Dennis Jay said he expected to be greeted by a priest on Jan. 29 at the looington Hos;pital emergency room telling him that his son was dead.
Jay and his ex-wife, Mary Prince, drove four hours from South Bend after they both received calls at abou 1:30 a.m. alerting them of their son's "life-threatening situation."
They arrived at the emergency room at bout 7:30 a.m. to discover that their son, IU sophomore Dennis Jay, had been admitted for alcohol poisoning and respiratory arrest.
Their son is a pledge at Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, 720 E. Third St., and was taken to the hospital by fraternity members.
The blood-alcohol content (BAC) is disputed. Jay’s father said it was 0.48, but ATO House Director Bill Eggleston said it
was 0.408.
Bloomington Hospital would not release details about the case.
Michelle Flick, public relations director for Bloomington Hospital, said O.SO usually causes respiratory failure and is considered a fatal level.
Jay began his evening at his off-campus apartment.
“ATO alleges a pledge and his fraternity “dad” were at the pledge’s off-campus apartment and were drinking,” said Richard McKaig, dean of students. “They then came to the (fraternity) house at about 11:30 p.m. and continued drinking with a small group of friends.”
“The total time the pledge was here (in the fraternity house) is something under an hour and 15 minutes,” Eggleston said. “There were a few other people involved.
“We have great concern for what happened to him,” he said.
Junior Doug Jones said he helped carry Jay out of the ATO house and stayed at the hospital until 4 a.m.
He said he did not realize the serious nature of Jay’s condition until the pledge was put into intensive care.
Jones would not comment on the nature of the activities that were going on at the fraternity house that evening.
Jay’s father was told the drinking was not forced and it was not a hazing incident. He also said be was told it was not a house-sponsored activity.
“I think it was a gathering after the IUPurdue game,” Jay’s father said.
Eggleston said he did not agree with the parents discussing the issue with the media.
“It’s crazy in my opinion thai they are doing what they are doing,” he said. “But that’s just their own business.
“We are the ones who acted to save his life; his parents did not,” he said. “Had he been in his apartment where he started this event, or living in the dorm, he’d probably be dead this morning.”
McKaig also said he was told the incident was not house-sponsored, although an investigation is underway.
Hazing violates Indiana law and IU regulations.
Jay’s mother said her son had writing on his arms, legs, chest and forehead when she saw him in the hospital.
The sophomore would not comment about what happened.
Prince said the nurses did not wash the writing off because they wanted to include that information in their medical report.
IU Police Department Sgt. Dave Heckman said he was told second-hand by a visitor to the hospital that Jay had writing on his body.
"My stance is that these boys should not avuse alcohol," he said. "This ecent that happened was not a house-sponsored function....There was no hazing involved here."
Mark Thorsby, executive director of the national chapter of ATO, said there was a representative from the national chapter at the IU fraternity house on the evening in question.
Thorsby said he was not aware of any misconduct.
According to the Dean of Students’ Disciplinary Procedures for Student Organizations, hazing “is defined as any conduct which subjects another person whether physically, mentally, emotionally or psychologically to anything that may endanger, abuse, degrade or intimidate the person as a condition of association with the group or organization, regardless of the person’s consent or lack of consent.”
McKaig said he was told by some fraternity members that a small group of friends were drinking whiskey shots in the fraternity house.
But Eggleston said the group was drinking beer while watching the IU-Purdue basketball game.
IU regulations state it is illegal to have alcohol in a fraternity house.
McKaig said the Dean of Students’ judicial board and judicial hearing officers conduct their investigation by first determining if an organization is responsible and then looking at the organization and individual’s past.
ATO was banned from involvement in Little 500 in 1990 after three kegs of beer were found in the house the Friday before the race. The fraternity had been on probation earlier that spring.
McKaig said past violations might not influence this case.
“Just because they were responsible once doesn’t mean they are this time,” McKaig said. “But if it is determined on the facts of this case that they are responsible, then there’s relevance this time.”
Jay’s father thought his son had hit .50 BAC because he already had gone into respiratory arrest and was comatose.
“He had tubes on him and was on a ventilator,” the father said.
Jay, the son, weighs 130 to 135 pounds.
McKaig said the ATO pledge told him he was “physically fine” as of Wednesday night.
