Indicted Rider staffers receive student, alumni support

1,200-plus sign Web letter lauding the pair

By: Lea Kahn
   Rider University students and alumni alike have rallied around the college’s beleaguered dean of students and the director of Greek life, who have been indicted in connection with the alcohol-poisoning death of freshman Gary DeVercelly.
   Mr. DeVercelly, 18, died after a night of binge drinking at the Phi Kappa Tau fraternity house on campus. He fell into a coma March 28 and was taken to Capital Health Systems at Fuld Hospital, where he died of alcohol poisoning March 30.
   Dean of Students Anthony Campbell and Director of Greek Life Ada Badgley were indicted Aug. 3 on charges of aggravated hazing by a Mercer County grand jury.
   Dean Campbell, 51, was expected to be arraigned in state Superior Court in Trenton on Thursday afternoon. A date for the 31-year-old Ms. Badgley’s arraignment had not been set as The Ledger went to press.
   A copy of a letter in support of Dean Campbell and Ms. Badgley is posted on the Web site www.facebook.com. A copy of the letter also was sent to The Ledger. More than 1,200 people had "signed" the letter Wednesday afternoon.
   "Undeniably, tragedy struck Rider’s campus in March, but prosecuting the administration, particularly two of its most caring and influential members, is deplorable," according to the letter, which was signed by "The Rider University Student Body, Both Past and Present."
   "Many students have come to call Rider home and although our community has suffered, prosecuting Dean Campbell and Ada is unwarranted," the letter said.
   "We value (the college experience’s) teachable moments, know that our time invested in college is not flawless," the letter said. "Dean Campbell and Ada have been guides to many of Rider’s students as we have traveled through college, finding ourselves in the process. As students, we never really think we can show our appreciation for extraordinary faculty and memorable administrators, but through this injustice, we have been given the opportunity."
   The letter writers also cited the two administrators’ role in revising Rider’s alcohol policy, which now forbids alcohol-related events in residence halls and Greek houses.
   The new policy is the result of a report released in June by the Presidential Task Force on Alcohol, Personal Responsibility and Student Life. The task force was formed in the wake of Mr. DeVercelly’s death.
   Rider University junior Brian Pawelko, who is the Student Government Association’s vice president and a member of the former Phi Kappa Tau fraternity, said many members of the campus community are in shock and disbelief at the indictments — particularly the indictments of Dean Campbell and Ms. Badgley.
   "(The indictments) came out of left field," Mr. Pawelko said Monday afternoon. "I haven’t heard one person say they were glad (about the five indictments)."
   The Monroe Township resident said neither Dean Campbell nor Ms. Badgley was present at the March 28 party at the fraternity house. He questioned how the two administrators could have been indicted, given that they were not at the fraternity house and were not aware of the party.
   "I don’t know where the grand jury got the information that they participated in it," Mr. Pawelko said. "I just don’t know what to think."
   Mr. Pawelko also expressed dismay that the three students were also indicted. He said he had worked closely with his three fellow fraternity members, adding that he lived across the hall in the fraternity house from Mr. DiDonato.
   Rider University alumnus Michael Caputo, who graduated in 2007, agreed with Mr. Pawelko that the indictments were a surprise. He lives in New Hyde Park, L.I., N.Y.
   "The whole country was surprised. This was unprecedented," said Mr. Caputo, who is a former editor of the Rider News and who worked closely with Dean Campbell as a student.
   "The grand jury made a mistake by making an example of these two people," Mr. Caputo said of Dean Campbell and Ms. Badgley. "Our role as students and alumni is to build up the credibility (of the administrators). They are good people, but they are not getting a good deal."
   Mr. Caputo recalled the first time he met Dean Campbell, when he attended freshman orientation before classes began. He acknowledged that he was young and a little bit afraid of leaving home for college.
   "Dean Campbell saw me with my Mets cap, and he invited me to see his Mets collection in his office," he said. "This is how he is. You don’t have to be a member of the Student Government Association or to be the editor of the Rider News. He takes an interest in all students."