MIT First-Year Dies at Beth Israel After Party

This story was reported by Marc J. Ambinder, Richard M. Burnes, Adam S. Hickey, Ethan M. Katz, Nicholas A. Nash, Amber L. Ramage and Heather F. Stone.

BOSTON-Scott Krueger, the 18-year-old Massachusetts Institute of Technology first-year who went into a coma after suffering from serious alcohol poisoning at a fraternity party Saturday, died last night at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Krueger's cousin William W. Burke-White '98 said last night that Krueger's mother had called him to pass on the news of her son's death.

Krueger's parents and siblings were seen leaving the hospital last night at approximately 9:30 p.m.

Krueger had been in the intensive-care unit since Saturday night, when he was rushed to the hospital with a blood alcohol level of 0.41, five times the legal driving limit, according to Dr. Richard Schwarztein, the attending physician at the intensive care unit last night and an assistant professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School.

"If someone were drinking relatively quickly over a period of time, it would be about ten beers, on that order, perhaps," said the doctor, who declined to comment on Krueger's death.

"The family's requested that we not give out any information about their son until later today," Schwarztein said. "We're just trying to abide by their wishes at the moment."

Krueger consumed the fatal doses of alcohol at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at 28 The Fenway in Boston during a celebration held for new members of the Greek society.

It was Krueger's fourth week at MIT.

According to Burke-White, Krueger's parents chose to take their son off life-support yesterday afternoon when doctors told them he was clinically brain dead.

"The doctors advised the family that Scott would pass away even with life-support in the near future and this was the humane way to proceed," Burke-White said.

Reached yesterday after Krueger had been taken off life-support, Iddo Gilon, an MIT senior and president of the school's InterFraternity Council-which governs the school's 39 Greek societies and independent living groups-said the event is sending shock waves across campus.

"The atmosphere is very grim," Gilon said. "This incident has hit across a large portion of the student body and rightfully so. People are taking this with the utmost seriousness."

In response to the weekend's tragedy, Gilon said the council on Sunday night approved a complete ban on alcohol at the Greek societies and off-campus housing.

The MIT chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, Krueger's fraternity, has been suspened by both the school and by its national organization. Officials at the national headquarters in Louisville, Ky., could not be reached last night.

"Residents are able to live there but [they] cannot conduct any activities under the Phi Gamma Delta name," Gilon said.

Although MIT officials are careful to point out that the fraternity is neither owned by the school nor under the jurisdiction of MIT police, the incident has turned their focus inward.

"We are [now] undergoing a major program of throwing open the whole question of our policies, procedures and culture with alcohol," said Kenneth D. Campbell, the university's spokesperson.

"Over the next several weeks there will probably be a great deal of discussion, and from that discussion will come some decisions," he continued.

While students say that MIT has not dealt with such a tragedy in over 40 years, alcohol-related accidents have plagued the nation's college campuses recently.

The MIT death comes only a month after a student at Louisiana State University died of alcohol poisoning. (Please see related story, this page.)

Boy With A Future

Krueger leaves behind a large family and many friends in his hometown of Orchard Park, N.Y., a Buffalo suburb.

Last night, the young student's parents, two sisters and younger brother coped with the tragedy in a small anteroom off of the hospital's intensive-care unit.

Although none of the immediate family would comment on their loss, Burke-White explained the gravity of the situation.

"He was a very good human being, very religious, very close to his family and brilliant," he said.

A promising scientist and talented athlete, Krueger rowed the first-year heavyweight crew team and aspired to be an aerospace engineer.

According to Burke-White, Krueger was never known to drink and told his sister he was "nervous" about Greek pledging events.

Saturday evening's party, however, came after the pledge season's conclusion, and Krueger had already been welcomed as a member of the society. The event was designed for "big brothers [to] link up with their little brothers," Campbell said.

Burke-White said that today, the family will be returning to Buffalo, where they plan to bury Krueger later in the week.

He added that a scholarship fund will be esblished in the name of the young MIT student.

Frat Consequences

Although the Krueger incident is one the few alcohol-related deaths in MIT's history, the school's Greek societies have a notorious track record.

Last year, the president of Lambda Chi Alpha was hospitalized after falling down his house's four-story elevator shaft in an alcohol-related incident. In 1991, a sophomore in Sigma Alpha Epsilon was accused of rape, and numerous other societies have frequently lost their right to serve alcohol in recent years.

Krueger's death brings a new urgency to dealing with the school's Greek problems, and according to Gilon of the Inter Fraternity Council, it has prompted some soul-searching.

In addition to the alcohol ban, Gilon said that the InterFraternity Council is beginning a top-to-bottom review of its practices.

"The purpose of our review process is to identify whether we were able to prevent any of this from happening in the past, or whether we can do something now for the future," he said.

While Gilon said that all MIT fraternities are governed by state drinking policies, he was almost flippant when asked how often the rules are broken.

"You could probably guess as well as I could," he said.

In Search of a Solution

Although the university is launching an intensive new examination of Greek policy, it maintains that the system does have its strengths.

"There are the negatives of the frat, like drinking, and there are the positives of the frat which are the close relationships that those guys have," Campbell said.

According to Campbell, university officials find that the most effective way to prevent such tragedies is to promote awareness of alcohol risks within the Greek system.

"The most effective alcohol education is peer education," he said. "If your buddy says, 'You're being stupid, don't drink so much,' it counts more than if you have someone over 30 saying that to you."

