OMG

I’m not one to back Student Affairs Brueaucrats, but do you know how much money this is going to cost universities if these people find themselves convicted or pleading guilty.

Look folks, every other advanced democracy has a lower drinking age than the United States. For all the bragging that goes on as to the number of lives age 21 has saved, I wonder who has calculated the costs of policing students, not to mention the fact that binge drinking has INCREASED since universities began cracking down on underage drinking in the early 1990s.

This will cost universities a fortune. The prosecutor should be ashamed of himself for using this case for political gain.

ts, at 7:55 am EDT on August 6, 2007

Perhaps the Mercer County Prosecutor has been watching too many re-runs of “Law and Order.”

Skeptic, at 9:20 am EDT on August 6, 2007

There should be a zero tolerance policy against hazing at universities. It is a stupid, sadistic and barbaric custom that needs to be stopped. If it takes prosecuting a couple administrators to get colleges to take it seriously than so be it.

Carol, at 9:35 am EDT on August 6, 2007

Administrators indicted in hazing death

The doctrine of vicarious criminal liability has no place in a free society, and this prosecutor simply is abusing the law. We saw for more than a year the abuse of law in Durham, North Carolina, with the indictment of three Duke students for a “crime” that never occurred.

Prosecutors in this country are out of control, and apparently no one wishes to rein them in. This case at Rider is just one more example of what happens when we permit prosecutors to be given near-unlimited power. Granted, New Jersey is worse than most states, but we can see just how prosecutors are able to do whatever they want with almost no fear of consequences.

Yes, Michael Nifong ultimately was punished in the Duke case, but he was only one of thousands of prosecutors who abuse the law on a daily basis. This indictment in New Jersey is a very, very sad day in the working of law in the USA. Unfortunately, most people will agree with the prosecutor.

William L. Anderson, at 11:00 am EDT on August 6, 2007

If you only knew.

I’m not here to bash anybody’s opinion. I just want to speak about Dean Campbell. He was one of the most caring individuals you would ever meet. A real stand up guy.

If you had a problem with financial aid, a class, a teacher, a roommate, personal problems or anything that a college student or adult would face. HE WAS THERE FOR YOU DAY OR NIGHT. He allowed 24/hr access to him. He always made that clear. He would say don’t worry if you need to talk or need advice im always here no matter what.

It seems the Prosecutors office is trying to make a point. He is the Dean of Students. They are probably going to accuse failing to fulfill his job duties or some broad charge similar.

In the coming weeks I guarantee you will see an overwhelming support of current/previous students, parents, faculty and staff for Dean Campbell.

I do not know Director of Greek Life Ada Badgley but im sure they are attacking her on the same basis.

RIDER ALUMNI Class of ‘03, at 12:45 pm EDT on August 6, 2007

Rider University

When it comes to colleges and universities, we often see a two tiered justice system in place. Off campus, this incident would constitute a felony. When it occurs on campus and higher status people are involved, suddenly it is no longer considered a felony and prosecuters are challenged instead. We see similar examples with sexual assaults where perpetrators (especially athletes) if anything, may be sent for anger mangement or given community service. Off campus, non student perpetrators may be sent to prison. Student Life folks are often caught between a rock and a hard place. They are likely to want to follow their professional ethics and prosecute the perpetrators but instead must follow orders from above in order to keep their jobs. On many campuses we see a “we educate them, not punish them” justice system in operation. Off campus, a punitive system of justice prevails. I also wonder if Rider University has followed the letter and spirit of the law in regards to the Clery Act. Recently, the President at Eastern Michigan University was fired for Clery Act violations. Change is in the air.

Howard Robboy, Associate Professor of Sociology at The College of New Jersey, at 1:10 pm EDT on August 6, 2007

I must admit that while the statements below are true I have had personal interaction several times with Dean Campbell. He is an amazing man. He has committed himself to the University, he lives on the campus, and you see him go home sometimes not even until midnight. In one meeting with him I went in to talk to him hoping that the next week I could follow up. He pushed back all of his meetings on a friday afternoon at 4pm and stayed with me until 6 to resolve the issue. Well after University closing hours. On the other hand University faculty give much privelege to those that live “Greek". They are given better housing situations, have more say in what goes at the school, and are considered to be “the end all and be all” of campus life. Regular dorm policies are very strict and alcohol is monitored extremely closely by Resident Advisors however, on several trips to the Fraternity houses you can see that there is absolutely no monitoring. Campus security drives by the buildings that blare music and through window syou can see 200 or 300 students dancing and drinking. None of the ages of these people are monitored and most are freshman and sophomores who fall under the legal drinking age. While I do not believe that Dean Campbell should be charged, the University is responsible for seeing that the students are monitored and that underage drinking does not occur on their campus. Security is located directly next to Phi Kappa Tau house, drive by atleast 4 times an hour and can hear noise all the way from the other side of the campus. Why are the rules never enforced there but are so strictly enforced in the dormitories?

