Andrew Coffey, 20, of Pompano Beach, Fla., was a civil-engineering student and Pi Kappa Phi pledge at Florida State University. He died in early November at an off-campus “big brother night” party that the fraternity’s executive committee had organized. According to court records, he consumed a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon purchased by his big brother. The fraternity chapter was immediately closed by its national office, and Coffey’s big brother and eight other fraternity members have been charged in the case.
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Andrew Coffey
Andrew Coffey, 20, of Pompano Beach, Fla., was a civil-engineering student and Pi Kappa Phi pledge at Florida State University. He died in early November at an off-campus “big brother night” party that the fraternity’s executive committee had organized. According to court records, he consumed a bottle of Wild Turkey 101 Bourbon purchased by his big brother. The fraternity chapter was immediately closed by its national office, and Coffey’s big brother and eight other fraternity members have been charged in the case.
Matthew Ellis
Matthew Ellis, 20, of Humble, Tex., was a business-administration major and Phi Kappa Psi pledge at Texas State University. He was found unresponsive after an off-campus initiation event in mid-November. The university subsequently canceled all fraternity and sorority activities, and the fraternity’s national office said the chapter had been suspended for “unrelated” reasons. So far, no one has been charged in the case.
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Maxwell Gruver
Maxwell Gruver, 18, of Roswell, Ga., hoped to become a sportswriter and was a Phi Delta Theta pledge at Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge. He was declared dead at a hospital in mid-September following an initiation ritual called “Bible study,” in which pledges were repeatedly ordered to drink. The fraternity’s national office closed the house, and prosecutors subsequently brought charges against 10 students and former students. His parents have established the Max Gruver Foundation to work to end hazing on college campuses.
Timothy Piazza
Timothy Piazza, 19, of Lebanon, N.J., was an engineering student and a Beta Theta Pi pledge at Pennsylvania State University at University Park. He died in early February 2017 after taking part in a drinking ritual called “The Gauntlet” that left him incoherent and led to his falling down the fraternity house’s basement stairs and sustaining serious injuries. Some 12 hours later — after fraternity brothers had posted images of him to Snapchat and security cameras had recorded him stumbling around the house — the brothers finally called for help. The university has permanently revoked its recognition of the fraternity, and some 26 people have been charged in the case. His parents, too, have spoken out repeatedly against hazing.
Lawrence Biemiller was a senior writer who began working at The Chronicle of Higher Education in 1980. He wrote about campus architecture, the arts, and small colleges, among many other topics.
