GUILTY PA - Michael Deng, 19, dies in hazing ritual, Coolbaugh Township, 8 Dec 2013

BunnyHop

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I just came home from a long hard day of work. As I sit here, warming up my dinner-I turned on the TV. This is what I saw:

Police: NY College Student Dies in Hazing Ritual

http://www.usatoday.com/videos/news/nation/2013/12/12/3995951/

[video=youtube;iKyTc2-33BA]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iKyTc2-33BA[/video]

This really breaks my heart.

Baruch College freshman, 19, dies during fraternity 'pledging event' in Pennsylvania

Chen 'Michael' Deng died of a massive head injury at a Wilkes-Barre hospital after allegedly participating in an 'unsanctioned fraternity pledging event.'

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york...ternity-ritual-pennsylvania-article-1.1544648

MOO, I HATE Fraternities and Sororities. MOO :moo:
Do you really need to do this crap to "fit in"????

I am fuming.
 
Charges coming in death of NYC college student: Pa. DA

Read more: http://pix11.com/2013/12/12/charges-coming-in-death-of-nyc-college-student-pa-da/#ixzz2nJ0ZndbX

Christine said Thursday that Deng was forced to run a gauntlet blindfolded and with a heavy weight on his back. The teenager suffered a fatal brain injury.

Deng was one of four pledges to the Pi Delta Psi fraternity. About 30 fraternity members spent the weekend at a rented house in the Poconos.

He died of a head injury and they never called 911.

http://pix11.com/2013/12/12/baruch-freshman-dies-after-fraternity-hazing/#axzz2nI3yBXks
 
In defense of sororities/fraternities (well, at least sororities):

I was in a sorority in college and in our chapter, at least, there was no hazing when I was a pledge. We were told by our "pledge mom" (sister in charge of educating the pledges about the sisterhood's history, rituals, etc) that we were absolutely to report any hazing immediately and that our sorority didn't haze because "we're supposed to love our little sisters, not do bad things to them or hurt them." I never heard of any girl being hazed while I was a pledge or after being iniated.

Most of the frats on the campus did haze, even though some of it was stuff like having to recite the Greek alphabet backward on demand or take a drink (I witnessed this at a frat party) to some much less mild stuff. Some of the other sororities allegedly hazed too, but there was none in my sorority.

Membership in a Greek letter organization can be a wonderful experience. In fact, Greeks are more likely to graduate college (71%) than non-Greeks (50%); Greeks also have higher grade-point averages than non-Greeks. Also, "Fraternity or sorority members form the largest network of volunteers in the U.S.-Nationally, fraternity or sorority members volunteer approximately 10 million hours of community service annually." There's a whole bunch of other stats here:
http://www.umkc.edu/getinvolved/fsa-national-statistics.asp

But chapters and organizations are like people- some good, some bad. My sisters and I watched out for one another. If we were out and saw another sister who was drunk off her rear and looked like she was about to make a bad decision, we'd go up to her and tell her "That's Not (Sorority nickname)". It was kind of a code for "your behavior is embarrassing you and your sisters and possibly putting you in harm's way. Let me help you get out of this situation." Then we'd call her a cab or escort her back to her room. Plenty of members of other organizations on my campus would have just joined in with the bad decision making if they saw a sister/brother like this and had a good old time.

Please don't judge all Greeks by those who did not act as sisterly or brotherly as they should have or made stupid decisions.

ETA: I am absolutely not defending these boys. Not calling 911 for their brother/pledge is disgusting, as was the hazing. These aren't brothers I'd want.
 
In defense of sororities/fraternities (well, at least sororities):

I was in a sorority in college and in our chapter, at least, there was no hazing when I was a pledge. We were told by our "pledge mom" (sister in charge of educating the pledges about the sisterhood's history, rituals, etc) that we were absolutely to report any hazing immediately and that our sorority didn't haze because "we're supposed to love our little sisters, not do bad things to them or hurt them." I never heard of any girl being hazed while I was a pledge or after being iniated.

Most of the frats on the campus did haze, even though some of it was stuff like having to recite the Greek alphabet backward on demand or take a drink (I witnessed this at a frat party) to some much less mild stuff. Some of the other sororities allegedly hazed too, but there was none in my sorority.

