouraged to see Bowling Green State University move swiftly to address Pi Kappa Alpha’s conduct. Given the facts, charging the fraternity with six Code of Student Conduct violations, including Harm to Others, multiple Hazing violations, and Organization Alcohol, is an easy decision that should lead to the fraternity’s expulsion. We also expect the individuals who participated in the hazing ritual to be held accountable. However, our ultimate goal is to get all university presidents to institute a zero-tolerance policy for any hazing activities. True zero tolerance means one hazing incident results in immediate fraternal expulsion. Proposed state and federal legislation are steps in the right direction but university presidents must make serious and significant changes to eliminate hazing from the culture.”