Current Student, Current Student NOT A GREEK at Rider University, at 3:15 pm EDT on August 6, 2007

reply to a previous post

Everything wonderful said about Dean Campbell is extremely true. That man would cut a leg off for one of his students. Amazing things are to be said about Ada as well.I recently graduated as a greek student and have a problem with a previous posting from Current student, NOT A GREEK at rider univesity.

This current student said:

“On the other hand University faculty give much privelege to those that live “Greek"."ok...the faculty, unless they were greek themselves, tend to be a bit harsher on greek students because they lump them into the stereotype of being partying lazy students, and yes, some of them are, but what college student independent or greek isn’t from time to time? I worked hard in my classes and received no special treatment for being greek.

Further in this post: “They are given better housing situations"the residences of greek life are treated the same by the school as any residence hall. I spent half of my career at Rider in a residence hall, and half in a residence hall and to be honest, things got fixed and cleaned a lot quicker in dorm life than greek life. sure, we live with all of our friends, and we have a lounge and basement...but you can find pool tables, big screens, and air hockey tables in the residence halls given by the university (it’s rare to find that in greek housing).

“Campus security drives by the buildings that blare music and through window syou can see 200 or 300 students dancing and drinking. None of the ages of these people are monitored and most are freshman and sophomores who fall under the legal drinking age."I have never seen 200-300 people in a fraternity house. ever. yes, the basements of the houses can get crowded but monitoring is performed by house managers and presidents of the organizations. Open parties were stopped by the university long before this tragedy occured. At most, parties were held were open to greek students and those monitoring who entered had registered the party with the university and was responsible for wristbanding 21 year olds (upon seeing an ID and verifying on a list of students given to them by the university).

and the last comment that irked me: “have more say in what goes at the school, and are considered to be “the end all and be all” of campus life."EVERY student at rider has a say in campus life. if you want a say, join student government association or residence hall association. those are the student run organizations who are the liason between students and administration. greek life only comprises 13% of the student population (and that includes academic fraternities such as those in business, science, or education). why would the university cater to that small percentage. It may appear that it’s based on greek decisions because many of the (ELECTED BY THE ENTIRE STUDENT BODY) students in those positions are greek. the administration hears concerns from all students through SGA and RHA... actually.

None of the administration should be roasted in this event. They have done their best to enforce Rider’s Zero Tolerance policy on hazing. Public Safety performs walkthroughs of every greek house (not just drive-bys) and the national organizations of each of the fraternity and sororities monitor rider’s chapters closely.

Alumni. Class of 2007, rider student who IS greek, at 5:45 pm EDT on August 6, 2007

Wasting time...

I read the news on this site regularly and never comment; however, I’ve reached a breaking point when it comes to “Greek” issues on campuses nationwide. When will we get wise and simply abolish these organizations like they should have been years ago? Perhaps this is a narrow-minded view, but I see very little good come from the associations of young men and women who choose to waste their educational years partying. Sure, there’s something to be said for having fun in college, but I don’t see these organizations contribute much to either the campuses on which they reside or the communities around these campuses. And before anyone tells me otherwise, I can say that I have worked (rather unwillingly) with Greek students for years at a college, also in New Jersey. The community service projects they participate in often serve no purpose other than to give them (and no doubt, the campuses that sponsor them) a better reputation. On my campus alone (and I know other schools have faced them), they portray themselves as sometimes racist and often cliquish and exclusive towards non-Greek students and it is clear to EVERYONE who works with these students (even to the Greek advisor) that they regularly engage in dangerous behaviors that present a risk to the entire resident population.

There may have been a time when fraternities and sororities were acceptable and even useful on a college campus, but I would argue that this time is long passed. Is it too much to ask that our students focus on their academic work and the contributions they could make to the community?

Angry Admin., at 1:00 pm EDT on August 7, 2007

I am an alumnus of Rider University ‘99 and was a member of the Greek life throughout the 4 years I was at Rider. I knew Ada personally for all 4 years. She is a very, very responsible individual and was always willing to make changes for the better. It is unbelievable that her & Dean Campbell are being charged with the tragic death of Gary. It certainly is the responsibility of the brothers at the fraternity who were present at the time of the party. Nobody except for the ones who were there knows what happened. THEY are the ones who could have prevented this tradegy. And in previous comments made by some Rider current student -I know when I was at Rider, which was not too long ago, I went to a number of parties at the fraternities. The campus security was ALWAYS breaking up the parties. The fire alarm would be pulled to clear out the house or what not. If the Mercer County prosecutor wants to charge the 2 adminstrators with the tradgey, then that opens the door for any school adminstrator to be charged — which is not right. I fully support Dean Campbell and Ada. Hopefully there is a positive outcome for them. My heart goes out to the DeVercelly family for thier loss.

Melissa, at 11:10 am EDT on August 10, 2007