I Tuesday, Sept. 21, 2010 One year later, events are still being examined By Zach Geiger COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER Joe Dado was last seen at 3 a.m. Sunday, Sept. 20,2009, leaving Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) fraternity, 319 N. Burrowes Rd., on his way back to his East Halls dorm. His body was found by mainte nance workers at about 6 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, 2009 at the bot tom of an exterior stairwell between the Hosier and Steidle buildings. Dado, 18, died of head trauma sustained from a 15-foot fall to the bottom of the stairwell. And one year later, the events leading to Dado's death more specifically, who supplied him with alcohol are still being examined by the courts. A toxicology report revealed that Dado had a BAC of 0.169 at the time of his death, more than twice the 0.08 legal driving limit for 21-year-olds in Pennsylvania, Centre County Coroner Scott Sayers said. No drugs or illegal substances were detected in the toxicology tests, he said. The night of his disappearance, Dado left East Halls at about 11:30 p.m. Saturday with three other students. They then went to Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, 321 E. Fairmount Ave., and later went to Dado's sister's apartment at 119 S. Burrowes St. The group then walked to Fiji, and at 2:20 a.m. on Sunday all three of Dado's friends left to return to East Halls. Dado remained at the fraternity with a friend he knew from high school. Dado told his friends he was spending the night at Fiji, but was last seen leaving the fraternity at about 3 a.m. Sunday. But Dado did not return to East Halls Sunday morning and did not answer his phone which was on and ringing all day, his sister Natalie Dado said. Dado's parents arrived in State College Sunday night to begin searching for their son, and police officially declared him missing. But after hours of searching, a feeling of anxiety began to set in amongst Dado's family, the uni versity community and the hun dreds of students who organized through text message and Facebook to aid in the search. An impromptu vigil of about 20 students gathered Monday night between the Hosier and Steidle buildings to honor the anniversary of former Penn State student Joe Dado’s death. Dado’s memory lives on with Mends By Vera Greene COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER After hearing that Penn State student Joe Dado was found dead, his friends sat together silently at Pasquerilla Spiritual Center and prayed. One year later, they’re still praying. On Sunday night, 12 students walked over to the spiritual cen ter to reflect on the last year of their lives. Jonathan "JJ” Hue said it feels like just yesterday he found out his best friend was gone. "Every time I walk by the spot, I flashback to breaking down in tears in the road,” Hue (sopho more-chemistry) said. After the news of Dado’s death, Hue said the Penn Staters who had attended Greater Latrobe Senior High School with Dado were inseparable. "We really got each other through it, and it brought us together,” Hue said. “I have a lot of close Mends up here now.” Natalie Bower attended school with Dado since junior high and said she never thought she’d per sonally know someone who died at such a young age and so suddenly. Bower (sophomore-kinesiolo gy) loves to run, but after Sept. 20, 2009, the Penn State cross-coun try team member’s usual jogs around the Steidle and Hosier Buildings became a painful reminder of the past and the Mend she’s lost along the way. While the campus was trying to understand what happened to Dado after he left Phi Gamma Delta fraternity, 319 N. Burrowes Road, Bower said she was com ing to terms with the death of the person who helped her with “It was really something that we had not experienced here,” Penn State spokeswoman Lisa Powers said. “The support was just tremendous. People were very hopeful but still very anxious.” At 11 a.m. Monday, Penn State Live issued an e-mail to students which alerted the campus to the search effort for Dado. Penn State officials opted to not use the PSUTXT service. At noon, a police helicop ter flying over the campus in an attempt to find Dado, and police also used dogs in the search, Powers said. Police conducted interviews with members of Fiji and an eye witness who had last seen Dado outside of the fraternity, Powers said. Police also checked his Penn State ID card and ATM cards to see if they had been used recently, she said. The cars in the Fiji parking lot. as well as nearby manholes, were inspected by police. Penn State confirmed the FBI was contacted to aid in the search, though the bureau had very little involvement in the investigation. Shortly after, Dado’s body was found by maintenance workers called to repair a broken pipe in the Hosier Building. The workers discovered the body near the entrance of the building’s mechanical room at about 6 p.m. Monday. Though it was unclear at the time, police later said Dado was alone on the roof of a maintenance building adjacent to the stairwell before his fall. Hosier, Steidle and Deike build ings were cordoned off by police after 6 p.m., and at 8 p.m. Penn State