Editor’s Note: This story contains offensive language. We have elected not to print the names of the students in question.
The latest twist in the ongoing Delta Tau Delta house closing saga is a series of vulgar and offensive emails released last Wednesday by the family of Johnny Smith.
During a press conference held over Thanksgiving break, Carmel-based attorney Stephen M. Wagner announced Johnny Smith’s parents, Robert and Stacy Smith, have hired him to assist in gathering information about the circumstances surrounding their son’s death.
Montgomery County Coroner Darren Foreman ruled acute alcohol poisoning was the cause of Smith’s death on October 5, 2008 at the Delta Tau Delta fraternity house at Wabash College. The 15-minute press conference was held inside the law firm Wagner Reese & Crossen, LLP in Carmel. Mr. Wagner read a prepared statement, and answered questions afterwards. The statement focused, primarily, on three profane emails sent from upperclassmen at Delta Tau Delta to their pledges, one singling out Johnny Smith specifically.
Mr. Wagner acquired the emails from Smith’s parents. The emails chosen for public release were sent by one senior and two juniors. The first email, sent September 7, 2008, warned house members of an upcoming visit from a representative of the national chapter. The email instructed them to “not say ANYTHING about ANYTHING” when they meet with him, including that “there was no party after closing ceremony” and no “hazing during chapel sing practices.”
The second email, sent September 30, concerned preparations for a party planned for the college’s Homecoming weekend – the weekend of Smith’s death. It read: “there will be an abundance of alcohol” and described what types of beverages would be present, including those which would “make girls easier.” Freshmen were told they had to ask another upperclassman whether they could drink or not, and the email charged the pledges with making “sure [alums] don’t go around breaking shit as they usually do.” Both females and pledges were referred to as “bitches” in the email.
The final email, sent October 2, reminds pledges to do their house duties. It also directs pledges to “haze” those who don’t show up. The email is also the only one made public which actually singles out Johnny by name: “If a pledge brother is not there haze them. If Johnny is being a fucktard tell him he is being a fucktard. Just get the shit done.”
Wagner said the e-mails show the fraternity was regularly engaged in hazing activities, and the activities were “condoned by Wabash College.”
“Although the details surrounding his death remain largely unknown, the family has uncovered a disturbing series of emails which describe an out-ofcontrol fraternity house where hazing and alcohol abuse were rampant,” Wagner said. “The Smith family is eagerly awaiting the results of the police investigation and the prosecutor’s decision on whether to charge individual students with criminal offenses.”
Wagner also compared the contents of the emails to the fraternity’s Pledge of Social Responsibility, which explicitly rejects hazing, promotes respect for women, and repudiates “mental abuse, intimidation, meanspirited personal criticism, and bullying.” Wagner argued the now-public emails as well as others in his possession show a pattern of behaviors in opposition to the fraternity’s Pledge. “Delta Tau Delta fraternity leaders encouraged behavior that was anything but gentlemanly,” he said.
To date, no lawsuits have been filed. However, Mr. Wagner said the Smiths will consider taking such action at a later time. On November 27, The Paper of Montgomery County reported members of Crawfordsville Police Department have interviewed 21 witnesses in conjunction with its investigation, which is ongoing. Montgomery County Prosecutor Joseph Buser, could not be reached for comment about whether he has decided to call a grand jury.
The International Office of Delta Tau Delta Fraternity released a statement challenging the ethical standards of Mr. Wagner’s statements at the press conference but offered no comment on the charges leveled by Mr. Wagner because the fraternity’s independent investigation is ongoing.
“Upon learning of the press conference and conferring with legal counsel representing the international Fraternity, it is my understanding of the rules of professional conduct that attorneys may not comment on matters under investigation or potential litigation until the time of trial,” said Jim Russell, executive vice president of Delta Tau Delta.
All three students who wrote the emails were contacted and asked to respond to the release of their emails and the charges made by Mr. Wagner. None of them wanted to comment about the emails pending the ongoing police investigation.
Dean of Students Michael Raters has only recently seen the emails released by the Smith family and Mr. Wagner. He would not comment whether the contents of the email were consistent with finding of the school’s investigation, which resulted in the closing of the Delt house and some members’ resignation of leadership positions in some student groups. He also cautioned students not to send emails they would not want to be made public someday.
“It was alarming,” Raters said. “It’s all alarming. Any insinuation that I knew what was going on and hadn’t acted is false. Through our investigation we discovered a culture inconsistent with the Gentleman’s Rule, and we acted. If the members of the house followed the advice of some of those emails obviously that’s not acceptable. We don’t monitor all of our students’ emails to see what’s being sent, but when students send emails they better be prepared for anyone on the planet to read it. It has cost people jobs. It has cost people internships. It has cost people going to school here.”
Few Delts have been willing to speak about the scrutiny they have experienced since Smith’s death. But junior Jesse Purvis decided to break his silence. He said the most of the content in the emails drawing the most attention were inside jokes, not meant for a public audience. He said Mr. Wagner does not have enough evidence to prove hazing took place so he searched for emails with the word “haze” along with Johnny Smith’s name.
“They are trying to make a connection,” Purvis said. “But there is no connection because it’s not true.”
Despite the questions and the investigation about what happened in his former fraternity house the night of Johnny Smith’s death, Purvis was heartened by students’ support, and he thinks the situation will have a positive conclusion.
“What I would like to say to students is thank you so much for supporting our house,” he said. “It’s a relief to know that we do have people who support us. We’re as much in the dark as the students are about all this. At the end, I think we’re all going to be ok because they don’t have a case that they can make.”