Christmas-themed hazing at Cornell frat party linked to investigation of student’s death

Cornell University freshmen were allegedly subjected to Christmas-themed hazing that included chugging alcoholic drinks, sitting on Santa’s lap and being submerged in trashcans during a frat party at the center of an investigation into the death of Antonio Tsialas.

Newly reported details of the alleged hazing were included in a lawsuit filed late Tuesday by Tsialas’ parents, who were offering a $10,000 reward for information that reveals what led to his death in late October. The lawsuit seeks unspecified damages from Cornell, the Phi Kappa Psi fraternity and several of its members.

Other students have also suggested Tsialas attended the Phi Kappa Psi frat party and traveled with at least one other person to a remote area near Fall Creek in Ithaca, according to David Bianchi, an attorney for the parents.

Authorities later recovered Tsialas’ body in a gorge at Fall Creek. Cornell University Police have said they don’t suspect foul play and declined to discuss details of their investigation.

“The Cornell University Police continue to actively investigate Antonio Tsialas’ tragic death and the events of the night that preceded it,” Chief David Honan said in a statement last month.

Meanwhile, what happened to Tsialas after the party remains a mystery to the public, and one of the elements of the parents’ search for answers is the history of Cornell student suicides connected to the gorges in Ithaca.

Broken Pledge: The fraternity hazing and death of Ohio University freshman Collin Wiant

Bianchi has dismissed the possibility that Tsialas died by suicide and emphasized the frat party is the primary focus of private investigators hired by his parents.

“The arrogance of these fraternity officers and members is shocking,” Bianchi said Wednesday in a statement.

“They apparently believe that the rules don’t apply to them and while we still don’t know exactly how Antonio died, we do know that had this totally unauthorized and illegal hazing ritual not taken place, Antonio would be alive today.” 

Antonio Tsialas, a Cornell University freshman, who died after last being seen alive at a frat party on Oct. 24. (Photo: submitted)

Cornell frat party at center of Tsialas case

The Phi Kappa Psi frat party was called Christmas in October, an unauthorized rush event for freshmen being considered for membership, according to the lawsuit filed in Tompkins County Supreme Court.

It involved taking freshmen into various rooms to drink different types of alcohol.

According to the lawsuit, the rooms consisted of the following:

The Tropical Room. To get into the tropical room the freshmen had to limbo under a stick and, while their back was arched and their head was tilted back, sorority women would pour alcohol down their throats. In addition, a pong game was held in that room where each freshman was given more alcohol to drink.

The Beer Room. In the beer room each group of six was divided into two three-person teams and they were to compete against each other to see how fast they could chug the beer. After the first round of drinking beer, each freshman was then held upside down over a trash can filled with water as their head was submerged under the water. When that process was completed for each of the freshmen, the group continued the beer-chugging competition.

The Wine Room. In the wine room each group of six were given dice to roll and each freshman would have to say “high” or “low.” If they guessed correctly they would pass the pitcher of wine to the next person but, if they got it wrong, they would have to chug the wine from the pitcher.

The Jewish Room. The Jewish room was set up to look like a bar mitzvah except the fraternity had arranged a pyramid of glasses with vodka and beer and each freshman would be given the vodka and beer to drink.

The Milk and Rum Room. In this room, milk and rum were mixed together and each group would compete to see who could drink it the fastest. The drinks were followed by the serving of a Christmas cookie to each of them.

The Santa Claus Room. In the Santa Claus room, the fraternity had someone dressed as Santa Claus sitting in a chair and each freshman would have to sit on his lap and would be told whether he had been “naughty” or “nice.” Santa’s proclamation determined what type of alcohol the freshmen then had to drink. Before leaving Santa’s room, each group was given a “Christmas gift” consisting of a full bottle of New Amsterdam vodka and they were told that they could not leave the room until they finished drinking the entire bottle. 

The Lounge. After the visit to Santa Claus, each group was escorted to a makeshift lounge where there was an inflatable Santa on display. To cap off the evening, the fraternity then had whip cream squirted into each freshman’s mouth followed by more shots of alcohol that were poured into their mouths.

By the time the freshmen completed the drinking games in the seven different rooms they were intoxicated and many were “black out drunk,” the lawsuit said. Many were vomiting and lost all memory of what they did next or how they eventually got back to their rooms, the lawsuit said.

“Antonio Tsialas was one of the unwitting victims of Phi Kappa Psi’s ‘Christmas in October’ tradition. He had no idea what he was getting himself into and had been hand-picked to attend the event because of the promise he demonstrated as a potential Phi Kappa Psi member,” the lawsuit said.

“Sometime after the drinking games ended, Antonio Tsialas was allowed to leave the fraternity house intoxicated or was taken from the fraternity house while intoxicated with no efforts by any of the defendants to stop him or get him safely back to his dormitory,” the lawsuit added.

The lawsuit noted not a single defendant in the case has “come forward to tell Antonio’s parents about the circumstances of their son’s departure from the fraternity house that night and none have provided any information about where he went afterwards.”

An autopsy confirmed that Tsialas was intoxicated at the time of his death and had sustained multiple injuries to his body, according to Bianchi.

The lawsuit names 11 defendants including Cornell University, Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity  Inc., the chapter adviser and eight other fraternity officers and members.

Tsialas’ death investigation continues at Cornell

Cornell University officials have said the investigation into the death is ongoing.

In response to USA TODAY Network questions in December about the alleged hazing, the university issued a statement about its policy.

“Cornell will not comment on an ongoing law enforcement investigation. But the university has a zero-tolerance approach to hazing and should these allegations be proven to be correct, those responsible will be held accountable,” Joel M. Malina, vice president for university relations at Cornell University stated in an email.

Cornell University freshman Antonio Tsialas and his mother, Flavia, at a restaurant on Oct. 24. Tsialas attended a frat party in Ithaca that same night and authorities later found his body in a Fall Creek gorge. (Photo: Submitted)

In response to USA TODAY Network questions in December about the alleged hazing, the national Phi Kappa Psi organization issued a statement denying knowledge.

“We have not received any information confirming any such accounts of the events that evening,” Ronald Ransom II, executive director of the national frat organization, said in the statement.

“If we do, we will take action to hold individuals accountable. Phi Kappa Psi Fraternity is against hazing in any form,” he said.

“Additionally, we expect members to uphold fraternity and university policies and all laws. Along with the entire community, we continue to mourn for the family and friends of Antonio Tsialas and support the university and police investigations into his death,” Ransom added.

Cornell and Phi Kappa Psi officials didn’t immediately respond to a request Wednesday to discuss the lawsuit.

President Martha Pollack last month addressed some of the details in the case through public statements.

She noted Tsialas attended an unregistered and unsupervised party at a fraternity the night he was last seen. She added freshmen were at the party and alcohol was served.

The day before the party, the frat’s membership had also faced a judicial hearing for prior misconduct, Pollack stated. The frat was placed on interim suspension after Tsialas’ death, pending a judicial proceeding.

Antonio Tsialas and his parents, Flavia and John Tsialas. (Photo: Submitted)

Flavia Tsialas, Antonio’s mother, has also addressed the investigation into the fraternity through social media, including recent Facebook posts around Thanksgiving. One ended with #justiceforTsialas.

“We have taught our children about the importance of social responsibility, compassion, and most of all have COURAGE that is now essential to step forward with the TRUTH,” she wrote.

“Our Antonio was silenced on the 24th of October, let the silence end with the TRUTH. No organization on earth is more important than a human life,” she added.

Cornell complaint by jspector on Scribd

Source: Read Full Article