College Briefs

Thursday, January 21, 1999

College Briefs

Pre-med student killed himself, says coroner

IOWA CITY — A bouquet of roses lay Tuesday morning at the door
of the Mayflower dorm room where less than a day earlier a
University of Iowa pre-med student fell out of his window to his
death.

The Daily Iowan reported that Herschel Vargason, Mayflower
Residence Hall resident, died Monday night after falling eight
stories from his dorm-room window. Johnson County medical examiner
T.T. Bozek ruled the death to be a suicide Tuesday after performing
an autopsy.

Friends of Vargason, who was originally of Independence, Iowa,
said they saw no signs that he would commit suicide and could not
believe he would jump from the window.

David Thompson, Cedar Rapids, said he spoke on the phone with
Vargason minutes before public safety officers said he jumped.
Thompson said he does not believe his friend committed suicide. He
thinks Vargason was the victim of a tragic accident.

"He was bright and a good friend," Thompson said. "Everybody who
knew him finds it hard to believe he would kill himself. I just
don’t believe it. He was making plans for the future minutes before
it happened. I just can’t fathom it."

USC fraternity accused of secret hazing

The Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity is facing hazing charges stemming
from a Jan. 8 incident in which 15 of the fraternity’s pledges were
found behind the house with hands tied behind their backs and ropes
around their necks, Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers
said.

If a review conducted by the Office of Student Conduct finds the
incident to be hazing, the fraternity could face sanctions,
according to the Daily Trojan.

Sandra Rhoten, assistant dean for the Office of Student Conduct,
was unavailable for comment.

Hazing is a felony under the California penal code, but criminal
charges will not be pressed, DPS deputy chief Bob Taylor said.
"It’s strictly a (Office of) Student Conduct matter," he said.

The fraternity’s president, John Moshy, disputes DPS’
interpretation of the event.

"I wasn’t there that night," said Moshy, a junior business
student. "But I can guarantee you that no activity would put a
pledge in that situation, and that no pledge would allow himself to
be put in that situation."

Glitch swells Florida

students’ bank accounts

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — When Amanda Sinclair withdrew money from
the ATM over the weekend, she was pleasantly surprised by what she
saw on the receipt – extra money that had been directly deposited
into her account.

"I thought ‘Wow, I have extra money to spend,’" said Sinclair,
to the Independent Florida Alligator. "But later, I thought I
better not do anything because it’s not mine and someone must have
made a mistake."

The mistake was a computer error that has left more than two
dozen UF students with extra financial aid money in their accounts,
some of them receiving as much as $1,200 more than usual.

"It was a computer error," said UF assistant controller Ruth
Harris. "We are aware of the problem and are working quickly to
correct it."

As of Tuesday evening, Harris did not have figures on exactly
how many students were affected or how much extra money was
distributed. But two dozen students reported an increase to the
Alligator.

Compiled from University Wire reports.

Comments, feedback, problems?

© 1998 ASUCLA Communications Board[Home]