Details in Beta Theta Pi Case Are Horrifying, but Judicial System Must Run Its Course

As a parent and a faculty member, I almost vomited as I read it.  

A group of young men, purportedly bound together through the bonds of fraternity membership, seemingly plan and execute an initiation ritual that makes the movie “Animal House” look like pre-school.  

We learned in a grand jury presentment that through messaging apps and text messages (some of which were deleted and then retrieved by law enforcement) the Beta Theta Pi brothers planned and purchased excessive amounts of beer and liquor. Stations for drinking, much like an obstacle course, were then set up for the initiation ritual. Based on their own experiences as pledges, these young men allegedly set up a night of hazing that ultimately ends in the death of Timothy Piazza.

The horror of so many young men not only facilitating the inebriation – forcing it, as it is described in the presentment – but the alleged lack of response and delay in seeking medical help is frankly some of the most self-serving behavior that I have ever read about. The thought of that young man, desperately in need of medical help, enduring hours of pain and the reported bad decisions by his so-called friends have kept me awake at nights. Who will be next if we as a community don’t stop this?

I don’t know these particular students but I know so many of them. I’ve had them in my classes. I’ve seen the consequences pledging and “Hell Week” have on grades and academic performance and even their mental health. These are often young people who don’t have the capacity to fully understand long-term consequences, who won’t say no because belonging to something is more important. There’s sometimes pressure from family members to take part in the “fun” because of the stories and tales of “when I was a pledge.” It’s an age group in which most of their minds haven’t developed to the extent that good judgment is always a function of their decision-making. And it’s a developmental age in which “it won’t happen to me” is the prevailing lens through which we view risk and other injurious behaviors.

You can read all about it in the grand jury presentment.

But, it is important to note, the grand jury presentment recommending charges against Beta Theta Pi fraternity and 18 Penn State students related to Timothy Piazza’s death and its aftermath provides us with only one side of the story. In Pennsylvania, the grand jury is used by prosecutors to show a group of citizens what the government has to say about a case and to ask if the grand jury believes there is enough to bring formal charges against those accused.

In other words, no trial has taken place. No criminal defense has been offered. The toughest part about reading the grand jury presentment is that those who have been charged with crimes related to the death of Timothy Piazza are innocent until proven guilty. The grand jury does not make that decision.

In fact, the release of the grand jury presentment means that people like me who have read it could possibly be excluded from sitting on an eventual trial jury because we have been so strongly and emotionally impacted by the details outlined in the presentment.

We saw in the Sandusky case that information in a grand jury presentment can be misinterpreted or misleading. Mike McQueary, for instance, has testified in later cases that the presentment did not accurately reflect exactly what he testified to the grand jury. We also learned the date of the incident witnessed by McQueary was off by a year in the presentment.

The release of a grand jury presentment can fuel the publicity around a trial and enrage the public. Everyone, including me, is talking about the Beta Theta Pi incident in outrage. University administrators have called the allegations “heart-wrenching and incomprehensible,” and “sickening and difficult to understand.”

But not one of the men in question has yet had the opportunity to defend himself.

As much as I want justice for what happened to Timothy Piazza, shouldn’t we wait to let the justice system do its job?

We may find out that the decisions and the actions that night were as horrific as the charges outlined in the presentment. We may find out that it was worse than is outlined in the presentment. Those charged must, however, be given the chance to tell their side of the story.

As a parent, my heart breaks for the Piazza family. I believe that if the young men in this case were as reckless and as cruel as the grand jury presentment outlines, there should be swift justice and there should be serious and long-impacting consequences. The Piazzas will never get their son back.  Participating in a stupid fraternity initiation should never result in death. Someone needs to be held accountable.

However, making a rush to judgment or stomping on the rights of the defendants doesn’t undo the horrible events of that night. It may only serve to get them off on a technicality.

Timothy Piazza and his family deserve a thorough investigation. Anyone who contributed to his death must receive full and just punishment. Let’s have faith that the court system will take care of that.