Parents sue school over son's death during frat hazing where he drank a liter of hard liquor in 18 minutes
After their son died in a fraternity hazing incident at Bowling Green State University last year, parents Shari and Cory Foltz have filed a lawsuit against the school, NBC News reports.
Stone Foltz, 20, died from alcohol poisoning at an off-campus initiation event hosted by Pike fraternity in March of 2021.
In their lawsuit, Stone's parents say the school "turned a blind eye to hazing ... while encouraging students like Stone to join its fraternities and sororities." The lawsuit alleges that Stone was forced to drink an entire liter of hard liquor in 18 minutes.
"Despite being completely aware of the hazing activities that have taken place at Bowling Green for decades, the University enthusiastically endorses Greek life to parents and students," the Foltzes said in a statement after filing the lawsuit. "To be clear, any perceived benefit students get from joining a Greek organization is completely and totally outweighed by the risk of injury or death by antiquated and deadly hazing rituals."
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In a statement to NBC News, the school called Stone's death a tragedy, but added that the lawsuit "is meritless and undermines our continued efforts to eradicate hazing."
"We are resolved in our legal position, and as a state-supported university, we will defend our community vigorously against this action," the statement read. "This will not deter our goal to continue to foster a community of care that serves our students and their families.”
After Foltz's death, the Pike fraternity was expelled from campus and eight of its members were criminally indicted. Jarrett Prizel, 19, Daylen Dunson, 22, and Ben Boyers, 21, all pleaded guilty to reckless homicide and hazing charges. Dunson and Boyers also pleaded guilty to obstructing justice, and Dunson admitted to tampering with evidence.
Watch TODAY's report on the story below or at this link.
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