Cornell University has enacted new rules aimed at curbing underage drinking and secretive pledging at fraternities in connection to the death of freshman Antonio Tsialas.
The crackdown, which includes requiring outside vendors for alcohol service and security at many frat and sorority events, is part of Cornell President Martha Pollack’s response to the Greek system’s links to an ongoing investigation into the death.
Tsialas was last seen at an unregistered fraternity party at Phi Kappa Psi on Oct. 24, and his body was found two days later, authorities said.
Cornell Police have said they don’t suspect foul play but declined to discuss details of the active probe. Private investigators hired by Tsialas’ parents suspect at least one other person travelled with him to the remote Fall Creek area after the party, a family attorney said.
“We have on this campus, as do many of our peers on their campuses, a persistent culture of misconduct in the Greek-letter system; a pattern that dates back years, if not decades, and one that I have witnessed during my two-and-a-half years as Cornell’s president,” Pollack said.
Tsialas’ case is one of several deaths connected to fraternities in recent months, including fatalities of young men at colleges in California, Pennsylvania and Washington.
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