officials confirmed that Dado had been found dead. “I was the person who met with Joe’s parents and sisters to tell them that their son and brother had been found,” Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims said. “I will never forget the emo tion in that moment, especially for them. No Penn State family should suffer that news in that way again.” Students gathered around a makeshift memorial along Pollock Road that Monday night to pay their respects to Dado. “We always make sure we have each other’s back and know where people are going. If we had done something like that, it might have been able to save Joe.” homework in study hall and cracked jokes at lunch. “I want everybody out there to know that just because some thing like this doesn’t happen to their best Mend doesn’t mean it can’t,” she said. And with a full year having passed since Dado’s death, those who knew him said their lives have forever been changed. “For me, I took my Mends for granted,” Hue said. “But now... every goofy time we have and every time we go out it’s some thing special.” Dado added his own spin to everything he did, Hue said. Whether it was telling jokes to his Mends or dressing up like a cere al box at a basketball game for some laughs—those who knew him cherished his fun-loving antics. “He was always optimistic and never let anything bother him,” Hue said. “I try and mimic that now in my life.” Hue said he’s now more aware and alert when he goes out at night with Mends. “We always make sure we have each other’s back and know where people are going,” Hue said. “If we had done something like that, it might have been able to save Joe.” Mike Cook, one of Dado’s best Mends, said not a day goes by that he doesn’t think of his Mend. Coming back to Penn State this year was especially difficult LOCAL “They were grieving for a per son they never met,” Powers said. “It was a life taken too early and senselessly. There was a sudden awareness that we should think of each other.” “I really hope that’s a feeling that has lasted amongst the stu dent body,” she added. The fiineral service for Dado was held at 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, 2009, at Charter Oak United Methodist Church in Unity Township, Pa. Following the tragedy, police began investigating whether Dado had been provided with alcohol at either fraternity or another loca tion the night he went missing. Fiji International Headquarters issued a ban on alcohol at the fra ternity on Tuesday, Sept. 22. A Fiji representative was present to oversee the removal of all alcohol from the premise. In addition to the ban from Fiji International, the Interfraternity Council (IFC) held a private exec utive board meeting Tuesday night. IFC officials suspended the Penn State chapter of Fiji until the conclusion of the police investiga tion into Dado’s death, then-IFC President Luke Pierce said. Pierce (senior-economics) also issued a request asking all frater nities to refrain from social events until Oct. 2. Alpha Tau Omega was also sus pended on Sept. 28. Both Alpha Tau Omega and Fiji were sus pended after police said they were investigating two incidents of fur nishing alcohol to a minor in con nection with Dado’s death, one incident at each fraternity. Multiple Penn State students faced charges of furnishing alco hol to minbrs in connection with Dado’s death. Jennifer Clifford was charged with furnishing alcohol to Dado the alcohol police said Dado and his friends drank in their dorm room before leaving for Alpha Tau Omega the night of Dado’s disap pearance. On April 26, 2010, Clifford was sentenced to one year of probation and was enrolled in the Accelerated Rehabilitative Dis position (ARD) program in addi tion to one day of community serv ice, according to court documents. Jonathan “JJ" Hue sophomore - chemistry even though Cook (sophomore biology) was excited to reunite with his Mends, he said there is always something missing. “Joey has never left me,” Cook said. During Lauren Stout’s high school graduation, one of the speakers told the Greater Latrobe Class of 2009 that they came in as a family and were now leaving as a family. But Stout (sophomore-kinesiol ogy), who became close with Dado her sophomore year of high school, said part of her family is no longer with her. “It is still hard for me every day” Stout said. “I just can’t believe it’s been a year.” After ordering 1,000 “In loving memory Joey Dado” wristbands and organizing a sale on campus last year with Cook, Hue said he hopes to get another sale going on campus at some point this year. This year’s sale, he said, would be to sell wristbands, yes, but mostly to remind people of what happened. Bower said she puts her wrist band on every time she runs in a race. “I look down at my left hand where the bracelet is and I’m thankful to be here,” Bower said. “I think of him and it gives me strength.” To e-mail reporter: vhgSoo3@psu.edu Chloe Elmer/Collegian Manholes outside of Phi Gamma Delta were searched for Joe Dado’s body when he was missing last year. Fiji member Jack Townsend Dado's friend from high school and the last person to see the freshman alive was charged with furnishing alcohol to the minor shortly