TRENTON, N.J.
Rider University, where officials are still dealing with three recent bias incidents that have attracted public attention, is no stranger to controversy and tragedy lately. It has also been the scene of two deaths related to substance abuse that have attracted widespread attention and controversy this year.
Rider, a private, coeducational institution in Lawrenceville, about three miles north of Trenton, is best known for its business programs. It also specializes in liberal arts, and education, as well as music through its affiliate, Westminster Choir College, in nearby Princeton.
Last school year, an 18-year-old freshman from California, Gary DeVercelly, died after being admitted to a hospital with a toxic blood alcohol level. Two university officials and three fraternity officers were initially charged with aggravated hazing in connection with the death. Charges against Tony Campbell, the university dean of students, and Ada Badgley, director of Greek Life, were dropped on Aug. 28, and they returned from administrative leave.
As the school year opened, Rider’s president, Dr. Mordechai Rozanski, announced policies to safeguard students. They included prohibition of social events with alcohol in residence halls and Greek houses.
On Oct. 16, Justin Warfield, a Westminster Choir College freshman from Columbia, Md., whose mother is a Lutheran minister, died after being injected with heroin by a fellow student. A sophomore, Kieran Hunt, 19, of Piscataway, was charged with strict liability in Warfield’s death with possible penalties of 10 to 20 years in prison if convicted. Two other classmates were charged with harassment by scribbling with markers on Warfield’s skin before someone noticed the unconscious classmate was not breathing and called for help. Toxicology reports have not been completed, the university said.
A few days earlier, David Rebovich, a 58-year-old respected political analyst, died after having a heart attack while teaching at the university. A few days after the Warfield death, a minor was charged with a sexual assault alleged to have taken place in a dorm following a drinking incident. No names were released in that case.
