PSU Greek Council Suspends Frat After Freshman's Death

Investigation has not determined any wrongdoing

Updated 5:57 AM EDT, Thu, Sep 24, 2009

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Penn State's student-run Interfraternity Council suspended the fraternity where Joseph Dado was last seen alive.

The action taken Tuesday night against Phi Gamma Delta (FIJI) was standard procedure for a case that comes before the council's peer review board, Council president Luke Pierce said Wednesday.

The body of the 18-year-old freshman from Latrobe, Pa. was found by maintenance workers Monday in a concrete stairwell, about 75 yards from the fraternity house. He was last seen at the fraternity around 3 a.m. Sunday.

Police suspected that Dado fell about 15 feet from a retaining wall next to the stairwell.

Students watched the investigation of Joseph "Joe"...

A coroner has ruled his death an accident, though police are still investigating whether anyone provided Dado with alcohol. The suspension is pending the police inquiry.

A toxicology test will be performed on the body soon, but results will not be known for several weeks, university spokeswoman Lisa Powers said Tuesday.

In light of the investigation, Phi Gamma Delta's international headquarters ordered the Penn State chapter to be alcohol-free "at least until the conclusion" of the police investigation.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC Philadelphia

First Published: Sep 23, 2009 7:45 PM EDT

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{"totSize":4,"payload_type":"json","status":"1","results":[{"anonName":null,"pathToMedia":"396494_60848312","adminTags":null,"views":1621,"createdBy":7918844,"createdByPathToPhoto":"116995/icons/defaultMember_116995_portrait.jpg","assocMediaId":null,"mediaName":"PSU Greek Council Suspends Frat After Freshman's Death","parentThreadId":null,"mediaId":2197806,"tags":null,"anonSiteUrl":null,"assocMediaType":null,"createdAt":"24 Sep 2009 03:10:19 GMT","anonEmail":null,"isVisible":true,"approved":true,"numComments":4,"reviewed":true,"createdByUsername":"anonymous_user","pathToPreview":"","mediaType":"EXTERNALMEDIA","commentId":"948817","subject":"","averageRating":0,"body":"Why can't the state run universities and college be alcohol free like a number of private colleges? Let's face it when you combine a freshman, a frat and alcohol it can become a very sad situation. Parents send their kids to school and it doesn't matter how much you educate them on the dangers of too much alcohol the peer pressure wins out. "},{"anonName":null,"pathToMedia":"396494_60848312","adminTags":null,"views":1621,"createdBy":7918844,"createdByPathToPhoto":"116995/icons/defaultMember_116995_portrait.jpg","assocMediaId":null,"mediaName":"PSU Greek Council Suspends Frat After Freshman's Death","parentThreadId":null,"mediaId":2197806,"tags":null,"anonSiteUrl":null,"assocMediaType":null,"createdAt":"24 Sep 2009 03:10:21 GMT","anonEmail":null,"isVisible":true,"approved":true,"numComments":4,"reviewed":true,"createdByUsername":"anonymous_user","pathToPreview":"","mediaType":"EXTERNALMEDIA","commentId":"948818","subject":"","averageRating":0,"body":"Why can't the state run universities and college be alcohol free like a number of private colleges? Let's face it when you combine a freshman, a frat and alcohol it can become a very sad situation. Parents send their kids to school and it doesn't matter how much you educate them on the dangers of too much alcohol the peer pressure wins out. "},{"anonName":null,"pathToMedia":"396494_60848312","adminTags":null,"views":1621,"createdBy":12944858,"createdByPathToPhoto":"116995/icons/defaultMember_116995_portrait.jpg","assocMediaId":null,"mediaName":"PSU Greek Council Suspends Frat After Freshman's Death","parentThreadId":null,"mediaId":2197806,"tags":null,"anonSiteUrl":null,"assocMediaType":null,"createdAt":"24 Sep 2009 11:58:11 GMT","anonEmail":null,"isVisible":true,"approved":true,"numComments":4,"reviewed":true,"createdByUsername":"coolcal16","pathToPreview":"","mediaType":"EXTERNALMEDIA","commentId":"949802","subject":"","averageRating":0,"body":"This a very sad case but it's not always about peer pressure from a fraternity or whatever. I have always said that college is less about the actual classes you take but more about learning to become an adult. You have to learn to make the right choices based on what you have learned from your parents. This is a very unfortunate situation resulting potentially from someone drinking too much. If peer pressure always won out, we would hear about something like this happening every day. I went to Penn State and did not have one drink until I was actually 21. Some people I know my age, 28, started drinking way before college. Many started in high school at the age of 15 or before. . So the fact that someone drinks in college can't be pinned right away on the fraternity. Is it legally wrong that they served him, yes. Should they receive some punishment, yes. But we don't know all the facts of what happened there that night yet. Also, making PSU alcohol free would not serve much purpose. There are only a couple of fraternities on campus. There are many fraternities off campus and even more apartments where students hold their own parties. Most of the time everyone just has a good time. Alcohol is something that has consumed our world in a way and is not going away. We just have to be responsible and hopefully everyone makes it home safely. My heart goes out to this student's family in this accidental case. "},{"anonName":null,"pathToMedia":"396494_60848312","adminTags":null,"views":1621,"createdBy":7918844,"createdByPathToPhoto":"116995/icons/defaultMember_116995_portrait.jpg","assocMediaId":null,"mediaName":"PSU Greek Council Suspends Frat After Freshman's Death","parentThreadId":null,"mediaId":2197806,"tags":null,"anonSiteUrl":null,"assocMediaType":null,"createdAt":"24 Sep 2009 17:52:47 GMT","anonEmail":null,"isVisible":true,"approved":true,"numComments":4,"reviewed":true,"createdByUsername":"anonymous_user","pathToPreview":"","mediaType":"EXTERNALMEDIA","commentId":"952500","subject":"","averageRating":0,"body":"As the parent of a freshman who is "away" at school, this story breaks my heart and further reaffirms a parent's fear that these scenarios are a very real and disturbing possibility. I cannot fathom the gutwrenching and hollow sense of sorrow that comes with sending your child to school and then having them die just a month into their first semester there. As a mother, I am haunted by the idea that this kid lay dying for hours, alone in an alley way. In light of this story, I have reinforced with my own son that if you MUST indulge in drinking at school (let's face it, most do), then please do so with a sense of caution and awareness. It's a strange message to send to your kids who are far from home and learning to navigate their way through this newfound independence. You can only hope they make "reasonable" judgments for themselves AND on behalf of those around them. Had Joe's friends stayed with him, this might not have happened to him. While there are many debatable issues surrounding the pervasive drinking culture on college campuses, the death of an 18 year old kid who falls and dies in an alleyway is senseless and horrifyingly tragic and leaves me feeling sick to my stomach. My deepest condolences to his friends and family. "}],"error":"","totPages":1}

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