Following a spring hazing incident that ended in the death of a 21-year-old student at State University of New York-Plattsburg, administrators have decided on punishment for the students deemed responsible.

Last April, freshman Walter Jennings died from dangerously low blood sodium levels due to a fraternity hazing ritual in which he was forced to drink large amounts of water through a funnel.

The water-chugging incident was preceded by a week of hazing activities that authorities at the city of Plattsburg and the University believe led to Jennings’s eventual death.

The incident occurred in the Psi Epsilon Chi fraternity. Although the fraternity was not officially recognized by SUNY, it still was open and accepting new members at the time of the incident. As a result of Jennings’s death, the fraternity is closed and no longer exists on the SUNY-Plattsburg campus.

SUNY announced that it has dismissed 10 students, suspended eight, and put three on probation as a result of the hazing incident.

According to SUNY communications director Keith Tyo, the 21 students originally faced a total of 119 charges, including violating the University’s student code of conduct, endangerment, hazing, disorderly conduct and aiding and abetting.

Four of the suspended students won court appeals that set their suspensions on abeyance, and seven members of Psi Epsilon Chi have pleaded guilty to the charges.

The student’s death sent a wake-up call throughout the campus community, causing an increase in counseling services and underage drinking awareness programs.

“When you go into college, you think it’s all about having a good time and drinking, and now you know that you could die,” Vice-President of Arts in the SUNY Student Association Nicolas Gaudreau said. “[When the student died] the whole campus was affected.”

The Greek system at Plattsburg has been the most affected by the consequences of the incident. Two sororities have been suspended because of their involvement with the unrecognized fraternity, and all of the remaining sororities and fraternities are being watched.

“Frats and sororities are getting dropped left and right. They’re really checking themselves,” Gaudreau said.

He also admitted that students are not blind to what happens in fraternities and that some on the campus are not necessarily abiding by hazing rules.

“There are a lot of urban legends about the hazing that goes on that we know are true, especially at [our chapter of] Tao Kappa Epilson. They probably won’t be here next year,” Gaudreau said.

The University is also taking many actions to ensure incidents like this do not happen again. In addition to working closely with Greek communities on prevention and codes of conduct, the University is focusing on awareness.

“We notify all of our new students of the organizations that are not recognized by the school and of the consequences people receive from getting involved with them,” Tyo said.

As a result of Jennings’s death, SUNY campuses have seen many changes in their Greek communities and are hoping to soon put the incident behind them.

“We are a very unique, open-minded, and accepting campus,” Gandreau said. “The students here are trying to move on.”