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Newsletter > January 2019 > "Investigation into Tragic Death of Ohio University Student Focused on Hazing"
Investigation into Tragic Death of Ohio University Student Focused on Hazing
Katherine Schoepflin, Manley Burke, kschoepflin@manleyburke.com
Hazing is in the headlines once again, and this time all eyes are on Ohio University. OU has issued a cease and- desist letter to the Epsilon Chapter of the Sigma Pi Fraternity after the death of 18 year-old pledge
Collin Wiant.
Wiant was pronounced dead on Monday, November 12, 2018 after he was found unconscious at an off campus apartment believed to be an unofficial, and unsanctioned, annex of the Sigma Pi Chapter House. Accordingly to University Spokesperson Carly Leatherwood, such “annex houses” are not recognized by the University.
Following Wiant’s death, the University Office of Community Standards and Student Responsibility issued a cease-and-desist letter ordering the Chapter to stop all operations, official and unofficial, immediately out of what they called “an abundance of caution”. The letter states that the Office had received information that the Chapter had “engaged in conduct that put the health and safety of its members at risk and did not comply with the student code of conduct”. It also instructed the Chapter’s President, Elijah Wahib, to disclose a full list of members, potential new members or pledges, and any pledges no longer in the process of joining the Chapter. The letter said failure to comply would result in “both individual and organizational charges”. [1]
An investigation into these alleged violations and the death of Collin Wiant are still ongoing. Carly
Leatherwood says pending the outcome of these investigations, the University has no current plan to
address these off campus “annex-houses”.
Fraternal Law will continue to monitor these developments
[1] Stankiewicz, Kevin, and Sheridan Hendrix. “Ohio University Shuts down Fraternity as Police Probe
Pledge’s off-Campus Death.” The Columbus Dispatch, The Columbus Dispatch, 15 Nov. 2018,
www.dispatch.com/news/20181114/ohio-university-shuts-down-fraternity-as-police-probe-pledges-offcampus- death