Cornell University sued for $25 Million over hazing death



The mother of a Cornell University student is suing a fraternity for $25 million after her son was allegedly kidnapped, bound and forced to drink large amounts of alcohol that led to his death.

Marie Lourdes Andre claims her 19-year-old son, George Desdunes, was bound and forced to drink alcohol at the Sigma Alpha Epsilon (SAE) fraternity house.

Mr Desdunes, of Cornell University in New York state, was allegedly kidnapped as part of a ritual.

He was found unresponsive the next day and later died in hospital.

Mr Desdunes, a human ecology student, was allegedly tied up by his wrists and ankles with zip ties and duct tape, quizzed on SAE history and forced to consume large amounts of alcohol until he passed out, according to the lawsuit.

The victim was then left to die on a couch at the fraternity house, according to court documents filed in New York state's Kings Country Supreme Court.

Mr Desdunes was unresponsive when he was found by Cornell University staff the following day, with an alcohol level of .409% - five times the legal limit for driving in New York state.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/cornell-hazing-victims-family-files-25-million-lawsuit/story?id=13948311

Good, I hope the mother wins (Always hate seeing hazing when it turns into that.)

horrible
I hope they not only punish the school but also the students who did this

They should be treated as murderers.

This is sad but stupid at the same time, hope the mother wins the case.

Disgusting.
Tbh most of those fraternities and their members are just plain vile.

Wow.

I hope she not only wins, but the students responsible are trialed for murder.

yeah they should

mostly because it could've been a buylling case and not just an accident, but its not specified

I think it should be the students who killed him getting in trouble, not the University.

I agree with you.

The fraternity members that ultimately caused her son's death should be sued, not the school. At the end of the day, I'm not sure she could win a lawsuit against the school, since they had nothing to do with her son dying. Either way, this is extremely unfortunate and sad.

Ivy Leaguers. Go figure...

The guys themselves should be in BIG trouble along with the university. While the school is not directly responsible for the kids' death, it is its choice whether or not to allow Greek life as part of student or campus life (and based on the fact that there is a lawsuit, this must be a university-sanctioned frat). And since it is a given that frats and sororities always have initiation rites that may include some kind of hazing, the university should try to have as much control over that as possible, in order to avoid things like this from happening.

Man, reading about news like this is depressing, but in many ways it makes me glad that my school doesn't have Greek life (at least officially). Hope his family is coping with the news well...

This is why I stay the **** out of fraternities and whatnot. I'm here to study and make friends, I don't want to get caught up in that kind of ********.

Fraternities are so not worth it Poor guy, I'm sure he had a lot going for him, and it's a shame to see his life ended like that

I got accepted to Cornell but chickened out because I didn't want to go to school out of state.

A mess.