<p>Have at it.</p>
<p>I graduated from Cornell. My daughter graduated from Cornell. My husband got his doctorate at Cornell. It’s an excellent university, and I have very positive feelings about it. </p>
<p>But Cornell – like many other colleges – has a Greek system. And that system is broken. </p>
<p>Cornell is making changes in an effort to improve the system, but questions have been raised about whether the changes will make things better or worse.</p>
<p>The only thing unusual about this tragedy is that the person who died was not a pledge but a full fraternity member. </p>
<p>So I guess the main lesson that individual families can learn from George Desdunes’ death is that if your child pledges a fraternity, you don’t get to stop worrying that he will die in a hazing incident once he becomes a full fraternity member. You have to continue worrying until he graduates.</p>
<p>And don’t think that things like this only happen at Cornell – or Dartmouth. Because it isn’t true.</p>
<p>Well, for a start, if they don’t want to go alchohol-free, the frats could make it an automatic expulsion on the first offense to engage in illegal behavior. Supplying alcohol to a minor is illegal.</p>
<p>Wonder how many parents knew that Binghamton halted all recruiting and pledging for the semester last night??..just caught that in the article…</p>
<p>@mini: That idea might work at some universities but probably not at Cornell, which has a medical amnesty program for alcohol-related emergencies. </p>
<p>[Gannett:</a> Medical Amnesty (MAP)](<a href=“http://www.gannett.cornell.edu/topics/drugs/alcohol/map.cfm]Gannett:”>http://www.gannett.cornell.edu/topics/drugs/alcohol/map.cfm)</p>
<p>Basically, if you get help for someone who is in danger as a result of drinking, you need not worry that you or that person will suffer serious disciplinary consequences.</p>
<p>Cornell has this policy because they don’t want students to be reluctant to report emergencies for fear of getting into trouble. I don’t know whether or not the policy is a good idea.</p>
<p>The medical amnesty program is fine, but fraternities are self-policing. Why would they (the fraternities) want to encourage illegal behavior? It would be illegal whether there was an emergency or not.</p>
<p>I will never deny that people in frats drink and haze, but I wonder when people are going to realize that it is not exclusive to the Greek System.</p>
<p>[Florida</a> A&M death illuminates prevalence of non-Greek hazing | Inside Higher Ed](<a href=“http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/12/23/florida-am-death-illuminates-prevalence-non-greek-hazing]Florida”>http://www.insidehighered.com/news/2011/12/23/florida-am-death-illuminates-prevalence-non-greek-hazing)</p>
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<p>“I will never deny that people in frats drink and haze, but I wonder when people are going to realize that it is not exclusive to the Greek System.”</p>
<p>Of course it is not exclusive, and I have never heard anyone claim that it is. But it is true, and well-documented, that alcohol and drug use rates, sexual assaults, rapes, assaults, alcohol poisonings, alcohol emergencies, and, yes, hazing, are higher among fraternity and sorority members. Doesn’t have to be. Just is.</p>
<p>I am in love with Douglas Fierberg, the lawyer who brings these lawsuits. Mini, thanks for posting. A sad and moving article.</p>
<p>Hit the U’s where it counts- the pocket book. Hit the frats where it counts- the pocket book. There is a tipping point- the moment where the costs of defending against these lawsuits becomes overwhelming; the moment where the Chief Risk Officer or General Counsel walks into a meeting of the board of trustees and announces, “We have just settled our last alcohol related hazing lawsuit. It’s over, we either close the frats or make them dry”.</p>
<p>Collegeshopping- this problem is not exclusive to Greeks, but this is the easiest problem to solve- they are voluntary organizations, easy to find (heck, they have banners outside the door and posters advertising their parties all over campus), and also have “elders” or actual grownups (alums) who are still involved years after graduating. Presumably some of them have even gone to law school and realize that the costs of defending out of control drinking and hazing will eventually bankrupt their beloved fraternity.</p>
<p>Mini- thanks for posting.</p>
<p>His website is cool:</p>
<p>[Justice-50</a> Nationwide Representation | School Violence Law](<a href=“http://schoolviolencelaw.com/node/6]Justice-50”>http://schoolviolencelaw.com/node/6)</p>
<p>blossom, what about universities where the Greek houses are not affiliated with the university, such as Harvard?</p>
<p>In those instances, would the university suffer any financial consequences from lawsuits prompted by alcohol-related hazing?</p>
<p>This is the same fraternity involved in the recent Dartmouth fraternity scandal.</p>
<p>SAE - otherwise known as “sexual abuse expected.”</p>
<p>SAE has a bad rep at mit, too.</p>
<p>Drinking age should be 18.</p>
<p>^^^
Explain, please, how this would help.</p>
<p>We’ve got lots of studies on the 18 drinking age, learning to drink with parents, comparison studies, studies of countries where the drinking age is 18, etc., etc. Hundreds and hundreds of studies. They all show the same thing. If you are trying to reduce dangerous driving, binge drinking, heavy drinking, alcohol-related accident deaths, or long-term alcohol problems or alcoholism in adults…</p>
<p>Bad idea. </p>
<p>I dare anyone to read the literature and come to a different conclusion. Now, having said that, if one wants to make the case that people should be free to waste themselves as they choose, I see absolutely no reason why the drinking age shouldn’t be 14.</p>
<p>Go to war sign a contract get the death penalty but can’t have a beer</p>
<p>Ifnthe drinking age was 18, like we all grew up with, if something bad happened more likely helpmwould be summoned because no law is broken. Drinking age of 18 is stupid.</p>
<p>Make the punishments formdrunk driving much more harsh.</p>
<p>To pretend eighteen year olds don’t drink is like saying they don’t have sex. It’s sticking your head in the sand and it’s denial.</p>
<p>People have been drinking alcohol sense they figured out how to make it.</p>
<p>Makongit illegal under21 obviously is working real well. It’s like marijuana, it’s just stupid.</p>
<p>If it’s about driving, people will drive drunk if 18 or 21. That’s not gonna change. What’s gonna change is the punishments</p>
<p>This is old news right? Not that it is not sad, but there has been few threads about this already. D1 knew the person. She still gets teared up whenever people talk about it. Cornell has changed a lot of its “partying” or drining policy on campus, which I do not agree with because it is making it even more dangerous for the kids. </p>
<p>I 100% support to have drinking age at 18. D2 is living it now, and I think it is safer. She is living at home while able to drink legally, instead of going off to college and be exposed to alcohol on her own.</p>
<p>Since the instance, Cornell has prohibited traditional fraternity parties on campus or allow alcohol at mixers. This may sound good, but the problem is parties still continue, except now they are at fraternity annexes or at off campus housing. Whereas before campus security could drop in from time to time to make sure most students were ok, now the partying has gone underground. This maybe less liability for the school, but not sure if it’s safer for the students.</p>