{"id":6693,"date":"2015-09-26T19:20:24","date_gmt":"2015-09-27T00:20:24","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eportfolios.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/?p=6693"},"modified":"2015-09-26T19:20:24","modified_gmt":"2015-09-27T00:20:24","slug":"uncertain-fate-for-greek-life-at-baruch","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/2015\/09\/26\/uncertain-fate-for-greek-life-at-baruch\/","title":{"rendered":"Uncertain Fate for Greek Life at Baruch"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"
Michael Deng was victimized by the PI DELTA PSI Fraternity<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

In the aftermath of the traumatic death of Baruch freshman,\u00a0Chun Hsien Deng (also referred to as \u201cMichael\u201d) during a fraternity initiation in December 2013, Greek life at the CUNY college may cease altogether.<\/p>\n

Michael Deng, the victim in the well-publicized crime, was brutally hazed during the Pi Delta Psi initiation rite that took place nearly two-years-ago in the Pocono Mountains of Pennsylvania. According to a released statement by the police, “Deng was subjected to repeated blunt force trauma which was applied to three different organ systems of the body to include the head, torso and thighs.” The consequences of the ritual were fatal for Deng.<\/p>\n

Since the\u00a0horrific incident, charges were recommended against 37 members of the fraternity, with five members facing the top charges of murder, involuntary manslaughter, and aggravated assault. The others are charged for less stringent actions including: hindering apprehension, hazing and criminal conspiracy.<\/p>\n

Although the trial process is still underway for Deng, Baruch has actively taken action in response to the hazing crime. Not only did Baruch permanently ban the fraternity to which Deng was pledging,\u00a0Pi Delta Psi, but the administration also put a halt on pledging at every Greek social organization on campus, which has been extended until the summer of 2018.
\nIn an effort to keep the students safe, Baruch has proposed\u00a0that a ban on Greek life in order to\u00a0prevent future traumatic experiences, such as that of Michael, from occurring again. However, this has not been too well received by members of Greek organizations throughout the campus.<\/p>\n

According to the CUNY system, \u201cof its 278,000 students enrolled in degree programs this fall, about 500 students are fraternity and sorority members,\u201d making it the highest percentage in the system\u2019s history.
\nIn response to Baruch\u2019s statement, presidents of sororities and fraternities have spoken about the hindrance of a familial bond fostered by Greek life, as well as the opportunities for students of similar backgrounds or similar interests to mingle.<\/p>\n

The dwindling number of members of Baruch\u2019s Greek social organizations is also indisputable since Deng\u2019s death. There are also\u00a0a great number of Greek subsets, such as Lambda Upsilon Lambda, on the brink of existence.<\/p>\n

According to Dean of Students, Art King, Baruch wants to ensure that \u201cwhen families send their sons and daughters here, and they join clubs and organizations, they are safe.\u201d For this reason, the future of Greek life at Baruch may no longer exist in the years to come.<\/p>\n

Sources:<\/p>\n

37 Face Charges in Hazing Death of Baruch College Freshman Michael Deng. NBC News.
\nTracy Connor<\/p>\n

Baruch\u2019s Greek Organizations Say Ban on Pledging Effectively Shuts Them Down. The New York Times
\nElizabeth A. Harris.<\/p>\n

PIX 11 Photograph of Michael Deng and fraternity<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In the aftermath of the traumatic death of Baruch freshman,\u00a0Chun Hsien Deng (also referred to as \u201cMichael\u201d) during a fraternity initiation in December 2013, Greek life at the CUNY college may cease altogether. Michael Deng, the victim in the well-publicized crime, was brutally hazed during the Pi Delta Psi initiation rite that took place nearly…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":703,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[240],"class_list":["post-6693","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-baruch-college"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/703"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6693"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6693\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6693"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6693"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/openlab.macaulay.cuny.edu\/messenger\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6693"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}