ONW
Well-known member
- Joined
- Apr 19, 2011
- Messages
- 19,177
- Reaction score
- 658
Defend it, no. Do I understand that kids that age do stupid things and may react in a way that think ensures self-preservation when things don't go as planned? Absolutely. You had one kid in the whole fraternity who appeared to have some sense, and frankly he seemed like a bit of a nerd who nobody probably listens to most of the time. It sucks that a whole bunch of them are going to have their lives ruined for not exercising good judgment at an age when most people do not exercise it on a regular basis and while they themselves were probably also intoxicated. I'm guessing that the people who will be found most culpable though will be the ones who forced the drinks down his throat and maybe the people who actually witnessed the fall and could comprehend the severity of it. A bunch of also-drunk kids who hear that he got drunk and fell down some stairs and make a halfassed attempt to wake him up are too detached from the situation to be held criminally liable, in my opinion.
All involved share some responsibility, to include the dead kid, though his share is much, much less than the others. Call it frat culture or drinking culture or whatever you want to call it-- doesn't matter. It's just stupid beyond the bounds of regular stupidity. As somebody who has been hitting drinking establishments longer than many of you have been alive and dealt with 3 years of partying hard in a frat at Wake, I've never understood the need to force an absurd amount of drinks into somebody, not even a pledge. Make them do a kegstand at a tailgate or help you drink your beers or a bottle of Beam over an interview or something. Haze them with some moderately humiliating activity. None of those things should end up with a trip to the ER or even put one in a position to be hospitalized or in trouble with the popo.
You really should read the timeline of what occurred that night/morning.