To be initiated, he had to drink an entire bottle of Wild Turkey bourbon. He did. Then, he passed out the couch. The next morning, he was dead.
Florida State University student Andrew Coffey suffocated due to hazing as a pledge of Pi Kappa Phi in November 2017.
A new bill, HB727, is being proposed in the state legislature that would give legal amnesty to the first person to call 911 in a hazing emergency. But those who knew of, planned or participated in the activity would be held accountable.
The UF chapters of Pi Kappa Phi, Alpha Epsilon Pi and Chi Phi were under investigation for hazing reports in September. The fraternities are currently under deferred suspension, according to the Interfraternity Council website.
Chip LaMarca, a Republican member of the Florida Legislature representing district 93 from Broward County, proposed the bill after reading about the death of Coffee, who lived in his community, he said. The bill is waiting for approval by the House of Representatives Judiciary Committee Thursday.
UF will look at all policies and regulations related to hazing and adjust them accordingly if the bill passes, said UF spokesperson Steve Orlando via email.
Erin Guby, a Kappa Kappa Gamma member, said the law sounds good overall, but has some issues.
“Obviously you need to help someone if they’re dying, but it’s tricky because why should the first person get amnesty but not anyone behind them?” she said.
LaMarca said he is optimistic about the bill passing.
“I think this is something that’ll be pretty well accepted on both sides and is pretty reasonable,” he said.
Correction: This article was updated to correctly spell Andrew Coffey.
FILE - This Nov. 7, 2017 file photo shows the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity house near Florida State University in Tallahassee, Fla. Andrew Coffey should have been graduating from Florida State University with his classmates this May 2019, but his life was cut short when he was pressured into drinking an entire bottle of 101-proof Wild Turkey bourbon in a Pi Kappa Phi fraternity hazing ritual. Now his parents are pleading the Florida Legislature to pass a bill that expands the state's anti-hazing laws. (AP Photo/Joseph Reedy, file)
