It is a tradition at Louisiana State University to drink on pledge night. For 20-year-old Sigma Alpha Epsilon pledge Benjamin Dayries Wynee, it was a tradition that led to death.
On the night of his death, Dayries had just received his pledge pin, indicating he'd accepted a bid to pledge the SAE fraternity.
Celebrating his good fortune, he and fellow fraternity members drank all night at nearby Murphy's Bar. On their way to the fraternity house, Dayries was spotted by an unidentified person who called the campus police. Police officers arrived to find Dayries unconscious with a blood alcohol level of 0.588.
Ken Tanner, the University's Interfraternity Council president, said that at the University of Michigan, the responsibility of handling alcohol rests in the hands of the fraternities. At LSU, a dry campus, alcohol is strictly forbidden.
Tanner said that off-campus drinking, like at LSU, allows the fraternities less opportunity for control and supervision.
"The University is very happy with the way we are handling our alcohol policy," said Tanner, an Engineering senior. "What happened at LSU was much larger in scale than anything that has ever happened at (the University of Michigan)."
The tragedy at LSU forced the university to take action to prevent similar events from occurring on campus.
Pete Stevenson, director of communications for the national office of SAE, said universities need to educate students on the dangers of alcohol abuse.
"This does not only affect those who are in fraternities, it affects the whole community," Stevenson said.
Stevenson said LSU's ban of alcohol makes it more exciting for students to break the rules by drinking.
"LSU has a dry campus. All alcohol is banned from fraternity parties which causes students to want to drink more," he said.
Justin Reckard, president of the University's SAE chapter Justin Reckard said it is the fraternity members' responsibility to watch out for everybody else.
"It is unfortunate that something like this had to open our eyes," Reckard said. "A lot of guys are more cautious about their own drinking."
At least one University fraternity, Phi Delta Theta, plans to be alcohol-free by the year 2000.
"One of the reasons we are going alcohol free is so nothing like this will happen here," said Dan Josephs, an Engineering sophomore. "This is something all frats should try and do."
Reckard said the idea of an alcohol-free fraternity defeats the purpose of being in a fraternity.
"You don't join a frat to be babied, to be told what to do," Reckard said. "Telling people when they are 21 that they cannot have alcohol in their rooms is absurd."
Reckard said his fraternity brothers realize something went wrong at LSU.
"Deep in our hearts, the fact that this kid died is really upsetting," Reckard said.
Kathy Marcel, LSU Director of Greek Affairs, said the school is shaken over the death.
Marcel said SAE's national office has suspended the LSU chapter until further investigation.
"We are still waiting for further information," Marcel said. "This is a serious police investigation, but so far there has been no evidence of any drinking in the SAE house on campus."
MARGARET MYERS/Daily
Justin Reckard, president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon, says the drinking-related death at LSU has made fraternity members more cautious about their drinking.