The latest entry in “Fraternities Behaving Badly” is easily the most sordid yet. Back in 2013, a freshman at Baruch College in New York City died after being hazed by members of a fraternity who were on a retreat in the Poconos. On Monday, prosecutors in Pennsylvania announced that 37 people would face various charges related to the incident. According to the district attorney and local police, it took so long to hand up charges in this case because many of those involved lied to them.
On the night of December 8, 2013; Chun Hsien “Michael” Deng, a freshman who was pledging Baruch’s chapter of Pi Delta Psi, an Asian-American cultural fraternity, joined several of his brothers at a retreat in Tunkhannock Township, northwest of Wilkes-Barre. Several upperclassmen blindfolded Deng and put a backpack loaded with sand on his back. He and three other pledges were told to hike across a frozen yard to their big brother while other brothers tried to tackle them and knock them off course–a ritual known as “Glass Ceiling.” For whatever reason, according to police, the brothers were harder on Deng than anyone else. They continued to tackle him–even spear him–when he complained that his head was hurting.
Police say that later that night, Deng was knocked unconscious after suffering “repeated blunt force trauma” to the head, torso and thighs. However, police say that rather than take Deng to the hospital right away, they called national fraternity president Andy Meng for advice. Reportedly, Meng urged the brothers to hide any Pi Delta Psi regalia that might have been at the house. According to the medical examiner, that delay–anywhere from an hour to two hours–proved costly. The brothers finally took him to a hospital near Wilkes-Barre, where he died of his injuries early on the morning of December 9.
According to assistant district attorney Michael Rakaczewski, the investigation took almost two years in part because many of those involved in the case “refused to cooperate.” Specifically, they “lied to the police, hid and tried to hide evidence,” and tried to hide that it was a fraternity event. Indeed, according to court documents, several members initially tried to say that Deng died while fooling around outside. Prosecutors opted to empanel a grand jury, which had the power to subpoena those involved. Even without this to consider, district attorney E. David Christine said that his team took time to investigate the case because “we prefer to be careful here.”
On Monday, Christine announced that a grand jury had handed up indictments in the hazing case for charges including third-degree murder, involuntary manslaughter, assault, hindering apprehension, hazing, and criminal conspiracy. Read the full presentment here. To ease the burden on the courts, the district attorney said that the various proceedings would be spread out over the next few weeks, with those who are only charged with hazing, hindering apprehension and conspiracy to go to trial first. Five former brothers, as well as the Pi Delta Psi organization, face charges of third-degree murder.
The national organization severed ties with its Baruch chapter a few weeks after the incident, saying that the retreat was unsanctioned and that the “Glass Ceiling” ritual violated “our strict no-hazing policy.” However, prosecutors believe that Pi Delta Psi still quietly condoned hazing–which Rakaczewski called “improper and … illegal.” Shortly afterward, officials at Baruch banned the fraternity from ever returning to campus, saying that it never requested permission to have a pledge class in the first place. Deng’s family has also sued both Baruch and the national organization.
One of the lawyers for the defendants, Hugh Mo, claims the district attorney was too heavy-handed. He contended that Christine and his team forced the brothers to testify before many of them had lawyers, and many of them still don’t have lawyers. Many of them, Mo added, come from immigrant families who don’t have the means to afford adequate legal advice. He added that most of the defendants have been forced out of school.
Mo’s allegations can’t be overlooked, even with the claims that the defendants lied to investigators. After all, we’ve seen far too many incidents where manifestly guilty defendants have walked because prosecutors flagrantly violated their rights. That being said, the case against these brothers looks pretty damning. Hopefully once a judge filters out any testimony that was improperly maintained, the Deng family can get a measure of justice.
