Published 2012-11-13T18:07:00Z”/>
Laura Hass
A night out with her sorority sisters quickly turned potentially fatal for Tiffany, a second-semester freshman and newly initiated member of the Zeta Alpha Zeta sorority.
She succumbed to peer pressure and fell into a 10-day coma after a night of binge drinking and Xanax.
This was a completely made-up scenario created by members of Chico State’s Greek community for their annual mock trial, but a similar one has occurred at Chico State before.
In 2005, 21-year-old student Matt Carrington died of water intoxication due to fraternity hazing. Carrington’s death led to the start of the annual mock trials, held to demonstrate the consequences of hazing.
Chris McEachern, a member of the Theta Chi fraternity and a senior political science major, led the event. Representatives from the Chico and University Police departments discussed the legal implications and consequences surrounding cases similar to Carrington’s.
Chico police have tried to educate students on the risks of binge drinking, but it keeps happening, said Chico police Sgt. Rob Merrifield, who worked on the Carrington
case in 2005.
“We’ve been saying the same thing for almost 25 years,” Merrifield said. “Sometimes you get to the point where you start to really wonder, ‘Does it really matter what we say?’ Because it seems to keep happening.”
Gamma Phi Beta members do not haze initiated sisters but instead shower them with “kisses, hugs and candy,” said Chelsea De Young, a member of Gamma Phi Beta.
“I know, as a chapter, it is always something that is talked about, and we make sure everyone stays safe,” De Young said.
State legislators have created laws with more severe punishments since Carrington’s death, said Dane Cameron, an attorney and political science professor who defended the Chi Tau fraternity members involved in Carrington’s hazing.
“The hazing law did not specify the hazing could not be done by a fraternity not affiliated with the university,” Cameron said.
To prevent alcohol abuse, students should look out for themselves rather than assuming others will take care of them, Merrifield said.
“If you choose to drink to the point of intoxication, then you need to have some steps in place beforehand,” he said.
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<strong>Laura Hass can be reached at </strong><a href=”mailto:[email protected]”><em>[email protected]</em></a>
