Student's death reveals gaps in policing parties

• Willem Golden, 20, died on St. Patrick's Day after falling from a roof of a Newark home.
• Police and city officials say they're working to address issues with homes and parties.
• Neighbors say the home houses brothers in the Sigma Pi fraternity who regularly throw rowdy rooftop celebrations.

Earlier this year, Willem "Goldie" Golden bagged his first hockey goal as a college freshman. Scoring an empty-netter, he sealed the victory for the Skidmore College Thoroughbreds, prompting raucous cheers from his teammates.

But on the afternoon of March 19, the 20-year-old stood alone on a roof at an unofficial fraternity house at 153 W. Main St. near the University of Delaware, according to witnesses. A light rain pelted discarded beer cans and bottles. And Golden, a fierce competitor known for his effortless ability to make people smile, fell 30 feet to his death.

With that one misstep, a young man whose college adventure had just begun joined countless other students across the country who have died after teetering on roofs, balconies and fire escapes.

How does a community prevent such tragedies in the future and who should be held accountable? Local police, code inspectors, landlords and city and university officials agree that increased patrols, citations and alcohol education play their part. In the end, however, they can't substitute for individual judgment.

"A landlord's responsible to offer decent housing in exchange for decent rent," said Bruce Harvey, who owns seven rentals in Newark. "People don't put things like 'don't fall off the roof' or 'don't fall out a window' in their leases. It's common sense."

Common sense is a scarce commodity when national statistics show that nearly two out of three college students who drank alcohol in the past month engaged in binge drinking, defined as more than five drinks in a sitting for a man and four for a woman. More than 1,800 college students ages 18 to 24 died from alcohol-related unintentional injuries last year, including vehicle crashes, according to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Closer to home, Newark Police logged 461 criminal alcohol charges last year. In anticipation of St. Patrick's Day festivities, city police dispatched 22 additional officers on March 19, along with several agents from Delaware Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement. That day, police made 58 criminal arrests, including 16 charges of underage alcohol possession or consumption, and broke up 16 parties.

Police and city code enforcement officers can't be everywhere at once to warn students of dangerous behavior, Newark city officials said, and they must weigh individual property rights. Newark landlords aren't required to register their leases with the city, which could give enforcement officers more leverage in discouraging rooftop cavorting.

"We do the best we can to proactively ... prevent those circumstances from arising, but it is difficult," Newark police Deputy Chief Kevin Feeney said.

Universities have spent millions of dollars trying to educate students on the perils of excessive alcohol consumption, along with sanctioning and banning fraternities notorious for "Animal House" antics.

But when parties are pushed off campus, the enforcement gap is more pronounced. Fewer than a dozen of UD's 48 fraternities, sororities and multicultural groups have registered houses that require bi-annual university inspections, according to a university spokeswoman. Newark city code bars the creation of new houses. About one in five UD students are involved in Greek life.

On weeknights and weekends, dozens of students spill out of rickety homes, urinating and puking on sidewalks, as neighbors grow increasingly agitated.

Living next door to a student rental on West Main Street, Deborah Worthing has witnessed drunk students borrowing her yard as a public toilet.

She has alerted police to the packed basement parties, but results are short-lived. "What if there is a fire?" she said. "That would be a larger tragedy."

"Cleveland Avenue is crazy," echoed West Main Street resident Robert Skinner, who chain-smokes cigarettes in his backyard until the last of the revelers are driven out by last call.

"If I know it is a party night, I'm going to be up," he said. "You have to be vigilant."

One week after Golden's death, it's still unclear what made him climb on the roof and whether alcohol played a role, according to Newark Police, who are awaiting toxicology test results. No foul play is suspected.

The rundown rental home, located a block away from Main Street bars, is not emblazoned with Greek letters but houses brothers in the Sigma Pi fraternity who regularly throw rowdy rooftop celebrations, neighbors said.

Established in 2006, the 80-member fraternity was previously placed on probation by UD through spring of 2016 for multiple violations, according to university records. Fraternity brothers and Sigma Pi's Lebanon, Tennessee-based international chapter did not respond to repeated requests for comment last week.

In an earlier interview, Jason Walker, interim executive director of the national Sigma Pi organization, confirmed that the house was rented by a number of Sigma Pi members. "We are investigating along with the school to try to figure out what happened and our condolences go out to the families of those involved," he said.

Owned by Elkton landlord Anthony Scarangello II, the home was listed as the only address for the Sigma Pi chapter in a 2014 IRS filing. Last month, the chapter advertised a spring rush event at the three-story residence. Scarangello, who owns at least five rentals in the area, declined to comment.

Golden was best friends with a local member of Sigma Pi, said Walker, and was visiting him during spring break. The Skidmore student's death marks the first time in three years that a student has died at UD in an alcohol-related incident, according to university spokeswoman Andrea Boyle Tippett. In 2013, UD sophomore Ethan Connolly was struck by a pickup truck while walking with friends on Route 896, south of Interstate 95.