But some, like Burke-White, insisted that the MIT system needs more serious changes.

"The entire fraternity system needs to be scrutinized," he said. "I personally believe that Harvard's policy of not allowing fraternities on campus is the best policy in this regard."

But regardless of university re-evaluations and regulations, Burke-White said that it is the college student who still must find that delicate, often dangerous, balance in life.

"The line between having a good time and being dead is a very thin line," he said. "And I hope people will remember Scott the next time they go out to a party.

"The family's requested that we not give out any information about their son until later today," Schwarztein said. "We're just trying to abide by their wishes at the moment."

Krueger consumed the fatal doses of alcohol at the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity house at 28 The Fenway in Boston during a celebration held for new members of the Greek society.

It was Krueger's fourth week at MIT.

According to Burke-White, Krueger's parents chose to take their son off life-support yesterday afternoon when doctors told them he was clinically brain dead.

"The doctors advised the family that Scott would pass away even with life-support in the near future and this was the humane way to proceed," Burke-White said.

Reached yesterday after Krueger had been taken off life-support, Iddo Gilon, an MIT senior and president of the school's InterFraternity Council-which governs the school's 39 Greek societies and independent living groups-said the event is sending shock waves across campus.

"The atmosphere is very grim," Gilon said. "This incident has hit across a large portion of the student body and rightfully so. People are taking this with the utmost seriousness."

In response to the weekend's tragedy, Gilon said the council on Sunday night approved a complete ban on alcohol at the Greek societies and off-campus housing.

The MIT chapter of Phi Gamma Delta, Krueger's fraternity, has been suspened by both the school and by its national organization. Officials at the national headquarters in Louisville, Ky., could not be reached last night.

"Residents are able to live there but [they] cannot conduct any activities under the Phi Gamma Delta name," Gilon said.

Although MIT officials are careful to point out that the fraternity is neither owned by the school nor under the jurisdiction of MIT police, the incident has turned their focus inward.

"We are [now] undergoing a major program of throwing open the whole question of our policies, procedures and culture with alcohol," said Kenneth D. Campbell, the university's spokesperson.

"Over the next several weeks there will probably be a great deal of discussion, and from that discussion will come some decisions," he continued.

While students say that MIT has not dealt with such a tragedy in over 40 years, alcohol-related accidents have plagued the nation's college campuses recently.

The MIT death comes only a month after a student at Louisiana State University died of alcohol poisoning. (Please see related story, this page.)

Boy With A Future

Krueger leaves behind a large family and many friends in his hometown of Orchard Park, N.Y., a Buffalo suburb.

Last night, the young student's parents, two sisters and younger brother coped with the tragedy in a small anteroom off of the hospital's intensive-care unit.

Although none of the immediate family would comment on their loss, Burke-White explained the gravity of the situation.

"He was a very good human being, very religious, very close to his family and brilliant," he said.

A promising scientist and talented athlete, Krueger rowed the first-year heavyweight crew team and aspired to be an aerospace engineer.

According to Burke-White, Krueger was never known to drink and told his sister he was "nervous" about Greek pledging events.

Saturday evening's party, however, came after the pledge season's conclusion, and Krueger had already been welcomed as a member of the society. The event was designed for "big brothers [to] link up with their little brothers," Campbell said.

Burke-White said that today, the family will be returning to Buffalo, where they plan to bury Krueger later in the week.

He added that a scholarship fund will be esblished in the name of the young MIT student.

Frat Consequences

Although the Krueger incident is one the few alcohol-related deaths in MIT's history, the school's Greek societies have a notorious track record.

Last year, the president of Lambda Chi Alpha was hospitalized after falling down his house's four-story elevator shaft in an alcohol-related incident. In 1991, a sophomore in Sigma Alpha Epsilon was accused of rape, and numerous other societies have frequently lost their right to serve alcohol in recent years.

Krueger's death brings a new urgency to dealing with the school's Greek problems, and according to Gilon of the Inter Fraternity Council, it has prompted some soul-searching.

In addition to the alcohol ban, Gilon said that the InterFraternity Council is beginning a top-to-bottom review of its practices.

"The purpose of our review process is to identify whether we were able to prevent any of this from happening in the past, or whether we can do something now for the future," he said.

While Gilon said that all MIT fraternities are governed by state drinking policies, he was almost flippant when asked how often the rules are broken.

"You could probably guess as well as I could," he said.

In Search of a Solution

Although the university is launching an intensive new examination of Greek policy, it maintains that the system does have its strengths.

"There are the negatives of the frat, like drinking, and there are the positives of the frat which are the close relationships that those guys have," Campbell said.

According to Campbell, university officials find that the most effective way to prevent such tragedies is to promote awareness of alcohol risks within the Greek system.

"The most effective alcohol education is peer education," he said. "If your buddy says, 'You're being stupid, don't drink so much,' it counts more than if you have someone over 30 saying that to you."

But some, like Burke-White, insisted that the MIT system needs more serious changes.

"The entire fraternity system needs to be scrutinized," he said. "I personally believe that Harvard's policy of not allowing fraternities on campus is the best policy in this regard."

But regardless of university re-evaluations and regulations, Burke-White said that it is the college student who still must find that delicate, often dangerous, balance in life.

"The line between having a good time and being dead is a very thin line," he said. "And I hope people will remember Scott the next time they go out to a party.