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by MARY ELIZABETH
ROBERTSON
Intern News Reporter
Lenoir-Rhyne College sophomore Harrison Kowiak died after participating in a capture the flag game with his Theta Chi fraternity brothers Nov. 18.
Kowiak, 19, of Tampa, Fla. was attending Lenior-Rhyne on a golf scholarship and was not a victim of hazing, the Catawba County Sheriff’s Department said.
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Kowiak
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Roy D. Brown, chief
of detectives for the department said no alcohol was involved and the
“nature of the injury was a severe blow to the head, which caused major
bleeding of the brain.”
Brown said the capture the flag game started between 10 p.m. and 10:20 p.m.
“The
injury occurred and the event was stopped,” he said. “[Kowiak] was
taken to Frye Regional Medical Center, then airlifted to Carolinas
Medical Center.”
The
death was not considered hazing as there was no evidence of harmful
intentions within the Theta Chi brothers and the men they were
initiating.
“To me and to the letter of the law, there was not intent to harm,” Brown said.
The death resonated with members of Theta Chi fraternity at Appalachian State University.
“We lost
one of our brothers,” senior recreation management major and president
of Theta Chi Matthew J. King said. “It is an unfortunate event that it
did happen.”
Senior
advertising major and Theta Chi member Jon R. Santangelo offered his
condolences to the Theta Chi brothers of Lenoir-Rhyne.
“It
reaches us on a personal level,” he said. “It was a freak accident; we
mourned and said a prayer for him and have offered help in any way we
can.”
When asked about the assumptions of hazing, Santangelo said he did not condone hazing.
“I
believe in constructive activities that teach new members skills that
they can use later in life and in the chapter,” he said. “Hazing is
just a bunch of guys who take advantage of their superiority
position.”
Santangelo hopes the brothers of the Theta Chi chapter at Lenoir-Rhyne will become more cautious during upcoming activities.
“Since we share the same name, we expect them to be responsible and mature and take necessary precautions,” he said.
Aaron H.
Bachenheimer, assistant director of organizational leadership education
spoke on the incident from a Greek Life perspective.
“From a
Greek standpoint, it’s a tragic event and it’s sad for everyone
involved,” he said. “By being Greek, you take on a lot of
responsibility and with that comes greater scrutiny.”
Bachenheimer hopes people do not place emphasis on the fact Kowiak was involved in a fraternity during the accident.
“People
have just jumped to the fact that [Kowiak] was in a fraternity and
[have] jumped to assumptions…it was national news because it was
connected to Greek Life,” he said. “It was a tragic accident but
fraternities and sororities need to remember that more scrutiny will be
paid to them and their actions.”
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