In another university loss last week, sophomore Matthew Rosin died Wednesday after five months of hospitalization following a serious bicycle crash that was not alcohol-related.

Rooftop parties are common

Like any college town getting a jump-start on the weekend, Newark's Main Street buzzed with activity Thursday night. Students lugging backpacks from the library mingled with a group of men who lifted their togas above their ankles as they hustled across the street.

Rooftop parties aren't uncommon, several students agreed, but rarely do they have devastating consequences.

"It's just bad luck, a bad turn of events," said UD junior Dan Freeman, who lives near where Golden fell. "I don't think much more could have been done."

Freeman said the university is less of a party school now after administrators clamped down on tailgating and alcohol violations. In 1996, UD became one of six universities nationwide to receive a $770,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the American Medical Association to curb binge drinking by changing norms and attitudes on campus. Most of the money was spent developing educational programs and nonalcoholic social opportunities.

UD also implemented the "three strikes you're out rule," which mandates suspension for students who violate the school's alcohol policies at least three times. The university has sent letters home to parents when students violate UD's Code of Conduct and instituted a "zero-tolerance" plan with city and university police to crack down on loud parties. UD Police patrol campus property while city police handle off-campus complaints.

In 2014, UD's Campus Coalition for Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Prevention was tasked with encouraging responsible drinking among students of legal age and minimizing the risks for those under 21. The group has increased collaboration and communication with city officials and business owners, Tippett said. Last year, UD and Newark Police conducted 17 joint operations to combat underage drinking on and around campus.

First-year UD students are required to live on campus in university-supervised housing. In those facilities, university officials say, the doors and windows that need to stay shut are locked, campus police patrol the grounds and resident advisers staff each floor to keep order and assure safety for students.

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By the time they become sophomores, students can live off-campus and must be mindful of their personal safety, according to Director of Student Wellness Nancy Chase. University statistics show that slightly more undergraduates — 8,036 — live off-campus than on-campus.

Over time, UD, like other universities nationwide, has been marred by occasional incidents reported in the media of intoxicated students dying young.

The problems aren't limited to Greek life. Students who violate UD's alcohol and drug policies are required to attend the BASICS program, which helps them identify behavior changes. Each year, roughly 5 percent of undergraduates enroll.

In one of the more high-profile cases, after the 2008 alcohol poisoning death of 18-year-old pledge Brett Griffin at UD, the family sued and forced the university to change its Greek life site to list violations against fraternities and sororities.

Currently, there are four fraternities, including Sigma Pi, with "deferred suspensions" for "multiple violations" listed on the site, along with 10 chapters that are no longer formally recognized by the university or by their national chapters. As of Friday, UD had not issued an outright ban on Sigma Pi, according to Tippett. She would not provide details on Sigma Pi's violations.

Washington, D.C., attorney Doug Fierberg, who sued UD on behalf of the Griffin family and also represented the victims of the 2007 Virginia Tech shooting, said colleges and universities continue to publish vague information — if they publish it at all — about fraternity infractions, including deadly hazing rituals and sexual assaults.

"We're still facing significant problems because most universities refuse to tell the truth about student deaths at Greek organizations," Fierberg said.

Studies have found college freshmen particularly vulnerable. A 2006 study by USA Today found that first-year students represented half of all undergraduate deaths from falls from windows, balconies and rooftops.

Limited jurisdiction

UD's unofficial Sigma Pi house offers a textbook example of potential code violations. Located next to a campus ministry, the residence features broken glass, dangling electrical cords and a barbecue grill strapped outside a third-story window.

The chapter's website shows brothers volunteering to pick up trash, gripping girls in tanktops, holding puppies and eating fast food.

More than 1,000 fraternities in the Interfraternity Conference have gone dry, but Sigma Pi isn't one of them. Previously, national officers seriously considered adopting an alcohol-free housing policy but received pushback from members, according to a 2000 Washington Post article.

Four years later, a Colorado State University sophomore died of alcohol poisoning after attending a party at an off-campus Sigma Pi house.

Fierberg, the attorney, has represented clients who have sued universities, national fraternities and local chapter members for alcohol-related student deaths. Even if a party is held at an off-campus unofficial fraternity house, the hosts and the organization may still be liable, he said.

"These organizations need to be rendered safe," Fierberg added. "There is no excuse for not intervening."

It's not a criminal offense to hang out on your roof, but a Newark spokeswoman said city police will address the issue when they see it. City police target large gatherings where underage alcohol consumption is prevalent, and go undercover in liquor stores during big party weekends. For out-of-control parties, officers rely on disorderly conduct and criminal nuisance laws. They are also permitted to halt parties when more than 150 people are gathered without a permit, city police said.

