Courtesy: Tallahassee Democrat
After meticulous investigation and review of the evidence, Tallahassee police have declared that probable cause has been located for the pursuit of nine college-aged individuals in the untimely death of Andrew Coffey, all nine of which are members and prominent leaders of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity.
This comes in the wake of a university-wide ban on all 55 sororities and fraternities at Florida State, imposed by President Thrasher directly following the student’s tragic passing. In November 2017, he announced that “for this suspension to end there will need to be a new normal for Greek Life at the university.” He continued to assert this need for change throughout his address to the public, ultimately declaring that, “there must be a new culture [within Greek Life], and our students must be full participants in it”.
Brett Birmingham, Luke Kluttz, John Ray, Clayton Muehlstein, Christopher Hamlin, Anthony Petegine, Anthony Oppenheimer, Conner Ravelo and Kyle Bauer all turned themselves into the Tallahassee Police Department, and two have since been bonded out. Police say that the other members of Pi Kappa Phi have been most unhelpful in the investigation and presume it’s due to a sense of secrecy established between the brothers. Of 88 members contacted, more than half refused to speak with the police.
However, though controversial in the eyes of some students, these charges begin to provide a set of many sought-after answers for the victim’s family in the devastating passing of their son.
On November 3rd, 20-year old Andrew Coffey, a junior and civil engineering major at Florida State, was found dead following a “Big Brother Night” at the fraternity’s house. What was supposed to be a fun night of brotherly bonding quickly took a tragic turn. It was reported that the student consumed a bottle of Wild Turkey 101-proof bourbon and proceeded to pass out at the party. It wasn’t until some time after that he was discovered to be unconscious and medical personnel were called to the scene.
Later that night, Coffey died of alcohol poisoning, and it was reported that his blood alcohol level reached a peak of .447, six times the legal limit. At the time, Pi Kappa Phi was under a liquor ban, but the ban had been lifted for the night’s festivities. Members of Pi Kappa Phi argue that none of the pledges were forced to drink at the party.
This incident brings about a time of reflection for Florida State, as the community continues to search for ways to improve and bring change to not only Greek Life, but the culture that perpetuates binge drinking in college. One sentiment many students have expressed throughout this tragic ordeal is that it was something that could have happened to any of us. And from that startling realization stems another question: what steps can we take to ensure it doesn’t happen again?