SDSU student dies after event
SDSU suspends all 14 fraternities after student, 19, dies following a Greek event
Luke Garrett / News Editor / The USD Vista
Dylan Hernandez, a 19-year-old student at San Diego State University (SDSU), died on Friday after being hospitalized following a fraternity event a day earlier, according to the San Diego County Medical Examiner.
The president of SDSU, Adela de la Torre, notified the campus of Hernandez’s death in a statement to the campus community on Monday.
“His family gave their goodbyes,” De la Torre said. “The family has given the university permission today to share this information, and we are working to support them during this incredibly difficult time.”
The medical examiner stated Hernandez was “found pulseless and apneic (temporary suspension of breathing) by his roommate in their room. He reportedly attended a fraternity event the night prior.”
According to The Daily Aztec, Hernandez had been a Phi Gamma Delta (Fiji) pledge. It is unclear if alcohol was involved with his death.
Following Hernandez’s hospitalization, De la Torre suspended all of the 14 fraternities at SDSU, 10 of which were already under some sort of organizational discipline.
The proximity of Hernandez’s death to a fraternity event and the University of San Diego raises questions over the Greek community’s role on Torero Way.
To DJ Mahoney, USD Director of Fraternity and Sorority Life, the recent tragedy ought to foster discussions and questions about Fraternity and Sorority Life at campus.
“I hope people are angry about this and I hope this is a time of remorse,” Mahoney said. “My hope is that everyone remains curious and ask questions so they can gain context and understanding.”
Mahoney and his team have sent out wellness resources out to the Greek community, connecting students to the counseling center, pastoral counselors, and a 24/7 counseling hotline.
Anil Nankani, USD Interfraternity Council President, and a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon was shocked by the tragedy.
“It’s devastating,” Nankani said. “Especially in a community so close to us. It definitely could have been us. We never thought it would come so close to us. We are still in the shock stage.”
Nankani also spoke to the differences between SDSU’s Greek Life and USD’s. The private university has half as many fraternities on campus, no Greek row, and no fraternities currently on probation or under investigations.
However, Nankani thinks there is still much work to be done at USD.
“The work doesn’t stop there,” Nankani said. “Rules don’t solve the job. USD needs to look at concern for others.”
He went on to explain his hope that USD takes on a medical amnesty policy where students who report at-risk friends are saved from any penalty.
As the investigation into Hernandez’s death unfolds, conversation regarding Greek life and university life will continue.
His death was the second fraternity-related death last week and the fourth this month, according to a USA Today report. This year’s number of death related to fraternity events is on par with the past two, the report also noted.