Entire men's and women's Claremont-Mudd-Scripps track teams are suspended for prank / assault by 6 naked dudes

At a Beta Theta Pi bid acceptance night two days prior, Piazza had reportedly consumed at least 18 drinks in 82 minutes. He'd fallen 15 feet down a flight of basement stairs, and remained largely unconscious for 12 hours before anyone dialed 911.

He died from traumatic brain injuries and spleen damage on February 4, 2017, in the hospital.

In wake of his death, 26 fraternity members and the now-defunct Beta Theta Pi chapter are charged in one of the largest criminal indictments in recent history levied against a fraternity and its members.

The charges range from furnishing alcohol to minors to involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault — with the latter charge punishable by 10 to 20 years of jail time.

The case remains in the preliminary hearing phase nearly nine months after former Centre County District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller filed more than 1,000 initial charges, with trials not expected until at least the spring.

Eight former Beta Theta Pi members are charged with involuntary manslaughter — which carries a maximum of 2-1/2 to five years of jail time — and aggravated assault. Ten more ex-members are charged with misdemeanor offenses such as hazing, recklessly endangering another person and furnishing alcohol to minors. The former members deny all charges.

“You have a death that was completely preventable, and you have a family who will never again see their son,” Miller tells PEOPLE. “It is senseless tragedy all the way around.” Miller did not respond to Newsweek's request for comment.

Beta Theta Pi fraternity releases a statement saying the chapter members' actions were "in direct contradiction of the International Fraternity’s ... reputation and commitment to character development.”

JUNE 2017: The preliminary hearings for the charged fraternity members begin on June 12. They are held on seven different days over a three-month span.

SEPTEMBER 2017: After the months-long preliminary hearing, a judge rules on September 1 that 14 of the 18 charged would stand trial — but not all with their original charges.

Eight of the ex-members have their serious charges, including involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault, dismissed. The remaining four, who'd been charged with single counts, are dismissed entirely.

District Judge Allen Sinclair says he didn't expect trials to begin until at least the spring, NBC reported. Miller quickly announces plans to refile those charges.

OCTOBER 2017: Miller on Oct. 27 refiles charges against 11 of the former Beta Theta Pi members — including the involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault charges against eight members. She also requests a new judge to hear the case.

“The previous preliminary hearing and the truncated manner in which it was held did not serve justice for the victims or the case itself,” the motion contends.

A statement from Piazza's family added, "Had it not been for the crimes committed that night, Tim would be with us today." The family's lawyer, Tom Kline, did not respond to Newsweek's request for comment on Friday.

Centre County Judge Pamela Ruest doesn't indicate when a decision is expected regarding Miller's refiling.

NOVEMBER 2017: Prosecutors file charges against 12 new Beta Theta Pi chapter members after the FBI successfully recovers deleted basement footage. The fraternity initially purported the cameras were "inoperable" at the time of the incident.

One of the main revelations from the footage: Fraternity brothers gave Piazza at least 18 drinks in one hour and 22 minutes. His blood-alcohol content that night was estimated at between 0.28 percent and 0.36 percent — more than four times the legal limit for drivers.

The new charges range from involuntary manslaughter and aggravated assault to furnishing alcohol to minors.

DECEMBER 2017: A court order signed by Ruest pushes back a slated December 13 preliminary hearing. The document states Ruest is continuing the case until a "date to be determined."

Miller, who leaves her district attorney position later that month, says on December 7 that Ruest had “failed miserably” at being fair to both sides in the case, among other criticisms. Defense attorney Michael Engle denounces the comments as violating "the rules of professional conduct."

A 236-page grand jury report on the Piazza investigation, released December 15, turns the microscope on Penn State, claiming the university "displayed a shocking apathy to the potential danger associated with doing nothing."

http://www.newsweek.com/tim-piazza-case-one-year-later-799048

ha ha ha

NotPC wrote:

put them on double secret probation.

It is time someone put their foot down on the CMS track team.

And that foot is me!

WantSomeSammiches? wrote:

Stuff happens when you party naked.

No PICs?

There are cameras everywhere now.

"This is some of the worst reporting I have ever seen especially from a paper that claims to support unbiased, fact-based journalism. I have spoken to people who were actually there (unlike TSL) and most of this article is disputed rumor or blatantly false, and all of it is biased by the Pomona students that run this paper."

Comment from student newspaper's post. Seems like there's more to it.

It's a stupid punishment for something silly like this, but I also think it's fair. These kids knew they could get into trouble for stealing this, and didn't have to do it naked. If you don't want to deal with the consequences, don't commit the crime. Especially when it's a stupid crime.