Membership in a Greek letter organization can be a wonderful experience. In fact, Greeks are more likely to graduate college (71%) than non-Greeks (50%); Greeks also have higher grade-point averages than non-Greeks. Also, "Fraternity or sorority members form the largest network of volunteers in the U.S.-Nationally, fraternity or sorority members volunteer approximately 10 million hours of community service annually." There's a whole bunch of other stats here:
http://www.umkc.edu/getinvolved/fsa-national-statistics.asp

But chapters and organizations are like people- some good, some bad. My sisters and I watched out for one another. If we were out and saw another sister who was drunk off her rear and looked like she was about to make a bad decision, we'd go up to her and tell her "That's Not (Sorority nickname)". It was kind of a code for "your behavior is embarrassing you and your sisters and possibly putting you in harm's way. Let me help you get out of this situation." Then we'd call her a cab or escort her back to her room. Plenty of members of other organizations on my campus would have just joined in with the bad decision making if they saw a sister/brother like this and had a good old time.

Please don't judge all Greeks by those who did not act as sisterly or brotherly as they should have or made stupid decisions.

ETA: I am absolutely not defending these boys. Not calling 911 for their brother/pledge is disgusting, as was the hazing. These aren't brothers I'd want.

Thanks, just not my thing. It never was. :twocents:
 
[video=youtube;WC5FdFlUcl0]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WC5FdFlUcl0[/video]
 
I think you're misunderstanding me- I meant some groups would see bad decisions as a chance to have good a time. Mine certainly didn't and plenty don't;we were told to go out of our way to help a sister who was making bad decisions.

This man's fraternity chapter obviously did not promote taking care of one's brothers. They should be kicked off campus and lose their charter, and these young men should go to jail.

Again, my sorority chapter did not haze, but I know many do. But not all.

We were not a club that got together to drink or humiliate pledges. We had study hours, tutoring, and numerous charitable service projects, which far out-weighed the number of mixers, theme parties, or formals we had. Some Greek letter organizations chapters may be glorified drinking clubs, but mine wasn't.

Each sorority (I don't know about fraternities) has a philanthropy that they raise money for in addition to often participating in service work in the local community.
For example, one of the biggest donors each year to CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) is Kappa Alpha Theta. Phi Mu is one of the biggest donors to Make-A-Wish. The women hold fundraisers like car washes, cookie sales, cook-outs, concerts, etc. to raise money for these philanthropies. Many women that graduated with me who were my sisters are still actively involved in charity work with our fraternity's national philanthropy.

When Terrilynn Monette went missing in New Orleans last spring, her sorority's members really led to news of her disappearance exploding all over social media. Terrilynn was a member of Alpha Kappa Alpha and thousands of AKA members - the vast majority of whom weren't in the same chapter and had never met her - tweeted, retweeeted, and facebooked news of her disappearance all over the web. That's what sisterhood/brotherhood is supposed to be about, NOT this awful hazing that Michael endured and died from.

All I ask is that you don't judge the hundreds of thousands of men and women who joined fraternities and sororities by these sorry excuses for "brothers."
 
5 fraternity brothers face third-degree murder charges in hazing death of Baruch College freshman

<snip>

Thirty-two other fraternity members were also charged with assault, hazing and criminal conspiracy.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/cri...ath-baruch-college-freshman-article-1.2360281


37 People Charged in New York Fraternity Hazing Death

<snip>

Charges recommended by a grand jury include homicide and involuntary manslaughter

Thirty-seven people were charged in connection with the 2013 hazing death of Michael Deng.

http://time.com/4034266/michael-deng-fraternity-hazing/
 
Fraternities need to be banned. How long does this have to go on, before it is put to a stop permanently?:facepalm:
 
Fraternities need to be banned. How long does this have to go on, before it is put to a stop permanently?:facepalm:

Lots and lots of frat brothers grow up to be wealthy white men. We'll get rid of frats when we turn golf courses into parks and community gardens.