before his death. Both Fiji and Alpha Tau Omega fraternities faced charges of fur nishing alcohol to minors, accord ing to court documents. The charges against Fiji and Townsend are still pending for resolution and are up for review again sometime in October. District Attorney Stacy Parks Miller wrote in an e-mail. The furnishing charges against Alpha Tau Omega are pending. Parks Miller said. The trial is com plete but Centre County District Judge Thomas King Kistler is waiting for both sides to complete their briefs once the court tran script is complete, Parks Miller said. Even though the courts are still examining the details surround ing Dado’s death a year later. Parks Miller said there is nothing Death prompted changes in policy By Megan Rogers COLLEGIAN STAFF WRITER One year after Joe Dado’s death, some student leaders and administrators agreed the tragedy both heightened the issue of campus safety and prompted major risk manage ment policy changes. After Dado’s body was found, alcohol abuse and campus safety "received particular attention," Vice President for Student Affairs Damon Sims said at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting. And student leaders agreed that while campus safety is always a concern, Dado's death put campus safety in the spot fight. Interfraternity Council (IFC) Vice President for Risk Management Tom Piarulli said the death prompted changes to existing social policies. The IFC social policy overhaul last December was influenced by the aftermath of the incident, Piarulli (senior-security and risk analy sis) said. “That incident did have a lot of impact on all student organiza tions and the way we think about risk management,” he said. The social policy enacted in December which instituted guest fists and bouncers and eliminated away bars and Wednesday social functions was aimed at lowering emphasis on alcohol and raising awareness of risk management. The tragedy was reflective of some of the problems within the greek community, former IFC President Luke Pierce said. Dado’s death allowed the IFC’s executive board to reflect on pos sible changes needed, he said. Dado’s death brought common unsafe drinking practices to light, but was not the sole reason behind social policy changes, IFC President Max Wendkos said. “We don’t say to ourselves ‘Wow, we need to do this or this because a student passed away after drinking last fall,”’ Wendkos (senior-marketing and psycholo gy) said. “We say, ‘We need to make change because overall the drinking culture at Penn State is problematic for a slew of different parties, including the students themselves.’” Regardless of whether the poli cies were direct results of Dado’s death, Wendkos said earfy signs show the policies imposed over the past year have been benefi cial. But Pierce (senior-econom- The Daily Collegian unusual about the timing or pac ing of the cases. Dado's death had a gripping effect on the Penn State communi ty that will hopefully never be for gotten, Powers said. "Joe Dado's death had an impact on the student body in a way that we had not seen before,” Powers said. "It made I students I think about excessive drinking, being respon sible for themselves and being responsible for others." Sims echoed Powers' thoughts on the tragedy. "Students should know that a very young man with hopes for the future, that were not at all unlike their own. died tragically in an accident that was at least partly attributable to excessive alcohol consumption." Sims said. Representatives for Phi Gamma Deita. Alpha Tau Omega and Tow nsend did not return calls for comment. To e-mail reporter: zjgsol2@psu.edu Damon Sims talks to the Board of Trustees on Friday about alcohol initiatives he and a committee devised after Joe Dado's death. ics) said the policy has been “soft ened," making it more difficult to measure its success. Dado's death has affected more than just the greek commu nity, with change coming at the administrative level, too. Before detailing new alcohol mitigation policies at Friday’s Board of Trustees meeting, Sims touched on the profound impact of Dado's death on the communi tv. Sims said the new alcohol poli cies he presented were crafted with the intention of preventing a similar incident. "All students deserve what Joe did not get." he said. University Park Undergraduate Association (UPUA) President Christian Ragland said Dado’s death shed a light on the issue of campus safe tv. He said he gathered with some student leaders when he heard the news of Dado's passing and all students in the room immediately began talking about what they could do to help pre vent a similar incident in the future. UPUA responded by hosting the first “Campus Night Out” about a month after Dado’s death," Ragland (senior-political science) said. UPUA will host the second annual Campus Night Out on Sept. 30. The event will feature speakers from safety resources including University Health Services, the Centre County Women’s Resource Center and several stu dent groups, Ragland said. “Campus Night Out was a direct result of the tragedy of Joseph Dado,” Ragland said. To e-mail reporter: mers2oo@psu.edu
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