Why did they suspend everyone? Not just the six naked dudes?

I have to wonder what the LR reaction would be if six black kids from Compton played the same prank.

Why does the kid think he was assaulted? He just tried to screw with them, and they did not allow it. That's not really assault. They were not trying to harm him. They were stopping him harming them.

What a whiny bish.

Article says it was part of an initiation for the whole team.

Punishments:

a) Run the ridge- barefoot and naked (hilly ~10 miler) at high noon

b) ‘Streak’ South Central LA at midnight

c) Naked quarter mile- mandatory expulsion for the loser

d) Tattoo of a Sagehen (desert grouse) on your face

e) Sniveling video apology to the 5 college community

Dripping with Privelege wrote:

You think not liking being held down by drunk naked guys is being a 'snowflake'? Wow.

Yes. I'm a guy, and if 6 naked guys tried to hold me down, I would be preparing to sever parts of their anatomies that would disable them from reproducing. I would not want to be "dripping with privelege [sic]" or anything else.

fedexsfdfsdfd wrote:

Dripping with Privelege wrote:

You think not liking being held down by drunk naked guys is being a 'snowflake'? Wow.

Yikes, snowflake alert.

Long before Cosby's and Weinstein's behaviors were exposed, the behavior of these 6 naked guys would have been considered assault, and possibly sexual assault.

Do you enjoy being held down by naked men, not knowing what next they might do to you? Are you a gay male? I think most gay men would even fear that situation.

Dripping with Privelege wrote:

You think not liking being held down by drunk naked guys is being a 'snowflake'? Wow.

Your username is funny when you think about just how privileged you have to be to live in a time and place where "suffering" through something like this qualifies you as such a victim. Honestly, other than precious feelings, what is really so different about naked guys holding you down as opposed to clothed? I'm not saying it would be an enjoyable experience or that it was a nice thing to do but people in here are acting as if the dude was raped or something. Like damn, have you guys never been to a party before? Or are parties just way more tame than they used to be? I've seen naked/partially naked drunk people more times than I can count.

I'm just here so I won't get fined.

dfasdfasd wrote:

Dripping with Privelege wrote:

You think not liking being held down by drunk naked guys is being a 'snowflake'? Wow.

Your username is funny when you think about just how privileged you have to be to live in a time and place where "suffering" through something like this qualifies you as such a victim. Honestly, other than precious feelings, what is really so different about naked guys holding you down as opposed to clothed? I'm not saying it would be an enjoyable experience or that it was a nice thing to do but people in here are acting as if the dude was raped or something. Like damn, have you guys never been to a party before? Or are parties just way more tame than they used to be? I've seen naked/partially naked drunk people more times than I can count.

1) it would have been assault if they were clothed too.

2) you really think that being held down by a group of naked strangers sounds exactly the same as being held down by a group of clothed strangers?

3) seeing a naked person at a party isn't the same. You could have left at any time. This is a person at work when suddenly six naked strangers burst in and pin you down.

You really don't get why the person subjected to this may have felt victimized? Saying you don't understand is akin to saying you are willing to accept this happening to your self or anybody else you know. How would your mother feel in this situation, caught completely by surprise and pinned down by naked men? What about a younger sibling?

Don't get me wrong, the fact that they didn't have malicious intent is deserving of leniency. But they definitely deserve some punishment. This is a crime. They should be given the minimum sentence for what they did, but they shouldn't get away with this with no consequences.

If their prank demanded stealing a picture, they should have done so wearing clothes and non violently. Even that would have consequences if they were caught, but it would have been less severe.

Nobody has been or will be arrested most likely. The only reason the team is suspended is to hopefully get the ones who did this to step forward.

Have you seen these pricks? Report immediately to Beulah Balbricker. Do not attempt to apprehend these pricks, as they are armed and dangerous. They were last seen hanging out in the girls' locker room at CMS College.

I_wasnt_there wrote:

Article says it was part of an initiation for the whole team.

This is why the whole team was punished. For all we know the six guys were told to do this by the team as part of the initiation.

It's funny what as adults we would never put with that we think it's ok for 19 and 20 year old kids to accept.

If 6 guys trespass into your home, hold you down, some naked, and stole a picture, I don't think you would care if they were laughing or not when they did it.

The coach has no idea this stuff is going on? .......no senior leadership either?

That team needs some community service to wake up.

This ranks among the least newsworthy injustices of all time, so I predict it will get at least 10 pages of discussion here.