"A lot of these large parties don't exist anymore," Newark police Chief Paul Tiernan said. "The biggest we have is still Homecoming, St. Patrick's Day and Cinco de Mayo."

Code enforcement officials can break up rooftop gatherings if they pose a structural threat. Decks and patios also must have protective railings.

"If we see a large crowd on the roof, we could say there is an imminent danger and you have to vacate," said Dave Culver, Newark's code enforcement manager.

At the same time, officers must recognize the property rights of landlords and their tenants.

In 2012, a political advocacy group protested a draft city ordinance that required inspections of rentals without the consent of tenants or the landlords. City officials said the language was included in error and promptly deleted it.

That same year, the Chancery Court approved a $900,000 settlement in a civil lawsuit filed by landlords over Newark code enforcement operations. In response, City Council decreased rental permit fees and pledged to increase communication with landlords.

The city requires permits for rentals and conducts annual safety and building inspections. Newark is engaged in an ongoing study focused on the demand for rental housing and quality-of-life issues for longtime residents. Currently, rental permits are renewed even if inspectors aren't able to access the properties.

The last time city code inspectors visited the West Main Street house where Golden fell, they found no evidence of the roof being used as a patio, Culver said. The June visit documented a fire escape that needed repair, along with other minor violations, he said.

City records initially showed that the rental was not properly permitted. Culver later said that was a system glitch. The property is allowed to house up to eight unrelated people, he said.

City Councilman Todd Ruckle, a local real estate agent, said safety issues are less about code enforcement and more about the enforcement of lease terms.

But even the best landlords don't think about tenant safety in terms of their behavior, according to Harvey. A landlord's responsibility, he said, is limited to ensuring the building is up to code, secure and a safe place to live.

"Applicants don't come with 'I party 24/7' tattooed on their foreheads," he added, "so there's a chance of getting some bad tenants."

On Wednesday afternoon, University of Delaware seniors Joe Moye, Mark Murphy and Ryan Corey sat on the porch of their Prospect Avenue rental.

Their living room window, broken through and duct-taped back together, sat behind them.

The landlord is coming to fix it, said Murphy, 22. They had just emailed him about it.

Landlords in the area are pretty responsive, “give or take,” he said.

Back at Skidmore in upstate New York, where there are no fraternities and sororities, Golden's hockey coach Rob Hutchison described his former player as honest, passionate and "extremely likable."

"He was kinda figuring out what he wanted to do here," said Hutchison, noting that Golden played lacrosse and hockey when he was younger but wasn't a hockey recruit. He still earned a spot on the roster after a walk-on tryout.

The eldest of three children, Golden was buried Wednesday in his hometown of Cohasset, Massachusetts. His family has not responded to requests for comment.

More than 600 Skidmore students, faculty and staff honored his short life at a memorial service Tuesday. Golden's teammates proudly wore their jerseys in tribute to a player who celebrated his assists as hard as his goals. Two students performed "Let It Be."

"We come together trying to find meaning in response to an event that simply makes no sense," Skidmore President Philip Glotzbach told the crowd.

Two days later, 20-year-old Kevin Lu, who lives on Cleveland Avenue in Newark, surveyed a trail of splintered red cups clinging to dusty patches of grass. When a reporter approached him, he offered her a spot on his dingy couch on the porch. He told her some of UD's best parties happen on Tuesday and Thursday nights.

"The houses aren’t in the best shape, Lu admitted, but “it’s not bad.”

"It shouts college."

Contact Margie Fishman at (302) 324-2882, on Twitter @MargieTrende or mfishman@delawareonline.com. Contact Adam Duvernay at aduvernay@delawareonline.com or (302) 324-2785. Contact Saranac Hale Spencer at (302) 324-2909, sspencer@delawareonline.com or on Twitter @SSpencerTNJ. Contact Xerxes Wilson at (302) 324-2787 or xwilson@delawareonline.com.

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Incidents of alcohol-related injuries and deaths of college students nationwide

2008: University of Nebraska freshman falls out of a third-story house window at Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity in what police believe was an alcohol-fueled incident. The student suffered serious injuries.

2011: Eighteen-year-old Portland woman critically injured after falling off a second-floor balcony during an early morning party at an official Sigma Piu fraternity house at Western Michigan University.  

2014: Eighteen-year-old woman falls to her death from a 10th-floor balcony of a student-housing apartment building near Arizona State University. Police said alcohol was an apparent factor.

2015: A 20-year-old student is pushed off the roof of a garage during a college party near Bridgewater State University in Massachusetts and suffers injuries.

2016: A 22-year-old Laney College student falls from the roof of the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house at University of California, Berkeley. The victim's sister accuses party-goers of finding the student alive but failing to call for an ambulance. Student is found dead the next morning.