Marie Lourdes Andre is suing Cornell University’s Sigma Alpha Epislon chapter for $25 million after her son, George Desdunes died from alcohol poisoning. Earlier this year, the 19 year-old sophomore was pledging to be a member of the national fraternity. According to his mother, the fraternity members “allegedly kidnapped her son, blindfolded him, bound his hands and feet, and forced him to drink so much alcohol that he passed out and died”:
George Desdunes, the son of a Haitian immigrant, was pronounced dead on Feb. 25 from alcohol poisoning at Cayuga Medical Center. Desdunes’ blood alcohol level was .409 – more than five times the legal limit, according to the family’s lawsuit.
[He] was captured by freshmen “pledges” of the fraternity who allegedly devised a horrific set of tasks and punishments for Desdunes and one other frat member. [George was then] grabbed by the freshmen pledges who tied him up with zip ties and duct tape.
The pledges are alleged to have asked him trivia questions about the fraternity. If he answered incorrectly he reportedly had to do exercises such as sit-ups, or consume various foods and drinks including sugar, flavored syrups and vodka.
Desdunes reportedly passed out, but instead of being brought to a hospital he was allegedly taken to the fraternity house while still bound, and left on a couch in the library. [Source]
George Desdunes was a Biology major with aspirations of one day becoming a medical doctor. Such a sad story…
this is so sad!!
So sad… May he Rest.
…and people look at me strange when I say Greek organizations are full of ish. Respect!
Damn!!!! This is so sad!!!! I know theres no amount of money that can heal their hearts, but i hope the get every penny they are seeking!!!!! R.I.P!!!
I agree…it’ll be a long haul—-but I hope justice prevails
I agree! Why do organizations have to go over the top with their initiations? What they did to this young man was pure torture; bounding his feet and hands…SMH.
That is horrible. I hope she gets justck and her money!
Justice*
OMGGGG!!! C’mon why do alcohol have to be the means of fun/torture in the college community???? I hope that mother sues all of em for every penny she can get and then. Get them boys for murder or something hell they left him on the couch to die!
Horrible that his mother has to go through this! Stupid ass people killed a promising young man.
never understood the thrill of frats and sororities…. not from that culture so I don’t get… prayers go out to his mom…. dang
that’s just a damn shame.
Smh its sad man it jus makes me wonder what will the founder think of all of this hazing goin on now
Only the lost ones feel they need to be apart of something… I roll my eyes when they be out in public coon calling! Thinking they are elite,but in reality,they are mindless followers… So sad… I hope she get’s every penny! And they need to lock someone up for this!
I don’t understand why he wanted to be apart of a predominately white fraternity founded by racist white people in the south?? Anywho… This is sad and really not worth joining any organization for. Most of the things fraternities and sororities do, as far as helping other, community, humanity, etc., can be done without joining anything!!
KayKay,
In This decade, ethnic people across this country Unite and rejoice, “At Last”,
we have an African American man In the white house…
Against adversity, The Honorable President Obama is many firsts in our society.
Our children will grow thinking this to be as common as the hues of blue in the sky.
What an incredible thought, isn’t it?
So let us not pass judgment on why our brother wanted to join the predominantly white organization, and say why not?
Though some organizations do employ hazing tactics, let us not forget the positive aspects of these organizations.
They give these kids a sense of belonging,
They promote the very essential social skills that are required to ever reach self-actualization.
So lets refocus, and not generalize because all greek letter organizations are not bad organizations.
I never understood why anyone would want to join a frat or soror? Are you that desperate for friends? Is it that bad you are eating lunch alone or going to events alone? Talk about low self esteem. I wish someone would kidnap me, bound my legs & feet & force me to drink. Black ppl wake up! You really think pledging for a white frat will make these whites like/accept you?
The only reason this gets attention is bc the boys god father is white & the kids may not get away free or innocent bc he has brought it to the news & seems to have connections.
Those white frats are all about the alcohol. Maybe because he was Haitian, he didn’t know any better. I wonder why he passed on the Black frats, not that they’re always any better, but I wouldn’t trust my kids with white folks in that kind of a situation. I think Black Americans would have known better. Oh well.
wow…glad it wasn’t my Frat….and all this craziness needs to stop, c’mon man, this is very sad…but I hope Jusitce succeeds overall…R.I.P.
I’m not someone who understands it either. The tatting and hazing that happens closely resembles the lifestyle of gang initiation, albeit non-violent. This young man had aspirations of achieving something far greater than the fraternity he wanted to be a part of, and the sad thing is that it wasted on people who cared only about a momentary thrill. The school will and should pay dearly for it.
these kids would never understand the struggle a haitian women have to go through in order for their kids to get a college education….these fraternity bias should be banned! I feel like crying right now Haiti is a poor country that need all the doctors, lawyers, nurses etc…RIP George Desdunes May God be with you in heaven….
Pan Hell Greeks, and other ethnic greek letter organizations take heed, this is not an isolated incident.
On the opposite side of the country earlier this decade, there was a similar situation with the Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority.
This time, they decided to take the girls into the ocean, at high tide, with no trained life guards, and none of the girls could swim. Neither the pledgees nor the hazers.
If this doesn’t sound like a recipe for disaster, the girls were bound together.
As the tide became higher and higher the young ladies lost their lives.
I know many of you are reading this in disbelief, google search it on the west coast In California.
No organization no matter how glamorous it may appear is worth putting your life in harms way.
young people Beware.
Im also a member of one of these organizations, and Im an advocate against hazing.
My brothers call me soft.
