Student safe after drinking ‘excessive amounts of alcohol’ at Sigma Chi event

After a week of sparse details about a Greek life function that left a student hospitalized, Pitt released a statement Thursday with some information about the Sigma Chi alcohol incident.

At a Sigma Chi function last Thursday, a student was taken to a hospital by his friends after drinking “excessive amounts of alcohol,” a statement from Pitt spokesperson Joe Miksch said. The student is now safe.

The event, which was held off campus, occurred during recruitment activities, which are expected to be alcohol-free, Miksch said.

Pitt is continuing to investigate the incident with Pitt Police and the Office of Student Conduct. The University is “still working to gather the basic details about what occurred prior to the student’s hospitalization,” Miksch said.

In the statement, Dean of Students Kenyon Bonner said he was “proud” the students sought medical help for their friend.

“We want our community to embrace bystander intervention and act courageously when needed,” he said.

As a result of the incident, Bonner placed all of Greek life on “modified social probation,” banning them from serving alcohol at their events.

Pitt’s Greek organizations are working to develop an “action plan” to prevent future “serious incidents.”

When approached for an interview after Wednesday’s Senate Council meeting to discuss the specifics of what this action plan might look like, a Pitt spokesperson said Bonner didn’t have time. Pitt didn’t respond to specific questions sent Wednesday afternoon about the action plan.