JMcynicalO
 
http://www.poconorecord.com/article/20151130/NEWS/151139940

At a Monday preliminary hearing, Pocono Pines Magisterial District Judge Richard Claypool found sufficient evidence to send charges against Pi Delta Psi fraternity and colony members Charles Lai, 24, of Queens Village, N.Y., Kenny Kwan, no age listed, of Astoria, N.Y., Sheldon Wong, 23, of Queens, N.Y., and Raymond Lam, 22, of Kew Garden Hills, N.Y., to county court, where each defendant can go to trial, plead guilty or plead no contest.

The defendants are charged in the Dec. 8, 2013 death of Michael Deng, 19, of Oakland Park, N.Y., at a house the colony was renting that weekend on Candlewood Drive in Tunkhannock Township.
 
Ex-Baruch College fraternity member settles suit on hazing death

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-pennsylvania-hazing-idUSKBN13B2P4

A Pennsylvania judge on Wednesday approved a $300,000 settlement in a civil suit related to the death of a Baruch College freshman during an alleged fraternity hazing ritual in 2013.

The settlement is the first in a lawsuit brought by the family of Michael Deng, 19, who died of head injuries suffered in what the family called a violent hazing incident involving members of the Pi Delta Psi fraternity.

Sheldon Wong, who is one of five former members of the fraternity awaiting trial on third-degree murder charges, is the first of eight people sued by Deng's family to settle.

"Apparently he and his counsel wanted to step up and do right by the family," said Douglas Fierberg, an attorney for Deng's parents, Mary Liu Deng and Qing Yuan Deng.

District Attorney David Christine said Wong and the other murder defendants will likely face trial in March.
 
First of 37 Defendants in Fatal Hazing Case Pleads Guilty - January 11th

http://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/first-37-defendants-fatal-hazing-case-pleads-guilty-n705756

Ka-Wing Yuen, 25, of Brooklyn, N.Y., pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to hinder apprehension by evidence tampering, a third degree felony, and conspiracy to commit hazing, a misdemeanor. Three other felony charges were dropped.

Yuen will be sentenced Jan. 23 by Judge Margherita Worthington. He could receive as little as probation or as much as several months in prison. Five of the remaining 36 defendants face third-degree murder charges.
 
First of 37 sentenced in Tunkhannock Township fatal hazing case

http://www.poconorecord.com/news/20170123/first-of-37-sentenced-in-tunkhannock-township-fatal-hazing-case

Yuen, now 25, was sentenced Monday to five years of probation, plus 100 hours of community service and a $1,000 fine, for helping in efforts to make himself and his fraternity brothers appear blameless in Deng's death.

With his girlfriend sitting quietly behind him in a show of support, a clean-cut, well-dressed, soft-spoken Yuen stood beside defense attorney Craig Sobel and apologized.

"I'm extremely sorry for what happened," he said in humble, composed remorse. "It was most unfortunate."

Deng's family was out of the country at the time and therefore unable to be present in court to speak for him, but in advance had sent the court a letter stating how his death has affected them.
 
Four men pleaded guilty Monday in connection with a 2013 fraternity hazing death of a New York college student.

Baruch College freshman Chun "Michael" Deng, 18, died from his injuries after fraternity brothers waited to contact authorities when Deng was unconscious as a result of a fraternity ritual on a group trip to the Poconos in Pennsylvania, according to court documents.

Kenny Kwan, 28, Charles Lai, 26, Raymond Lam, 23, and Sheldon Wong, 24, pleaded guilty to charges of voluntary manslaughter as accomplices and hindering apprehension for concealing evidence, according to the Monroe County District Attorney's Office. The four men were originally charged with murder.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/05/15/us/four-plead-guilty-in-baruch-college-hazing-death/
 
Fraternity goes on trial for hazing death

http://www.poconorecord.com/news/20171112/fraternity-goes-on-trial-for-hazing-death

A national fraternity will go on trial Monday at the Monroe County courthouse for the homicide of a pledge in a rented Coolbaugh Township home.

A brutal hazing ritual led to the Dec. 2013 death of Chung Michael Deng, 18, of Baruch College.