But we do not have any more incidents…..
my heart goes out to this man’s mother, who did everything in her power to raise this young man, and encourage him to pursue a higher education. To have his life cut so short under the hands of irresponsible, inconsiderate hazers.
They should be held accountable, not only are they directly responsible for this young man’s demise, but they share tort in this situation.
MOM GET THEM ALL.
Is time to advocate against hazing.
Its time to restrict the behaviors of our youth across college campuses.
This young man’s precious life must not be in vain.
For those of you talking about why he did he want to join a white frat need to think about it. Cornell is an Ivy League school and they rarely have black frats. Columbia only has the AKA’s and Delta’s. No black frats. I kno Harvard has the
Omega Psi Phi* but maybe there wasn’t a black frat at Cornell. Maybe he just wanted to have that experience. Either way I ope his mother finds justice.
QueenSafira,
So sorry to correct you, however, Cornell University in Ithica New York.
Is a historic campus primarily for the birth place of the first African American Greek Letter organization. If you know the Pan hell culture you know what frat I’m referring to.
I said Maybe!
justice don’t equal money for me!!!
HUH,
You are absolutely correct!
Money does not equal justice to you.
However this is much more than claiming funds.
Its the principle of holding the individuals responsible for this atrocity accountable.
That poor mother has to wonder for the rest of her days the “coulda, woulda, shoulds” about her son and how she could of prevented this.
Not only is her son whipped of the face of this Earth, but his whole family, friends and natural support systems will miss him dearly.
How do Universities, organizations, and sometimes individuals learn. From Penalties, from citations and from attacking their check books.
I hope she wins. Thats sickening and may he RIP
Thats a damn shame, poor thing, this “hazing” bulls**t needs to stop, just cast a damn vote and keep it moving, this ain’t the first time some sh*t like this has happened, these hazings have including everything from violence, humiliation all the way up to some men being SEXUALLY ASSAULTED, and i don’t “get” the point of ferternitys, like what do you DO, what does it GET you? i say NOTHING, maybe it did back in the 1970′s where it was good for your reputation and good for networking, but in this age it ain’t nothing but something to say “you was in” shit and all that omega blah blah blah, i heard it was founded on paganism & worshipping of false Roman “gods” *side eye* see this why i don’t f**k with college, just ain’t good for ya, give a bitch like me some itt tech and call it a f**kin DAY…
College isn’t a frat! It is an education institution. I graduated just fine without joining a frat/sorority. Joining is purely optional. So if this is your excuse for not going to college you may need to create a better one.
Can we please get back to the true purpose of our organizations and stop this senseless foolishness that in the end proves nothing and sometimes ultimately takes a life. This womans child is gone because of a fraternity trying to prove how far they can take a person and test their limits before they break down and in this case end in tragedy. I never went through such to receive my Greek Letters and if it had even been suggested then to me it would not have even been worth it. I hope she gets every penny she is suing for. It will never bring back her son but it sure will prove to all of our Organizations how senslessness is a hefty price to pay!!
This is a senseless death and a clear tragegy. The perpetrators should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. I normally do not comment on many of these type blogs but given some of the responses I feel compelled to do so. I chose to join my fraternity (Omega Psi Phi) not out of a sense of loneliness because I had friends before that are still my friends nor for any of the perceived benefits (notoriety, women, partying)that some have stated above or assumed by others. I did so after first, noticing the other Omega Men on my campus and the positions of leadership they held in various walks of campus life…academically, athletically, in the arts, military,church, and the community. I also did this after researching the other NPHC (historically black) organizations carefully…. the others are fine organizations and I have friends and relatives in each of the other four fraternities. I also have relatives and close friends in each of the sororities that reside in the NPHC. I’m not going to tell anyone that every member of these organizations are responsible, mature, or even in some cases worthy of membership. Fraternity/Sorority life is but a microcosm of society itself and many of the same ills are found within the confides of these organizations. That being said, we (at least I can speak for Omega) are bought together by a set of common beliefs documented and executed by three extraordinary young men at a time when they did so at great personal risk. The fact that 19 – 20 year olds could start something that has lasted 100 years is in and of itself amazing and I am lothe to allow the actions of the few bad apples to ever tarnish that fact.
As to this young man choosing to join a white fraternity, please note that each of the “Divine Nine” organizations have had long standing non-discriminatory policies and all have not only white members but also Hispanic and Asian members as well. In my opinion, no one should begrudge this young man the same opportunity even though that may not be the way we would choose.
I pledged hard for 103 days 12 hours and 8 minutes and I value that experience. My five line brothers that were there with me and I have a common bond that we cannot explain, we would not care to explain, and quite frankly wouldn’t give a damn what anyone else thought about us or the process we chose. But I will tell you that I have fraternity brothers that did not pledge and they are as dependable as any of my line brothers. The key in the viability of these organizations (or any organization) is to select/have members of high character/morality and foster an environment where people can grow and be supported.
Blah, Blah, Blah!!! You sound so brainwashed. You’re saying all the typical things that fraternity and sorority members are taught to believe.
Selective Words…read the last paragraph…”I quite frankly don’t need to explain anything to you and give less than a damn what your ignorant ass thinks!”
Alcohol should not be allowed in fraternities because of this reason. There are other ways of pledging. Now this mother has lost her son. I hope she gets every cent she is sueing for, even though it will never fill the whole left in her heat.
I wanted to join a sorority but this is the kind of thing that scares me away. I’m not going to compromise my beliefs or my dignity as young black/mexican woman getting an education in a white man’s world just to wear letters and have “sisters.” I have those at home.
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