Stone Foltz (photo), 20, a Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity pledge at Ohio’s Bowling Green State University, is dead.
He died March 4, 2021, of acute alcohol poisoning — another victim of a fraternity hazing incident.
This has been going on forever. Those responsible usually get away with it. As a 2017 Atlantic article explained (here), fraternities are backstopped by “powerful forces” — legal, financial, political, connections, influence. The fraternity chapter was already on probation, and this time the university will expel it permanently, but that only applies on campus.
It’s unclear from news reports whether any students were expelled because of this incident. But several fraternity members will face criminal charges. On Thursday, April 29, 2021, the D.A. announced grand jury indictments as follows:
Jacob Krinn, 20, is charged with first- and third-degree manslaughter, reckless homicide, and hazing.
Daylen Dunson, 20, Canyon Caldwell, 21, Troy Henricksen, 23, Niall Sweeney, 21, and Jarrett Prizel, 19, are charged with third-degree manslaughter, reckless homicide, and hazing.
Aaron Lehane, 21 was charged with evidence tampering and obstruction, (The D.A. told a news conference that “a number of fraternity members had ‘provided misinformation and disposed of evidence’ in an attempt to protect themselves.”)
All were also charged with misdemeanor hazing offenses and underage alcohol violations. The D.A. expects those charges to be dismissed against an eighth person named in the charging documents (for cooperating with authorities? the story doesn’t say).
Our legal system entitles them to fair trials, and a presumption of innocence until found guilty, so this article can’t comment on their guilt or innocence. As a general proposition, this editor views fraternities as a pestilence, attended a college that didn’t have them, and will shed no tears for any fraternity banned for reckless, juvenile, antisocial behavior (which, it sometimes seems, is the only kind of behavior they’re capable of). Good riddance.