NJ University Bans All “Greek Life,” Florida State Fraternity Hit with Lawsuit

Tau Kappa Epsilon, Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternities again kicked off campuses

As we have previously reported on this website, many college fraternities seem to routinely snub their collective “Animal House” noses at both their host institutions and state law. In today’s post, the fraternity hazing lawyer at the Doan Law Firm presents two recent examples of how college fraternities continue to pose a significant risk to the safety of their members and pledges.

Monmouth (NJ) University suspends all campus fraternities and sororities

Citing “serious conduct violations” and its desire to be “proactive,” a small New Jersey university has indefinitely suspended all “Greek life” activities. The decision affects some 750 fraternity and sorority members out of a student body of 4,700.

In a letter to all students and faculty members, Monmouth University President Grey Dimenna said “… there will be no recruitment, social, philanthropic, or any such activities within the fraternity and sorority community …” According to those familiar with the content of the letter, the university’s action was in response to a number of incidents involving violations of its anti-hazing policies hazing as well as alcohol and drug use. The letter also voiced concerns with what it termed an apparent lack of academic focus across the school’s Greek community.

The suspension was reported to have been at least partially motivated by a fatal automobile accident in February that killed a 20-year-old student.

In that February 3rd accident, at around 2:30 a.m. Jose R. Rivera, 21, lost control of his vehicle for some reason and struck a tree killing his passenger, Dane Fante. It was later discovered that both and Fante had been drinking at a party sponsored by the Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity, even though the fraternity had been suspended from campus and had been served with a “cease and desist” order by its national headquarters, supposedly making it ineligible to host social functions. Following Fante’s death, the national headquarters of Tau Kappa Epsilon (whose motto is “Better men for a better world”), closed its Monmouth University chapter.

There have been no retrievable reports in the news media to indicate that Rivera has been charged in connection with Fante’s death.

Florida fraternity is hit with lawsuit after AEP “brother” suffers brain injury

A former member of the suspended Alpha Epsilon Pi fraternity at the Florida State University has filed a lawsuit against his former fraternity and several ex-fraternity brothers after he was injured at the fraternity house and spent 5 days in the ICU of a local hospital.

According to court documents as well as local media reports, on April 18th of this year Nicholas Mauricio, a former student at Florida State University and at the time a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, was elected “Scumbag of the Week” by his fraternity brothers. As his” punishment” he was to stand in front of the group, eyes closed, to await what was supposed to be a gentle slap across the face. Instead, he was punched so hard that he alleges he fell back, suffering a skull fracture and two brain bleeds that have prevented him from returning to school and have left him with both physical and intellectual disability.

Current Status of TKE Charters

No mention of Dane Fante’s death is to be found on the TKE website, on its “News” page, or mentioned in its News Archive pages. This is understandable, since the organization that builds “Better men for a better world” also failed to mention that it had been booted from at least 9 other schools in the past 3 years:

1. Cal State Northridge (January 2015, 3 years)
2. Florida State (February 2016, 4 years)
3. University of Maryland (March 2016, shut down)
4. Towson University (April 2016, 4 years)
5. Drexel University (May 2017, 5 years)
6. Florida International University (October 2017, 2 years)
7. Eastern Carolina University (January 2018, 4 years)
8. Ohio State (January 2018, 3 years)
9. Indiana University (February 2018, 4 years)
10. Monmouth University (February 2018, shut down)

If you think that the above record of misconduct would be hard to beat, consider what Alpha Epsilon Pi has been able to accomplish in less than 1 year!

In addition to being named as a defendant in Mauricio’s lawsuit, AEP’s record includes:

• During the Fall 2017 semester, AEP was placed on probation by FSU after a Greek Conduct Review Board found the fraternity guilty of multiple infractions of FSU policies. When AEP’s national headquarters conducted a member review, it resulted in the removal of about 2/3 of its membership. Among those removed were Mauricio and the assailant named in the lawsuit, 20 year-old Oliver Walker. Further investigation revealed that Walker was not enrolled at FSU despite being a member of AEP!
• In February 2018 Syracuse University suspended AEP for repeated violations of the Student Code of Conduct and Office of Fraternity and Sorority Affairs policies.
• In April, Temple University placed AEP on temporary suspension pending investigation of “credible reports” of sexual misconduct, sexual abuse, drug use, and underage drinking. In July, former AEP Chapter President Ari Goldstein, 21, was arrested and ordered to stand trial on multiple charges, including attempted sexual assault.
• In May 2018, AEP was suspended for 5 years by Ohio State for multiple violations including Alcohol, Hazing and Endangering Behavior and Failure to Comply with Earlier Sanctions sections of the Code of Student Conduct.

If your son was injured as a result of fraternity hazing or other misconduct, we again invite you to contact the fraternity hazing and misconduct lawyer at the Doan Law Firm, a nationwide personal injury law practice, to arrange a free, confidential review of the circumstances of your son’s injury.

At the Doan Law Firm, you first consultation with our fraternity hazing and misconduct is always free and does mean that you must hire out firm to represent you in court. Should you decide that our firm should manage your son’s personal injury lawsuit, we are always willing to assume all responsibility for preparing your case for trial in exchange for an agreed-upon percentage of the settlement that we will win for you.