Thirty seven members of Pi Delta Psi were individually charged in the incident. Four of the accomplices pleaded guilty to voluntary manslaughter and are awaiting sentencing. This trial pits the state against the actual fraternity.
 
Fraternity found guilty on multiple counts in Michael Deng hazing trial

Phi Delta Psi is expected to face fines and other penalties as a corporation when it is sentenced on Jan. 8. The fraternity and its members were found guilty of aggravated assault, causing serious bodily injury, conspiracy to commit aggravated assault, involuntary manslaughter, hindering apprehension by concealing or destroying evidence, hindering apprehension by providing false information to law enforcement, two counts of conspiracy to commit hindering apprehension and hazing.

The fraternity was acquited of third-degree murder and voluntary manslaughterb by Monroe County Courthouse’s President Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington.

Fraternity members plead guilty, get probation in hazing death

Seventeen former fraternity members appeared in Monroe County Court of Common Pleas in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, on Tuesday, some accompanied by their parents. As the result of plea bargains, 15 of them pleaded guilty to reduced charges and the cases of the final two were continued.

“You are better than this,” Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington told the group, urging its members to learn to think for themselves. “Be individuals and do the right thing going forward. Don’t get caught up in group think.”

Another 14 fraternity members get probation for hazing death in Pennsylvania

On Wednesday, the 14 defendants pleaded guilty in Monroe County Court of Common Pleas in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, to misdemeanor charges including hindering apprehension, simple assault, hazing, and conspiracy, said Assistant Monroe County District Attorney Kimberly Metzger.

Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington sentenced all 14 to probation, with former national fraternity president Andy Meng given the harshest punishment of 36 months probation. Meng is the brother of U.S. Representative Grace Meng of Queens.

Four Men Await Sentencing in Baruch Student’s Hazing Death

Nearly two years after the death of the 18-year-old student, Chun Hsien Deng, prosecutors in Monroe County, Pa., announced that 37 people had been charged, and that the four men — as well as the fraternity itself, Pi Delta Psi — faced the most serious counts, including third-degree murder and aggravated assault.

The four men awaiting sentencing — Kenny Kwan, Charles Lai, Raymond Lam and Sheldon Wong — pleaded guilty in May to charges including voluntary manslaughter and hindering apprehension. The sentencing had been scheduled for Monday, but the judge postponed the hearing late last week.

The four of them — as well as another student, Daniel Li — had initially been charged with third-degree murder, which does not involve premeditation or a specific intent to kill, but their charges were reduced after an agreement with prosecutors. Mr. Li reached a separate agreement to reduce his charges after he cooperated with prosecutors.
 
Fraternity Is Banned From Pennsylvania After Student&#8217;s Hazing Death

Four years after the fatal hazing of a Baruch College freshman, the fraternity he was trying to join was banned by a state judge on Monday from operating in Pennsylvania for 10 years. The judge&#8217;s ruling came after prosecutors here pursued criminal charges against the fraternity and it was found guilty of aggravated assault and involuntary manslaughter.

Fraternities have rarely been prosecuted after the hazing death of a student, and experts described the sentencing as one of the most stringent punishments handed down in such a case.

Four former frat members sentenced in Baruch College pledge&#8217;s 2013 hazing death

Kenny Kwan got 12 to 24 months in county jail. Raymond Lam and Sheldon Wong were sentenced to 10 to 24 months each. Charles Lai, who spent 342 days in jail after he was unable to make bail, was sentenced to time served.

"Not one person out of 37 picked up a telephone and called an ambulance. I cannot wrap my head around it," Monroe County President Judge Margherita Patti-Worthington said. "So there's something greater going on here, and I think it's probably really prevalent. We see across the country these issues in fraternities."

In a statement to the court, Deng's mother wrote about the anguish of losing her only son and demanded a sentence that would send a message about hazing.

"This punishment should forever remind them of the pain and grief we will carry for the rest of our lives as the result of their misconduct," Deng wrote. "It is also our hope that the punishment may also save lives by sending a clear message to other fraternities and their members that the outrageous tradition of hazing will no longer be tolerated and must be ended once and for all."

Mom on son's hazing death: Feels like 'cat clawing at heart'
 

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