A fraternity, sorority, and nearly 40 of their members have been hit with lawsuits for the death of a student at Bloomsburg University.
The suit was filed by the family of 18-year-old Justin King of Montgomery County who was found dead following a rush party held by Kappa Sigma.
Justin King of Montgomery County was just 18-years-old and a freshman at Bloomsburg University when he was found dead following a rush party held by the Kappa Sigma fraternity in 2019.
Now, King's family is holding Kappa Sigma and a sorority, Alpha Sigma Tau, and 36 of their members responsible for his death.
In a lawsuit filed by the family, it's alleged that King was made to drink excessive amounts of alcohol during the party, including a vodka-laced drink called “blackout water”.
The next morning King's body was found at the bottom of a 75-foot slope.
Sophomore Arshad Rivers is in a fraternity and says this is the reason Greek life gets a bad rap.
“As being a member of a fraternity, we're a brotherhood of people that look out for each other and want to see other people's wellbeing and growth for the future,” said Rivers, a member of Phi Beta Sigma.
The reason the sorority is mentioned in the lawsuit is the attorney alleges that the fraternity held its rush party at the sorority's house because the fraternity brothers had been told by their landlord they would be evicted if they held rush parties at their house.
Bloomsburg University is not named in the lawsuit. A university spokesperson says the school has no comment.
The lawsuit makes reference to the hazing death of Penn State student Timothy Piazza who died after a rush party in 2017.
The Timothy J. Piazza Antihazing Law was enacted after that and the attorney for the family argues the fraternity, the sorority, and the members who organized the party violated that law.
"If anything I would say that the Greek Life needs to mature more, like step up their actions, taking accountability of what happened,” said freshman Gianna Bedomenico.
The lawsuit says the university banned Kappa Sigma following the victim's death. It gave the sorority a four-year suspension.