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A History of College Drinking Fatalities

Drinking deaths on American college campuses are not uncommon. A timeline of recent major incidents involving underage alcohol shows that universities continue to struggle with issues of enforcement and preventive education.

Feb. 6, 1988

Drinking binges at Princeton University's eating clubs send about three dozen students to the hospital, according to an April 26 article in The Record.

Feb. 12, 1988

James Callahan, an 18-year-old Rutgers University student, dies after consuming 24 ounces of hard liquor in less than an hour as part of a pledging ritual at the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, according to an April 26 article in The Record. A separate article reported on Aug. 28 that this incident prompted a five-year shutdown of his fraternity.

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Oct. 18, 1988

Joel A. Harris, an 18-year-old student at Morehouse College and one of 19 students pledging for Alpha Phi Alpha, collapses and dies after drinking and being beaten during pledging rituals, a July 24, 1990 article in the Los Angeles Times said.

Aug. 30, 1989

Following several alcohol-related deaths in fraternities nationwide, Zeta Beta Theta and Theta Kappa Epsilon fraternities decide to end pledging, reported an article from USA Today on Aug. 30, 1996.

April 1994

Terry Linn, a 21-year-old member of Delta Chi, dies attending "Hell Night" rite of passage party at Bloomsburg University as a result of alcohol poisoning, reported an article from The Daily Item in April. Linn's blood alcohol level was 0.40.

March 1995

The Chi Sigma sorority of Blooms-burg University was suspended, pending investigation for possible hazing violations after a pledge sister had to be hospitalized for alcohol poisoning. The pledge had "chugged" about a half bottle of vodka through a funnel type device, according to an article in the Chronicle of Higher Education on May 12, 1995.

Spring 1995

Five students perish on graduation day at Chapel Hill University after a fire breaks out in the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house where a heavy drinking party is taking place, said an Aug. 20, 1996 article in the Atlanta Constitution.

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